Carmel Smickersgill has won the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra’s (RLPO) Christopher Brooks Composition Prize. Smickersgill receives GBP1,000 (€1,137) and a commission for RLPO’s new music group Ensemble 10/10.
Based in Manchester, Smickersgill recently completed an undergraduate degree in composition at the Royal Northern College of Music. She has previously written for ensembles Psappha, No Dice and CoMA.
Now, Smickersgill will benefit from a programme of workshops, masterclasses and mentoring sessions from musicians, conductors and composers at RLPO. Further, she will sharped her composition and teaching practice through access to RLPO’s engagement projects with young people. Her commissioned work will be premiered in autumn 2019.
Commented Smickersgill: “It’s such a privilege to have the chance to work with such an inventive group of world-class musicians as well as being able to see, first hand, the inner workings of an ensemble such as the RLPO.”
Previous Christopher Brooks Composition Prize winners are Bethan Morgan-Williams, Richard Miller and Grace-Evangeline Mason.