Across twelve months, these composers will experiment with and develop their orchestral writing skills, guided by Colin Matthews, with support from Christian Mason and Hannah Kendall. They will each develop a three-minute composition, which will be workshopped by the LSO in a public session at the culmination of the scheme. Two compositions will be chosen to be further developed into five- and ten-minute pieces, to be premiered in an LSO concert at the Barbican. Learn more about the composers below.
Ellen Drewe
‘I am unbelievably honoured and excited to have the opportunity to work with such esteemed musicians under professional mentorship!’
Ellen is a composer and conductor whose music explores social commentary through the interplay of playful and sinister musical textures and the fusion of acoustic instruments and electronics. They use a mixture of fables, fine art and observations as inspiration for music that highlights the triumphs and flaws of humanity.
Ellen recently graduated from their master’s in composition at the University of Cambridge under Marta Gentilucci. At Cambridge, they regularly conducted the King’s College Orchestra, and received the Bertram Faulkner prize.
Ellen’s undergraduate was at the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) under Morgan Hayes, where they spoke on BBC Breakfast on behalf of RAM, and their piece was selected for the RAM 200 pieces.
They have composed for numerous ensembles, including the Riot Ensemble and BSO’s Kokoro, in venues such as West Road Concert Hall and the V&A Museum. Earlier accolades include being shortlisted for BBC Young Composer (2016).
Ellen is currently working on a commission for the Philharmonia Orchestra as part of their Composers Academy.
Edward Mascall-Robson
Edward Mascall-Robson is a Japanese-British composer and koto performer, currently based and active between London and Tokyo.
He studied composition at the Royal Academy of Music with David Sawer, before completing a Master’s degree at the Conservatoire de Paris (CNSMDP) in the composition class of Gérard Pesson. At the Conservatoire, he also studied and practiced electroacoustic composition with Yan Maresz, Luis Naón and Grégoire Lorieux.
Originally trained in traditional Japanese music, he studied the koto with Curtis Patterson and is a member of the Sawai Koto Institute. He has performed and collaborated internationally, has had his performances broadcast on national radio, contributed to album recordings, and been sampled for software instruments. The instrument still remains a core part in his work – he has written numerous pieces involving the koto and other traditional Japanese instruments.
He is a London Philharmonic Orchestra Young Composer for 2025/2026.
Martha-Maria Mitu
© Tomasz Trzebiatowski
‘I feel truly honoured to have the opportunity to write for an orchestra of this calibre. I cannot wait to get to know the LSO musicians and I look forward to all the learning experiences ahead under the unique mentorship from Colin Matthews, Christian Mason, and Hannah Kendall!’
Martha-Maria Mitu is a Romanian composer-performer based in London. Her music draws inspiration from diverse references such as dubstep, geology, art and psychology. Her compositions have been premiered by the Riot Ensemble, Brett Dean, and the New London Chamber Choir. Two commissions for Folkestone New Music were premiered last year by pianist Joseph Havlat and mezzo-soprano Lotte Betts-Dean. Currently completing a funded Master’s degree in Composition at the Royal Academy of Music, Martha-Maria studies with Louise Drewett and Hans Abrahamsen.
A Southbank Centre Future Artist, Martha-Maria has performed and premiered two of her compositions at the Purcell Room, one with original visuals.
As a violinist, she is resident improviser for the AA School, collaborating with dancers. She performs regularly in chamber and orchestral work with the BBC Concert Orchestra, Manchester Collective, and O/Modernt at the Southbank Centre, Wigmore Hall, the Barbican and the Royal Albert Hall.
Venturing into visual art, her paintings were exhibited during Patricia Kopatchinskaja’s Pierrot Lunaire at the Southbank Centre.
Sam Rudd-Jones
Sam Rudd-Jones is a composer and pianist based in London. The rhythms of his music are characterised by the use of grooves from rap and electronic music, as well as endlessly accelerating and decelerating tempos. He studied at King’s College, University of Cambridge with Richard Causton (2018–22), privately with Julian Anderson (2023–24), and is now studying towards a PhD with George Benjamin at King’s College London with an LAHP scholarship (2024–27). He also releases electronic music under his own name.
Efe Yüksel
I have attended the public Panufnik workshops almost every year since I moved to the UK from Turkey in 2018 for my studies, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to be a part of this year’s cohort!
Efe Yüksel (1999) is a composer, electronic musician and melodica performer from İzmir (Turkey), based in London. He is currently undertaking doctoral studies in the Guildhall School of Music, supervised by Julian Anderson and Aaron Einbond, looking into the structural organisation of inharmonic sonorities and formulating a personal theory of working with noise. His work involves exploring the physical capabilities of instruments via close collaborations and the use of live electronic processing. His works have been performed by the Zöllner-Roche Duo, Ligeti and Bozzini Quartets, Plus-Minus Ensemble, EXAUDI, glissotar performer Etienne Rolin and Huw Watkins, among others.
Alongside composing, he is active as a melodica performer, with a particular focus on the bass melodica, writing and commissioning new works for the instrument. He is supported by the Guildhall School Trust, Talent Unlimited and Dr Nejat F Eczacıbaşı Foundation and was the recipient of Ian Horsbrugh Memorial Prize for Composition.
Lara Weaver
© Laura Sheeran
It is a joy and a privilege to be working with the LSO over the next year, to have the opportunity to spend real time developing my composition alongside the orchestra and the support of the creative team. I am immensely excited to hear my music brought to life in new ways.
Lara Weaver (1998) is a scholar and composer from England. Lara holds a PhD from SARC, Queen’s University Belfast, funded by a Northern Bridge Doctoral Training Partnership (AHRC). Her doctoral research bridges music and environmental humanities to attend to the unusual earthy sounds of peatland bogs and ‘singing’ sand dunes. Lara graduated with a First from St John’s College, Cambridge, with a BA (Hons) in Music, after which she continued there to an MPhil in Composition, which was awarded with Distinction.
Recent projects include commissions with the Crash Ensemble as a Crash Works Creator 2023–2025 (premiered at New Music Dublin 2025), and Hard Rain Soloist Ensemble (premiered at Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival 2024). Lara’s music has been performed at the BBC Proms, received multiple broadcasts on BBC Radio 3, and her work Singing Sands has recently been released on Crash Records as part of their Crash Works II album.
The LSO Helen Hamlyn Panufnik Composers’ Scheme was devised by the Orchestra in association with Lady Panufnik, in memory of her late husband, the composer Sir Andrzej Panufnik, and is generously supported by Lady Hamlyn CBE and The Helen Hamlyn Trust.
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