We are excited to announce the two composers who have been awarded commissions through the LSO Helen Hamlyn Panufnik Composers’ Scheme. Laila Arafah and Yunho Jeong will compose a new five- and ten-minute piece respectively for the London Symphony Orchestra. The pieces will be workshopped through the Scheme with the LSO before being premiered in concert at the Barbican in the 2026/27 Season.
For Laila and Yunho and this commission comes following their participation on the LSO Helen Hamlyn Panufnik Composers Scheme 2024/25, a supported opportunity for six composers to write for a symphony orchestra. Each year participants receive guidance from Colin Matthews and Christian Mason, to write a three-minute piece over twelve months. Laila and Yunho were selected to further develop their pieces, or compose something new, and will continue to be supported through the Scheme in the coming year, while composing their new works.
Yunho Jeong
Composing music is a very lonely and laborious artistic process, however when it conveyed in the real world by great performers, it is truly a moment of bliss. I am really grateful to work with the LSO again after the last workshop. I am looking forward to realising my imaginary soundscape through the LSO’s magical sound world.
Born in South Korea, UK-based composer and pianist Yunho Jeong studied composition at the Royal College of Music, University of Manchester and Seoul National University. His musical exploration is informed by poetic dramaturgy, lyrical intensity and organic sound web developed from his artistic interests in paintings, literature and psychology as well as personal pianism as a pianist.
In 2023, Jeong premiered his solo piano piece, Rain, Steam and Spanufneed at Musikverein in Vienna and his Clarinet Concerto was premiered by London Philharmonic Orchestra in 2022. His music has also been performed by Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, Quatuor Lontano, TIMF Ensemble and New Perspectives Ensemble.
In 2025/26, his premiere includes the new Violin Sonata performed by himself with the violinist Soojin Han, commissioned by the Pathway music foundation in Korea.
Laila Arafah
© Diego Redel
I’m so grateful to work with the LSO again and bring a new work to the Barbican stage. I’m excited to explore ideas with such generous and inspiring musicians and to develop a piece for next season.
Laila Arafah is a London-based composer whose work explores temporality, liminality, and the phenomena of resonance and decay. She is an undergraduate composer at the Royal Academy of Music and has received commissions from Talea Ensemble, London Contemporary Music Festival, Explore Ensemble, Zone Expérimentale Basel (Austria), Carducci Quartet, London Mozart Players, Roadrunner Trio (Amsterdam), Quatuor Bozzini (Canada), and London Sinfonietta
Her music has also featured at international festivals and venues including Darmstadt Music Festival, King’s Place, Dartington Music Festival, La Sorbonne University, Bold Tendencies, Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble, Bowdoin Music Festival, Warsaw’s AżTak Festival, Boston New Music Initiative, Soundways Festival (Russia), Michael Klein Music Tent, International Guitar Foundation, KM28 Berlin, IMPULS Festival, Britten Studio, Aspen Music Festival, Aldeburgh Festival, Purcell Symphony Orchestra, and Tchaikovsky-city Academy. She is currently Composer-in-Residence with CoMA
Upcoming projects include Standard Issue taking her piece local paths on tour, a new solo work for Alex Roberts at Café OTO, and the premiere of a new chamber work at The Frick in New York.
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 generously supported by Lady Hamlyn and The Helen Hamlyn Trust.
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