More national composition success for Morgan!

Published by Oakham School on Monday 11th of July 2016

A music scholar from Oakham School has won the UK's leading event for young composers, the BBC Proms Inspire Competition. As well as this outstanding recognition of his musical talent, 16 year old Morgan Overton has won the chance for his composition to feature at the BBC Proms and be broadcast on BBC Radio 3, as well as receiving a much-coveted BBC commission to compose a brand new piece of music! Morgan fought off some fierce competition from across the country to be chosen as one of two winners of the Upper Junior Category (15-16 years). Whilst the judges “were impressed by the high standard across all entries and the wealth of talent and creativity shown”, Morgan stood out and was the unanimous choice of the judges as a winner in this category. Morgan is no stranger to composition success despite his young age, having already twice been a prizewinner in Britten Young Songwriter Competition (in 2013 and 2014), the highly regarded Royal Opera House Fanfare Competition in 2014, selected as one of three finalists in the MMA Amadeus Composition Competition in 2016, and having been commissioned to compose for a professional ensemble! The annual BBC Proms Inspire Young Composers' Competition for 12-18 year olds offers students the chance to have their music performed by professional musicians at the BBC Proms, the world’s largest classical music festival, and broadcast on BBC Radio 3. It’s an opportunity of which most composers can only dream. Morgan’s winning entry (a setting of a Walt Whitman poem, ‘Two Boys’) will now be performed by the Aurora Orchestra, conducted by Nicholas Collon, at the BBC's iconic Radio Theatre at New Broadcasting House on 15 August 2016. Morgan will also receive a commission from the BBC for another work, and he, along with the other competition winners, will be mentored by a professional composer through this incredibly exciting time. “We are all thrilled that Morgan has won one of the greatest accolades in the youth composition world,” says Director of Music, Peter Davis, who also teaches Morgan for composition. “It is a wonderful milestone in his musical life, and it further cements Oakham’s national reputation for compositional excellence.” He continues, “All of our students have the opportunity to experience the wonderfully creative outlet that composition offers, as well as benefiting from the transferable skills it cultivates. It can help pupils to think creatively and to plan strategically in many other aspects of their