Errollyn Wallen CBE

Errollyn Wallen CBE was born in Belize before moving to the UK at the age of two. She is a composer, pianist and singer-songwriter who studied music and composition at Goldsmiths, King’s College London and King’s College, Cambridge. Her work includes 22 operas and a range of orchestral, chamber and vocal compositions. Errollyn was commissioned to compose pieces to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden and Diamond Jubilees. She has also composed works for the BBC Proms and other international events including the COP26 summit and the 2012 Paralympic Games. In 2023 she was ranked among the Top 20 most performed living classical composers. Errollyn was the first black woman to have a work featured in the Proms and the first woman to receive an Ivor Novello award for Classical Music for her body of work. In 2024, His Majesty The King appointed Errollyn as Master of the King’s Music, the first appointment to this role under his reign. Her book Becoming a Composer was published by Faber in November 2023.