Meet the Team

Kirsty Devaney – Founder (she/her)

Role at YCP? I set YCP up when I left the Conservatoire in 2013. I wanted to create a place that young music creators could come to experiment and explore new ideas of any musical genre, in an environment that was supportive and welcoming.

How did you get into composing? I started arranging music for local music groups and friends before composing my own. This lead onto composing my own music during GCSE and A-Level composing.

What do you enjoy composing? A lot of my composing work involves composing with and for specific people, including young and non-professional ensembles. I love the interaction with performers and creating music specifically for them. I enjoy creating unique soundworlds through experimenting with timbre and texture, as well as including aspects of freedom and improvisation in my music.

Joe Cutler – Head of Composition at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (he/him)

Role at YCP? Joe visits each a year to talk to the students about studying composition at Higher Education and what to expect in a composition interview and studying at a music Conservatoire. 

How did you get into composing? Initially I just distracted myself with doodling in the violin and piano when  I should have been practising, and that developed into composing actual piece. Then at University I really began to take it seriously.

What do you love about composing? I love the moment when a piece you’ve been struggling with, suddenly clicks into place!

Mentors

Vinícius (Vinny) (he/him)

How did you get into composing? I am a Brazilian composer currently based in Birmingham, UK. My journey into composing began when I moved to Birmingham in 2017. Although I had learned to play the guitar in Brazil, I had never delved into composing until I participated in the Young Composers Project that same year. It was during this program that I had my first opportunity to explore composition. The experience made me realize that I had greater enjoyment from writing music rather than performing it. This realization led me to pursue composition further, and I eventually earned a place to study Composition at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

How would you describe your composing style/influences? I explore a range of areas within my own work – arrangements/ orchestrations, concert hall music, experimental music and performance, open scores, music for film and videogames, sound and art installations with electronics, songwriting. One of my main influences is Masashi Hamauzu, a Japanese videogame composer. I remember listening to Hamauzu’s music when I was 15 and saying ‘this is what modern music is’. I was particularly drawn to his harmonic sound world, which has greatly influenced and shaped my own compositions, especially within my solo piano writing. 

What are you composing at the moment? Currently, I am engaged in multiple composition projects. One of these projects involves creating orchestrations of works by lesser-known instrumentalist composers, which will be performed by various ensembles. To illustrate, let’s consider Fritz Kreisler, a well-known figure among violinists but relatively unknown to those outside the violin community. My aim with this project is to shed light on these niche composers within a specific instrumental sphere. In addition to that, I am structuring and composing a solo piece for the triangle. This work builds upon the triangle solo from one of my recent orchestral works, expanding and developing it further as a stand-alone composition music.

Jamie-Lou (she/they)

What is your link to YCP? I’m currently a second-year composition student at RBC and I’d love to bring my own singer/songwriter style to the mix of very talented composers on the team.

Why do you love about composing? Composition is a personal and vulnerable process that allows you to express raw emotion in a creative way. It feels safe to allow instruments to tell your story. The journey of taking an idea to a finished piece can be such a rollercoaster. A finished piece is not just a few minutes of music, it’s hours of hard work and dedication. It’s rewarding and full of beauty. 

How did you get into composing? I began writing songs on a third hand ukulele at 14 in my room. I began studying Musical Theatre in college before realising that music was my real passion. I realised I wanted to study composition when I couldn’t turn the music in my head to reality. 

James (He/him) 

How did you get into composing? I was primarily a viola player when I went to study Music at the University of York. There I got involved with the student run new music ensemble and loved playing works by students and contemporary composers. After playing some pieces I thought I’d try making some of my own work, and here I am still going! A lot of my work still involves me performing in it, as I was also heavily involved as an actor in the drama society. These two things have lead me to make several new music theatre works and I find the process of making these works extremely rewarding.  

Why do you love about composing?  Composing for me is music making at it’s most alive! Getting to make music and have fun with ideas and how to play them with your friends is just so exciting!  

What do you find challenging about composing? Finding the best way to get the ideas on to the page, and to communicate my ideas to performers.  

James (he/him)

How did you get into composing? Growing up, I really loved watching movies and listening to my favourite film scores on the way to school. Although I liked the idea of composing my own pieces, I just figured it was an unattainable skill unless I had been practicing the piano from the age of 4 or whatever. During the COVID-19 lockdown, I decided to use my new-found free time to get into composing music. Fast-forward a few years… And I’m studying at a conservatoire. I guess I didn’t need to be playing piano from the age of 4 haha.

What do you love about composing? For me, composing music is a form of communication. There’s various thoughts and feelings I struggle to vocalise on my own. Sometimes I find it easier to convert these ideas into melodic themes. My music is my way of communicating with others.

What are you composing at the moment? I’m writing quite a lot at the moment haha. From a solo piano work for my pianist, to an orchestral composition for The Orchestra of The Swan. I’m also exploring ways to showcase Music and Photography through the Alternative Orchestra. Should be spicy.

Tom (He/him)

How did you get into composing? I’ve fell in love with live music and music-writing through gigging, recording, and jamming with a post-punky indie outfit I started in sixth form college called “Fizzy Milk”. Before this I had written some pieces in school settings but it really came alive for me during these period of my life. 

Why do you love about composing? Collaboration with other musicians. Communication through music with friends/collaborators/audiences. Processing what’s going in my mind and hearing it played back. Nifty stuff. 

How would you describe your composing style/influences? Eclectic. I am massively influenced by dance music, particularly drum and bass and 140 UK dub at the moment. I tend to react strongly to sounds that are new to me so I’ve always been into a variety of experimental music and don’t tend to listen to the same genres for long. Common themes through my work are lofi/under-produced sounds, lyrical focus (but not always) and tongue-in-cheek pop culture references. This list is, however, incomplete, and only relevant to the Tom of 5/10/23. It changes constantly. I tend to just rate cool music really.

Musicians (more info soon!)

Casper – Bassoon (he/him) “Hi, I’m Casper! I am a bassoonist in my first year at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. I enjoy playing a variety of pieces/genres and getting to try new things within my playing. I also enjoy composing and being mainly inspired by film music. I participated in YCP for 2 years, as well as doing a YCP online course during COVID. I look forward to playing some of your compositions during your time at YCP!”

Rosie – Violin (she/her)

Noah – Cornet (he/him) “Hi, my name is Noah and I am a first year studying cornet at RBC from Suffolk. Having taken two years out, not only did I work for a youth music service (that I had played in myself for the longest of time), I have also had a chance to play a variety of different pieces and styles from classical symphonies to contemporary brass band test pieces. I’m most looking forward to learning which mute is YCPs favourite!”

Alex – Piano (he/him)

Helena – Harp (she/her) “I’m a harpist, creative and graduate of RBC currently based in Birmingham. Before joining RBC I hadn’t been exposed to much contemporary or experimental music, however I developed a passion for exploring conceptual and experimental music and performance after becoming friends with George West during our first year of University and performing some of his works for harp. This completely changed the way I perceived music, I suddenly realised that it was limitless and about so much more than playing the correct notes or a conventionally beautiful melody. I began collaborating with composers and I became eager to be a part of the process of creating and performing new works, constantly trying to join composer projects wherever possible. I also became obsessed with performance art and how this could be explored through my music, instrument and craft. As a graduate I am always trying to widen my exposure to new music, art and performance and continue to collaborate with composers and producers.” 

Past Guest Composers/Artists