PRS Foundation’s Composers’ Fund recipients revealed
Florence Lockheart
Thursday, July 27, 2023
Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres, Daniel Kidane and Rushil Ranjan will receive grant support of up to £15,000
UK funding charity PRS Foundation has today revealed the three composers who will benefit from its Composers’ Fund. Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres, Daniel Kidane and Rushil Ranjan will each receive a grant of up to £15,000 to support the creation of a specific project.
Film composer and multi-instrumentalist Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres has received her grant to support the creation of her third album, while Daniel Kidane is being supported by PRS Foundation to compose his debut opera for Shadwell Opera in 2024. Rushil Ranjan receives his grant to allow him to go on tour and perform his new work, Shikwa, an interpretation of Allama Muhammed Iqbal’s Urdu poem, Shikwa, in collaboration with Manchester Camerata and Indian classical singer Abi Sampa.
PRS Foundation grants and programmes manager Elizabeth Sills said: ‘This targeted and timely support, which provides direct grants to composers who are ready to develop their careers to the next level, remains incredibly vital in the today’s uncertain times. I look forward to following the progress of each of the composers and their exciting new music projects.’
Created in 2016, the Composers’ Fund is the result of PRS Foundation’s 2014 research exploring the challenges met by composers when ‘controlling their career direction’ which included limited access to funding, low commission fees and a decrease in commissioning opportunities as well as a lack of support structure, pressurised working conditions.
The next round of applications for Composers’ Fund support opens in September and will close on 9 October. The Fund offers grants to support the creation of projects that may not be possible through traditional commissioning models. So far, the grant has supported composers by not only funding commissions, recordings, performances, collaborations and promotion, but also stepping in to support residencies, sabbaticals and childcare costs.
Kidane said: ‘In today's austere funding climate, PRS Foundation continues to be a beacon for composers and a force for good in assisting creatives at crucial points in their careers.’
