Sebastian Johnson wins lord mayor’s composition prize

Norwich-born composer Sebastian Johnson has been awarded the Lord Mayor’s Composition Prize. Johnson’s winning setting of setting of the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis for choir and organ was premiered last week by the Choir and organist of City of London church St Stephen’s Walbrook as part of a celebratory concert attended Johnson and the Lord Mayor of London.

As well as the composition premiere, Johnson receives a cash prize of £5,000. Johnson was a Bass Choral Scholar in Norwich Cathedral before gaining his undergraduate and masters degrees at King’s College London. Now 25 years old, he is a freelance composer, typesetter and arranger at music publisher Stainer & Bell.

Administered and funded by the Worshipful Company of Musicians, the biennial Lord Mayor’s Composition Prize was launched in 2011 to support contemporary composers under the age of 35. The composition genre, theme and instrumentation changes with each iteration of the competition but, according to competition rules, every submission must not exceed ‘the ability of a good parish church choir and organist’.

The Worshipful Company of Musicians provides 64 scholarships, awards and prizes totaling around approximately £450,000 each year to support emerging talent. Prizewinners join the Company’s young artists, with the opportunity to participate in an extensive outreach programme, bringing music to inner London schools with limited music provision.