Honorary Fellow, Errollyn Wallen, appointed as Master of the King’s Music

About Errollyn:

Born in Belize, she was two when her family moved to London, studying music and composition at Goldsmiths University, King’s College London and King’s College, Cambridge.

In 2007 she was made an MBE by Charles, then the Prince of Wales and subsequently a CBE by the Princess Royal in 2021, for her services to music.

Last year, she ranked among the top 20 most performed living classical composers and was the first woman to receive an Ivor Novello Award for classical music.

Her latest work is featured in Desert Island Discs on BBC Radio 4, a popular programme in which famous people are asked to choose and discuss the eight pieces of music or speech they would most like to have with them if they were alone on an island.

She has also composed music for the London 2012 Paralympic Games and was the first black woman to have a work featured in the Proms.

Errollyn was previously commissioned to compose pieces marking the Golden and Diamond Jubilees of Charles’s mother, Queen Elizabeth II. She succeeds Dame Judith Weir, the first woman to hold the role, who was chosen by Queen Elizabeth II in July 2014.

Find out more about Errollyn here

About The Master of King’s Music:

The role was created in the reign of King Charles I, granted by the sovereign to a musician who adds to the musical life of the UK and the Commonwealth.

There are no set duties in the honorary role, but the Master will often compose pieces for special royal occasions such as coronations and royal weddings.

In recent years the role has a fixed term of 10 years and is comparable to the position of Poet Laureate.