Errollyn Wallen CBE is a multi award-winning Belize-born British composer, appointed Master of the King’s Music in August 2024. She has been named as one of the world’s top twenty most performed living classical composers. Her output includes over twenty operas and a large catalogue of orchestral, chamber and vocal works, which are performed and broadcast throughout the world. She has composed for the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilees, the Last Night of the Proms and BBC Radio 3 featured her as Composer of the Week. She is currently working on a new opera which will premiere at Aldeburgh in 2026. Recent works include a Violin Concerto for Philippe Quint which has been performed both in Europe and the USA, Parade for Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, Way of My Dreaming Heart for the Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey and The Elements for the First Night of the BBC Proms. In 2025 a recording of the Violin Concerto was released by Pentatone and Errollyn Wallen: Orchestral Works on the Resonus label. Errollyn Wallen’s book, Becoming a Composer, published by Faber in 2023, has been translated into Spanish and recently released in paperback. Her recordings have travelled 7.84 million kilometers in space, completing 186 orbits around the Earth on NASA’s STS-115 mission.
“This superb collection feels apt for a composer who has had quite the year – appointed Master of the King’s Music and enjoying a remarkable run of premieres. Here, we’re treated to an assortment of works composed over 20 years – and they show an artist truly in command of her craft. In the 12 bubbling movements of Dances for Orchestra, we see Wallen’s refusal to be part of a set style as vignettes give way to different moods. Moments of darkness are quickly cast aside to frenzied joy. The recording’s clarity ensures that every section is heard to full effect….This is orchestral writing with real gumption, brought to life by the BBC Concert Orchestra’s bravado and excitement….” BBC Music Magazine
“Since last summer, British composer Errollyn Wallen has been able to call herself Master of the King’s Music. This prestigious post at Windsor Court is recognition for her brilliant career. Today, her new Violin Concerto is also released by the Pentatone label, but at Resonus they look back on more than two decades of intriguing orchestral writing with an anthology. Yet, after a first listen, Wallen’s scores seem to contain a high dose of pomp and circumstance, with a sturdy instrumentation and melodies that are easy on the ears. But behind this seemingly simplistic façade lies a fascinating inner workings where parts interact with each other in surprising ways. The composer overwhelms you with unexpected colour combinations and it mainly expresses a broad musical inspiration – from the Handel reworking in ‘Dance X’, to samba and spirituals to a quote from ‘Happy Birthday’. In that abundant melting pot, she fortunately never loses her infectious drive. De Standaard (Belguim