The score is available for free download until 31 May 2025.

With a first-class law degree from Durham, and a well-established career as a solicitor with a major London law firm, Nneka Cummins is also emerging as a contemporary and non-classical composer. When did music become a significant factor in their life?

‘I started playing the violin aged eight, and I was really committed, going through all the grades in quite a traditional way. I played in the Liverpool Youth Orchestra and the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, and also took saxophone as a second instrument. Piano would probably have been more useful, but sax exposes you to different styles and a more varied repertoire.’ Cummins remembers improvising frequently and an interest in composing stemmed from that. Later, while reading law, learning to use the digital audio workstation Logic Pro led to experimentation with electronic music creation. ‘I was collaborating with singer-songwriters and wrote a few short film scores.’

Although self-taught in composition at that point, Cummins won a place on the Master’s course at Trinity Laban in 2020, subsequently receiving the Director’s Award for excellence for their portfolio in 2021. ‘I did have offers from Birmingham and Guildhall, but my life was in London and Guildhall’s offer was for straight electronics.’ Cummins had a sense that at Trinity they would get the chance to explore electronic composition thoroughly while also being immersed in acoustic instruments. Cummins studied composition with a varied collection of tutors including Errollyn Wallen CBE (this year appointed Master of the King’s Music). ‘Errollyn was so supportive and reassuring, which was helpful as I had come to studies via a less traditional musical path.’ Wallen encouraged Cummins to think about flow and line in detail; ‘I feel like I always have Errollyn’s voice in my head when I write.’

The diverse options for musical research at Trinity led Cummins to consider their mixed Nigerian and Bahamian heritage. ‘I was thinking about groove in classical music and listening to African pianism. I also had sessions with a tutor in Nigeria called Christian Onyeji, which helped develop my understanding of composing western classical music influenced by features of Nigerian indigenous music.’

While studying at Trinity Laban, Cummins won the Liverpool Philharmonic Rushworth Composition Prize, which provides workshops, masterclasses and mentoring. ‘It was an incredible opportunity very early on, but also rather daunting. One-to-one workshops on bassoon, trombone and percussion I found particularly helpful, plus mentoring from Stephen Pratt.’ That supervision from the Liverpool Philharmonic culminated in a chamber work Metal Tapestry for Ensemble 10:10. There is an enthralling quality to the writing in Cummins’ other pieces too. Varied instrumental colours and textures, a driving rhythmic sense which manages to be both minimalistic and expansive: the increasing use of string and harp glissandi underpinned by insistent percussion as the piece builds to its conclusion. How did Cummins conceive this work and what did they learn from writing it? ‘One of my main takeaways was orchestration – being able to communicate the drama, and that sometimes you have to go over the top in order for the fun and nuance to come through. I was also thinking about metallicism, how to bring that to every part, and make intense colours. I enjoy writing colourful music generally, and this piece was like that on steroids!’

Graduating from Trinity Laban, during the Sound and Music New Voices scheme, not only produced three electroacoustic pieces but also gave Cummins an insight into budgeting, planning, releasing and generally getting new work into the world. After showcasing music at the Southbank this year, Cummins is a non-classical artist in residence, which includes creating a work for electronics and orchestra to be premiered in March 2025.

Previous New Music composers Nathan James Dearden and Vivek Haria recently spoke on a panel at this year’s Three Choirs Festival, reflecting on what happens after the composers’ schemes have finished. ‘I think that is a major problem for new composers. There are lots of resources at the bottom of the ladder. How you survive long-term and attract larger commissions that will pay is uncertain.’

Cummins was fortunate to have been in time to write for the Psappha ‘composing for’ scheme before that ensemble had to close. The piece Meandering Wings for flute and harp is evocative of nature and vibrant in its harmonies. How did they go about creating colour and texture, especially with just two instruments? ‘For colour, you can achieve a lot by really pushing the range of the instruments. I also used some extended techniques, especially the flute overblowing towards the end. I always try to learn something new in each piece and Lauren Scott (harp) and Conrad Marshall (flute) were so generous in helping us to experiment.’

Cummins talks about their music often being ‘groove-based’ and there is this driving force which encapsulates more than simply rhythmic energy… ‘Actually it’s often the rhythms that I write first. For me, melody is sometimes inspired by rhythm whereas for many composers it’s the other way around.’ Is there an obvious process to their composing a new work? ‘It’s different depending on what I’m writing; I follow my intuition. So in the early stages, I’m looking for a seed of an idea that excites me enough to want to write more. Composing makes me think about life in terms of seeing potential in ideas and giving them time and the opportunity to flourish. This sometimes happens immediately, in the context of the finished piece or on reimagining ideas at a later date.’

Composers can find solace and motivation through collaboration with others – either fellow musicians or perhaps a librettist or director. ‘I feel as though I haven’t collaborated nearly enough yet! I enjoy working with other musicians, performers with such skill in their instruments, including clarinettist Alex Lyon, since we were both at Trinity. It’s really useful getting her to test what I write – Do the lines flow? I’d rather change the notes and make it something that’s going to sound seamless.’

Awake, Cummins’ New Music piece for eight-part choir, explores a dream-state and the shift between sleep and consciousness. Its soundworld is enchanting and draws the listener in from the very start. A preface to the score describes the music: ‘Awake is about the importance of bringing dreams beyond the imagination into lived reality. This is reflected in layered and shifting harmonies that oscillate between the flowing vocal lines that are often descending in direction, as if the dreams are grounding to Earth.’ Being able to score for eight voices is always inviting. What can Cummins say about the musical language here and how shape and form are handled in what could easily become an amorphous entity?

‘I knew that I didn’t want to use all eight parts at all times; I wanted to ease into that full choral texture. It also contains a call-and-response quality, which is a technique that I enjoy using in my rhythmic pieces. This is the first piece to which I’ve set my own lyrics.’ What came first? ‘I knew the theme, and I had phrases in mind, and I have tried to let the music emphasise the meaning of the words.’ As well as its expressivity, as with all good choral writing each vocal line is naturally singable. What can its composer add by way of encouragement to future performers? ‘To embody the sense of dreaming… an expansive wonder in space… and just to revel in the harmonies.’

Download the score

The score for Awake, commissioned by Choir & Organ in partnership with The Marian Consort, is available to download and perform until 28 February 2024.

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