The London Philharmonic Welcomes New Composer-in-Residence

Sir George Benjamin will assume the role as of September 2025

The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) has announced the British composer Sir George Benjamin as its new Composer-in-Residence. He will succeed Tania León in the role in September 2025.

In his new role as LPO Composer-in-Residence, Benjamin will participate in rehearsals and performances of his music, and in the next concert season, will conduct an LPO concert featuring one of his works. 

Additionally, he will mentor and be involved in the selection of the five participants chosen each year for the LPO Young Composers program, which supports emerging orchestral composers and offers them opportunities to write for the LPO players. 

The 2025/26 season will mark 20 years of the program, for which Benjamin will also help create the new program brief, mentoring sessions, detailed feedback in a mid-year workshop with the composers and ensemble, as well as the preparations for the annual final Debut Sounds concert. 

A leading figure in contemporary classical music, Benjamin studied with Olivier Messiaen at the Paris Conservatoire and with Alexander Goehr at King’s College, Cambridge. 

His international career was launched when his work Ringed by the Flat Horizon featured at the BBC Proms in 1980 when he was just 20 years old. 

Benjamin’s music has since been performed by acclaimed conductors and orchestras worldwide, and his opera collaborations with playwright Martin Crimp have created modern classics in the repertory — his most recent opera Picture a day like this premiered at the 2023 Aix-en-Provence Festival.

He has served as the Henry Purcell Professor of Composition at King’s College London since 2001. Among his many awards include a knighthood in 2017 and the 2023 Ernst von Siemens Music Prize.

“What a delight it was for me to hear the LPO give a terrific performance of Sudden Time — a piece of mine which they premiered in 1993 — under Edward Gardner at the Royal Festival Hall a couple of years ago,” Benjamin said in the press release. “I now hugely look forward to collaborating with this illustrious orchestra and their wonderful Principal Conductor over the seasons ahead, as well as playing a role in their renowned Young Composers program.”

“The appointment of George Benjamin as Composer-in-Residence with the LPO is a thrilling moment, reaffirming the orchestra’s commitment to championing the very best of contemporary music,” added LPO’s Artistic Director Elena Dubinets. “His profound artistry, visionary creativity, and ability to craft works of striking emotional depth promise to inspire not only the musicians of the LPO but also audiences around the globe. I am also excited that a large number of the LPO Young Composers will benefit from studying under his guidance.”