UCL x BBC Young Composers

Composing for the Climate exhibition film

The BBC collaborated with fellow East Bank partners UCL East on their BBC Young Composer 2023 programme. Over nine months, six young people were mentored by two British composers, Gavin Higgins and Helen Grime, to create a piece for the BBC Concert Orchestra. The initial brief was to write work inspired by Luke Jerram’s artwork Gaia, a permanent art installation at the UCL East Marshgate building. They also met with UCL East’s People and Nature Lab and the Biome Health Project to listen to soundscapes from the natural world around the globe and were encouraged to think about creativity and the climate.

As part of the collaboration an audio-visual installation for 11-18 years olds ran at UCL East during November 2024 focusing on science and creativity. Composing for the Climate included all six pieces played out on the IKO 3D audio speaker alongside this film exploring the process of composing. The BBC Young Composer 2023 winners are Avram Harris, Atharv Gupta, Advaith Jagannath, Pascal Bachmann, Reese Carly Manglicmot and Jamie Smith.

With thanks to Adrian White for additional camera work.