Errollyn Wallen is one of the world’s most performed living composers. Her work, which includes 22 operas, orchestral, chamber and vocal works, was played at the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games in 2012 and at Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden and Diamond Jubilees. She was the first black woman to have a piece featured in the BBC Proms and the first woman to receive an Ivor Novello award for Classical Music for her body of work.
Errollyn was born in Belize in Central America and was brought up in North London. The passion for music came early to her - as a baby she sang in her cot - and later she enjoyed free music lessons at her local primary school. She fell in love with the piano at five and went on to have formal lessons four years later.
She studied music and dance at Goldsmith’s, University of London and took a Master’s in composition at King’s College London. After working as a session musician, Errollyn formed her own band Ensemble X whose motto is “we don’t break down barriers in music…we don’t see any”. In 1990 she composed a tribute to Nelson Mandela to mark his release from prison.
In 2020 she was awarded a CBE for services to music in The Queen’s New Year’s Honours.
Errollyn lives and works in a lighthouse at Strathy Point in the north of Scotland.
DISC ONE: Beethoven, Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92, 4th Movement: Allegro Con Brio. Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven and performed by André Previn (piano) with the London Symphony Orchestra
DISC TWO: Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered - Ella Fitzgerald
DISC THREE: L'Oiseau de Feu (The Firebird) (1910 Ballet Score) ('Fairy-tale Ballet In Two Tableaux For Orchestra') Introduction. Composed by Igor Stravinsky and performed by Bergen Philharmonic, conducted by Andrew Litton
DISC FOUR: I Am Sitting In a Room - Alvin Lucier
DISC FIVE: Bach, Concerto for 2 Violins in D Minor BWV 1043 (II movement)
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach and performed by Isaac Stern and Itzhak Perlman (violin) with the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Zubin Mehta
DISC SIX: Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours) - Stevie Wonder
DISC SEVEN: What’s Up Doc? - Errollyn Wallen
DISC EIGHT: Peter Grimes, Op. 33, Act III, Scene 7: Mister Swallow! Mister Swallow! (Mrs Sedley) Composed by Benjamin Britten and performed by Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Catherine Wyn-Rogers and Susan Bickley (Mezzo-soprano), Neal Davies (bass-baritone), Barnaby Rea (bass) and conducted by Edward Gardner
BOOK CHOICE: A collection of Bach sheet music
LUXURY ITEM: Wigmore Hall
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Bach, Concerto for 2 Violins in D Minor BWV 1043 (II movement) Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach and performed by Isaac Stern and Itzhak Perlman (violin) with the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Zubin Mehta
Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Paula McGinley
Desert Island Discs 