Pictured: Artistic Director Emma Oliver-Trend (bottom left), Lucy Hale (middle) and National Orchestra for All members
It is with great sadness that we must share the news that 26-year-old Lucy Hale, National Orchestra for All’s former Young Composer-in-Residence, has died.
Born in 1994, the gifted musician inspired fans of orchestral music with her captivating compositions as well as being a role model for others living with disability.
NOFA’s Programme Manager, Steven Smith, said: “It was an absolute pleasure working with Lucy and we were thrilled to have her as our Young Composer-in-Residence, chosen by our NOFA Ambassadors. Lucy was so excited for this opportunity and gave us boundless enthusiasm, creativity and good humour in return – her emails always made us smile as well as meeting her in person!
“It was fantastic to see her work come to fruition during our course in Liverpool at the end of 2019 and then be able to present it as an online piece in 2020. This is such a sad loss on so many levels and our thoughts are with her family and friends at this difficult time. We are honoured to have been given the opportunity to work with Lucy and will cherish the music she made with our young people.”
Read more: National Orchestra for All appoints Lucy Hale as inaugural Young Composer-in-Residence >
Last year, Lucy worked closely with NOFA’s diverse ensemble of 100 young musicians to create ‘Stories of Silk’ – specially written for NOFA’s 2019-2020 season, My Roots, Our Routes, exploring music inspired and influenced by human migrations and journeys (watch video below).
Written in two movements, the première of the spectacular piece – which aims to portray land and sea along the Silk Road – had originally been scheduled to take place at LSO St Luke’s in London last April, but was cancelled following the coronavirus outbreak and instead performed digitally.
Orchestra for All’s Artistic Director, Emma Oliver-Trend, said: “I am so saddened to hear of Lucy's death. She really shone out as an inventive and stylish composer and leaves behind some fabulous music; evocative and sonorous – and also reflecting her wonderfully playful personality. She was very recently working on an arrangement for our Modulo Programme too, and we were looking forward to Lucy continuing to create music with and for us.
“Lucy loved collaborating and was open and generous throughout our creative process. She was simply overflowing with ideas and brought such a great energy and spirit to the project. Her music will be with us forever and we are so lucky to have been able to share it with her. We have lost a truly wonderful musician and a lovely (and very witty) lady!”
Lucy was also a keen advocate of diversity and inclusion, always keen to share her thoughts on social media. In a recent series of Twitter posts, she commented:
Young British composer, Lucy Hale, joins NOFA Programme Manager Steven Smith and Artistic Director Emma Oliver-Trend at Orchestras for All
Originally from London, Lucy attended the Royal College of Music Junior Department as a principal study composer.
After completing her studies for a Master of Music in Composition at the Royal Northern College of Music in 2017, she was appointed as inaugural Young Composer-in-Association with BSO Resound, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra’s disabled-led ensemble.
Alongside ‘Stories of Silk’, Lucy’s striking compositions include ‘Zeta’, ‘To Run With The Tigers’ and dramatic orchestral masterpiece, ‘Against the Tide’.
NOFA’s former Young Composer-in-Residence Lucy Hale (pictured middle) joins the 100 young musicians of NOFA in November 2019
Speaking about her involvement with NOFA at the time, Lucy commented: “Music has had a huge positive impact on my life and as a disabled person, it has not always been easy for me to access. I believe passionately in OFA’s mission to bring high quality musical experiences to young people in challenging circumstances.
“I’m looking forward to exploring a fascinating subject and crafting a new piece with and for a diverse group of committed and enthusiastic young people and, I hope, playing a small part in showing those young people that music is for everyone.”
On behalf of everyone at Orchestras for All, our thoughts and sincerest condolences are with Lucy’s family, friends and all whose lives were touched by her incredible musical talent and influence.
If you’ve been affected by this story and would like to speak with a member of our team, please call us on 0207 267 4141.
