by Charles Gladden
BELIZE CITY, Mon. Aug. 26, 2024
Belizean-born musical composer, Errollyn Wallen has become the first Black woman to be appointed Master of the King’s Music—an appointment that was made by King Charles.
“I am thrilled to accept this royal appointment … I look forward to championing music and music-making for all,” she told British reporters.
Master of the King’s Music is a post in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. The holder of the post originally served the monarch of England, directing the court orchestra and composing or commissioning music as required.
Persons holding the position are called upon to compose pieces for special royal occasions, such as royal weddings, jubilees, and coronations.
Wallen was born in Belize in 1958 and relocated to the UK with her family when she was two years old, then went on to pursue music and composition at Goldsmiths, King’s College London, and King’s College, Cambridge. Wallen’s work comprises 22 operas, and counting, as well as numerous concertos, symphonies, song cycles and chamber works.
She performed at the late Queen Elizabeth’s Golden and Diamond Jubilees and the 2012 Paralympic Games.
In 1998, Wallen performed her first orchestral commission, a concerto for percussion and orchestra, at the Proms, which was the first time a Black woman performed at the festival since it began in 1895. She was awarded an MBE in 2007, and a CBE in 2020.
Last year, Wallen was ranked among the top 20 most performed living classical composers, and was the first woman to receive an Ivor Novello Award for classical music.
The role is fixed for ten years.