Errollyn Wallen succeeds Dame Judith Weir as Master of the King’s Music
The Master of The King's Music is an honorary appointment made by the Sovereign and Errollyn Wallen CBE will be the first black woman to take up the role.
King Charles has appointed Errollyn Wallen CBE as Master of the King’s Music; the first appointment to this role of his reign. Ms Wallen succeeds Dame Judith Weir DBE, who was appointed to the role in July 2014 by Queen Elizabeth II.
Wallen is a Belize-born British composer, pianist and singer-songwriter, and has composed works for the BBC Proms and international events including the COP26 summit and the 2012 Paralympic Games.
The Master of The King’s Music is an honorary appointment made by the Sovereign. The appointment is conferred on a musician of distinction who has added to the musical life of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.
Wallen was commissioned to compose pieces to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden and Diamond Jubilees. Her work for string orchestra, ‘Photography’ (2006) was performed by The Honours of Scotland Ensemble at the Service of Thanksgiving for King Charles and Queen Camilla at St Giles’ Cathedral in July 2023.
Wallen said: "I am thrilled to accept this royal appointment. It will be a privilege and a great honour to serve His Majesty The King, the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. I look forward to championing music and music-making for all.”
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Last year, Wallen ranked in the top 20 for most performed living classical composers and was the first woman to receive an Ivor Novello Award for classical music.
In July, she told BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs she had received hundreds of "very abusive" messages after creating a new version of the Jerusalem hymn played every year at the Proms.
"The work is dedicated to the Windrush generation and also the fact that it's little understood that in the colonies, de facto, we live with the music of England," she said at the time.
"And so in Belize, all these hymns are our hymns, and so I've also put a little, added an extra sentence, mentioned that we Commonwealth people, we sing with you."
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The office of Master of The King’s Music was created in the reign of King Charles I and the Master served as the head of the Sovereign’s band of musicians.
The tradition of a private band formed by the Sovereign ended in 1899 with the creation of a separate Queen’s Band.
Since the reign of King George V the role has carried no fixed duties and often the Master will compose pieces for special Royal occasions such as Royal Weddings, Jubilees and Coronations, should they wish to.
