Cheryl Frances-Hoad

Cheryl Frances-Hoad’s path to becoming a composer was clear from an early age: born in Essex in 1980, she wrote her first pieces at the age of 7 and at 15 won the BBC Young Composers Award. This was followed by ten years of studies at the Yehudi Menuhin School of Music and another four years at Cambridge University. Renowned prizes and numerous commissions marked her further development. Among her most important orchestral works are Katharsis for cello and orchestra (2013) and the oboe concerto A Refusal to Mourn (2000/2015), based on Luther’s chorales. The chamber opera Amy’s Last Dive, premiered in 2012 by Opera North, stands beside ballet scores, three piano trios and numerous piano and choral works. In 2015 Cheryl Frances-Hoad composed the Christmas song Good Day, Sir Christemas for the BBC Music Magazine; that same year she celebrated her Proms debut with the choral work From the Beginning of the World. The 2017 Proms saw the world premiere of her organ piece on Luther’s Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott.