Three Choirs Festival

The Three Choirs Festival has appointed Grace-Evangeline Mason as the new Associate Composer from 2027 to 2029. A major composer development programme, the residency was launched last year and each appointment spans three editions of the Three Choirs Festival. Gavin Higgins was appointed as the inaugural Associate Composer beginning at the 2026 Festival in Gloucester. Continuing the Festival’s long-standing commitment to new music, the programme deepens the Festival’s historic ties with living composers, placing long-term creative collaboration at the heart of the Festival in the lead-up to its 300th anniversary in 2028, and beyond

Grace-Evangeline Mason’s orchestral work The Imagined Forest (2021) opened the 2024 Three Choirs Festival in Worcester, with the resident orchestra, the Philharmonia, conducted by Samuel Hudson, alongside Holst’s Hymn of Jesus and Stanford’s Stabat Mater. Born and raised in the West Midlands, Grace is a British composer of orchestral, chamber, choral, electronic and operatic music, named as the ‘Face to Watch’ for Classical Music in The Times 2020 Calendar of the Arts. Her solo organ piece Where the Birds Sing was performed at Worcester Cathedral by organists Martyn Rawles and Nicholas Freestone.

Grace says, “I am elated to be the next Associate Composer of the Three Choirs Festival. Growing up in the West Midlands and knowing the incredible legacy of the Festival, particularly its long and rich history of hosting the premieres of so many important works by composers that I greatly admire, it feels very special to be able to deepen my relationship with the Festival in this way. I am looking forward to sharing music, both old and new, with the exceptional audiences of the Festival, and being involved in the Festival’s inspiring community over the coming years.”

David Francis, CEO, says, “Grace’s music was introduced to the Three Choirs Festival in 2024 when ‘The Imagined Forest’ was performed in Worcester. That work left a significant impression, so when thinking about our next Associate Composer the Artistic Directors were unanimous in their view that we should approach Grace. We are delighted that Grace has accepted our invitation; we believe her musical language and beautifully crafted style will resonate well with our audiences, artists and choirs. Grace has a broad portfolio of compositions which includes works for choir and chamber orchestra, as well as choral works and arrangements. A key part of this Associate Composer programme is to build a relationship between the composer and the audience, so Grace’s enthusiasm to get to know our community and to share her musical journey is very welcome. We are all looking forward to the creative results of this association over the next three years.”