Announcing: Sound Ignited

Be part of the spark that brings new music to life.

Sound Ignited is the London Sinfonietta’s new £75,000 campaign to commission, perform and share new works by eight of today’s most imaginative composers.

Thanks to the generous and visionary support of the Cockayne Foundation, these commissions have started to take shape. Yet there is still a huge financial gap to fill. In an era of rising cost and reduced public funding, the support of private individuals has become urgent.

We are now asking for your help to ensure these new additions to the contemporary music artform are brought successfully to the concert stage. We need to raise £75,000 during 2026 from private donors to help us commission, perform and record these outstanding new works, ensuring that these exciting musical voices of today are heard in the concert hall and beyond.

The new works are planned as follows:

April and November 2025 – Laurence Osborn
November 2025 – Marius Neset
June 2026 – James B Wilson
March 2027 – Lisa Illean
April 2027 – Ailís Ní Ríain
May 2027 – Ben Nobuto
November 2027 – Allison Loggins-Hull
November 2027 – Helen Grime

Creating new contemporary music, supporting composers and progressing the repertoire has been the priority of the London Sinfonietta since its formation in 1968. The range of composers commissioned through Sound Ignited will significantly enhance the artform, providing rich, challenging repertoire for the ensemble, and keep London Sinfonietta's work at the cutting edge of new music.

By joining the Sound Ignited Syndicate, you’ll be part of a dynamic community of supporters, following the composers’ journeys from first sketches through to rehearsals and premieres with our fantastic musicians, and sharing in the excitement of hearing brand-new music for the very first time.

Read more about each of the eight composers below, representing some of the most exciting compositional voices working in our sector today, and learn about what they will create for the London Sinfonietta.

Support Sound Ignited

Help us bring these works to life on stage — to transform creative sparks into sound that will resonate far beyond the concert hall. Donate now by clicking here.

Laurence Osborn

British composer Laurence Osborn creates bold, intricately layered music that explores the voice in all its physical and psychological dimensions. His new work Mute is a cycle of twelve ‘anti-concertos’ reflecting on silenced, altered and disembodied voices - weaving together historical fragments, myths, technology and fragile traces of recorded sound. Following its premiere earlier this year, Mute will be performed at hcmf// in November 2025.

Marius Neset

Norwegian saxophonist and composer Marius Neset joins the London Sinfonietta for Changes - a high-octane collaboration that blurs the lines between jazz improvisation and orchestral precision. Known for his ecstatic, rhythmically charged compositions, Neset’s music fuses the energy of spontaneous performance with the expansive textures of contemporary classical sound.

James B. Wilson

British composer James B. Wilson creates music that tells vivid, human stories through rich orchestral colour and emotional depth. His new work for the London Sinfonietta brings professional and young musicians together side-by-side, celebrating collaboration and shared creativity as part of the Southbank Centre’s 75th anniversary.

Lisa Illean

Australian-born, UK-based composer Lisa Illean writes delicate, immersive music that unfolds with quiet intensity. Following her Sinfonietta Short Tiding, she now creates a major new ensemble work exploring resonance, tuning, and the subtle interplay of sound and silence.

Ailís ní Ríain

Irish composer Ailís ní Ríain crafts bold, multidisciplinary works that fuse music, theatre, and visual storytelling. Her new project FIX combines puppetry, live ensemble, film, and sign language in a darkly playful exploration of disability, repair, and the human condition.

Ben Nobuto

British-Japanese composer Ben Nobuto writes energetic, genre-fluid music that collides classical form with the sounds and rhythms of the digital age. His new work for ensemble continues his playful exploration of attention, technology, and fragmented perception.

Allison Loggins-Hull

American composer, flutist, and producer Allison Loggins-Hull creates vibrant, genre-crossing works rooted in Black music, culture, and storytelling. Her new Afrofuturist-inspired commission for the London Sinfonietta draws on the visionary world of King Britt’s Blacktronika project.

Helen Grime

Helen Grime MBE is one of the UK’s most distinguished composers, drawing inspiration from visual art and literature. Grime’s upcoming commission for the London Sinfonietta, set to premiere in 2027, will continue this interdisciplinary exploration - a new ensemble piece created in collaboration with visual art, featuring slow-moving video as a central element.

Support Sound Ignited

Help us bring these works to life on stage — to transform creative sparks into sound that will resonate far beyond the concert hall. Donate now by clicking here.

100% of your donation will go towards the commission and performance costs for the eight new works and will be allocated by London Sinfonietta according to need. Donation acknowledgements will be shown as part of the Sound Ignited Syndicate. For those individuals donating £1000 or more to this campaign, acknowledgement against a specific work may be requested.

This campaign is kindly supported by Cockayne – Grants for the Arts: a donor advised fund held at The London Community Foundation.

Published: 12 Nov 2025