Freya Waley-Cohen

London-based composer Freya Waley-Cohen sees musical possibilities where others see boundaries. Her cinematic compositions, for both soloists and ensembles, as well as brass and woodwinds, demonstrate nimble rhythmic and melodic patterns that exude whimsy, fantasy, and darkness. Born in 1989 to an American mother and British father, Waley-Cohen started playing violin at age three and began taking composition classes at age 11, which led to her studying at Cambridge and the Royal Academy of Music. She later earned a spot as a Composition Fellow at the Tanglewood Festival in 2016, preceding her 2019 debut at the BBC Proms and that year’s premiere of Changeling, a chamber orchestra work commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Waley-Cohen has continued to expand her repertoire, including the 2022 opera WITCH that premiered during her tenure as 2021-22 composer-in-residence with the London Chamber Orchestra.