Royal College of Music announces Michael Finnissy, Colin Matthews, Errollyn Wallen and Judith Weir as International Visiting Artists
Wednesday 23 September 2026
The Royal College of Music (RCM) is delighted to welcome Michael Finnissy and Judith Weir to the Composition Faculty as International Visiting Artists from September 2026, along with Colin Matthews and Errollyn Wallen.
Jonathan Cole, Chair and Head of Composition at the Royal College of Music, commented: 'I'm thrilled that these four distinguished composers will be joining our Composition team at the RCM. Each brings with them years of experience and wisdom and I know our students will benefit enormously from their presence.'
Michael Finnissy, an alumnus of the Royal College of Music, is a prolific composer, having featured in festivals around the world – including the Huddersfield, Bath and Almedia Festivals in the UK, Harvard’s Gay and Lesbian Caucus and at the Summer Institute of Contemporary Performance Practice in the New England Conservatory. He was appointed President of the International Society for Contemporary Music in 1990, was re-elected in 1993, and later became an honorary member in 1998.
Colin Matthews has worked with world-leading orchestras, including as the Halle’s Composer Emeritus and Associate Composer with the London Symphony Orchestra. His works range from solo piano music to string quartets as well as vocal and orchestral works. He founded NMC Recordings, co-founded the Aldeburgh Composition Course and is Executive Administrator of the Holst Foundation.
Errollyn Wallen is a multi-award-winning Belize-born British composer and was appointed Master of the King’s Music in August 2024. She has been named as one of the world’s top twenty most performed living classical composers, with a large catalogue of orchestral, chamber and vocal works, as well as over 20 operas, and has written for the First and Last Night of the Proms and the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilees.
One of Britain’s most distinguished composers, Judith Weir served as Master of the Queen’s Music, then Master of the King’s Music from 2014–24 and was awarded a Damehood in 2024 for her services to music. She has composed several operas for organisations including English National Opera, Scottish Opera and Kent Opera, and orchestral music for the BBC Symphony, London Philharmonic and Boston Symphony Orchestras.
Learn more about studying in the Composition Faculty at the Royal College of Music.
Main image: Michael Finnissy (credit Ben Britton), Colin Matthews, Errollyn Wallen and Judith Weir
