The Ivors Academy Composer Summit 2026

A packed day of inspiring conversations, industry insights and practical advice. Hear from leading composers and industry experts on creativity, career development, rights and making a living from music.

The Ivors Academy Composer Summit 2026

Empowering composers across all genres.

The Ivors Academy Composer Summit is a new annual event that empowers composers working across all genres and disciplines with practical knowledge, creative inspiration and meaningful connections.

Through conversations, panels and practical sessions, the Composer Summit explores the future of composition and music-making, from creative voice, authorship and artistic practice to copyright, technology, AI and building a sustainable career.

With our newest Fellow Ludovico Einaudi confirmed as the opening keynote speaker, the Summit will bring together composers working across orchestral, chamber and choral music, jazz, electronic music, film, television, video games and interdisciplinary performance.

For composers at every stage of their careers, the Composer Summit is a place to develop your craft, exchange ideas, discover new perspectives and connect with fellow composers and influential figures from across music, culture and the creative industries.

All Summit sessions will be recorded and made available to members after the event. The knowledge and expertise shared throughout the Summit will also help shape and expand our Knowledge Toolkit, ensuring practical guidance remains available year-round to all Academy members, including those on our free Discovery membership.

Presented in association with BMI, The Ivors Academy Composer Summit is a key moment in Ivors Composer Week, celebrating the breadth and importance of contemporary composition across all genres and disciplines.

Tickets

Core or Professional member £57.50 + VAT
Discovery member £79 + VAT
Friend of The Ivors Academy £99 + VAT
Industry executive £149 + VAT

Composer aged 18+? Become a free Discovery member to book a discounted ticket.

Already a Discovery member? Upgrade to save over £20 on your ticket and access more benefits including automatic insurance, events, professional advice and discounts that can pay for your membership subscription and more.

Are you an industry executive? Become a Friend of The Ivors Academy to save £50, support our mission and get early access to other events throughout the year.

Included with your ticket

Access to all keynote conversations, main auditorium and breakout sessions
Opportunities to connect with fellow composers, speakers and leading figures from across music and culture
Refreshments throughout the day
Networking lunch and drinks reception

Financial support

We are committed to making the Composer Summit as accessible as possible. If financial circumstances may prevent you from attending, please email [email protected] to discuss ticket support options with our team. Ticket support is available to members of The Ivors Academy, including those on our free Discovery tier.

Timings

09:00 Doors
19:50 - 17:30 The Ivors Academy Composer Summit
17:30 Drinks reception

Times may be subject to change, all attendees will be notified.

Questions?

Contact [email protected]

Details

The Ivors Academy Composer Summit 2026

Date
18 Nov 2026

Time
09:00 - 18:30

Address

The Royal Institution of Great Britain
21 Albemarle St
London
W1S 4BS

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Programme

Registration

09:00 – 09:50

Welcome

09:50 – 10:00

Lord Neri, CEO of The Ivors Academy, opens the Composer Summit, setting the scene for a day of connection, inspiration and practical insights to empower composers and advance their careers and craft.

Lord Neri

CEO, The Ivors Academy

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Getting in and getting on

First breaks and the decisions that shape careers

10:00 – 10:25

Many composers’ careers started with an unexpected opportunity, an early decision or someone who backed them before they were established. Two leading composers reflect on their first breaks and the decisions that shaped their careers. What would they do differently, what have they learned and what does it take to keep going?

Anne Chmelewsky

Stage and screen composer and writer

Ludovico Einaudi

Pioneering composer and newest Fellow of The Ivors Academy

Are development schemes and residencies working?

10:25 – 10:50

For many composers, the first opportunity comes from a scheme, residency, mentoring programme or early commission. But what makes a programme valuable? We explore what support is available, what is missing, how composers can make the most of it, and what they should be asking of the organisations that run it.

Nneka Cummins

Ivor Novello Award-winning composer

Dame Kathryn McDowell

Advisor on international arts and culture and former MD of the London Symphony Orchestra

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Vanessa Reed

Chief Executive of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic

How to build a career without industry connections

10:50 – 11:10

There is no single route into a composing career, and the people who control access to opportunities are not always easy to identify. Explore how composers gain access to commissions, ensembles and projects, who makes the decisions, and how to open doors, build relationships and progress when the obvious paths are closed or don’t exist.

Janine Irons OBE

CEO and Co-Founder of the award-winning Tomorrow’s Warriors

Orphy Robinson

Award-winning multi-instrumentalist and Board director of The Ivors Academy

Renell Shaw

Ivor Novello Award-winning composer and Board Director of The Ivors Academy

Break

11:10 – 11:30

Owning your work

Keeping ownership of your music as your career grows

11:30 – 11:50

As a composer’s career grows, holding on to their work means navigating relationships with commissioners, broadcasters, publishers and labels. Explore how composers can protect their authorship, ownership and creative independence across concert, broadcast and recorded work, what to ask for at the outset, and how to handle the conversation when a commissioner’s needs differ from their own.

Sam Jackson

Controller at BBC Radio 3 and BBC Proms

Debbie Wiseman OBE

Ivor Novello Award-winning composer and conductor

Fair Score: what you give up in buyouts and work-for-hire deals

11:50 – 12:15

Buyouts and work-for-hire deals swap a commissioning fee and royalties for a one-off payment, and composers are often pushed into them. Explore what that costs over a career, what a fair deal looks like, who should decide how much of their rights a composer gives away, and how to negotiate a buyout offer.

Aisling Brouwer

Film and television composer and member of The Ivors Academy Media Council

Harriet Moss

Commercial Rights Director at Faber Music

Bankey Ojo

Film composer and sound designer

Co-composing as an alternative to ghostwriting

12:15 – 12:40

Ghostwriting leaves composers uncredited for music they have created. This session makes the case for co-composing as an alternative. Explore how collaborative composing arrangements work, how credit, fees and royalties should be shared, and what composers should ask before agreeing to write alongside someone else.

Anne Nikitin

Ivor Novello-nominated and Emmy Award-winning composer for film and television

Jessica Jones

BAFTA Award-winning composer for film and television

Sheridan Tongue

Emmy Award-winning composer for film and television

BMI Fireside Chat

Morgan Kibby and David Arnold in conversation

12:40 – 13:00

Composers Morgan Kibby and David Arnold talk about the craft, business and day-to-day of composition, looking at how their compositions take shape, what they bring to their creative process, and how their careers have developed over time.

Morgan Kibby

Award-winning film and television composer and multi-platinum songwriter

David Arnold

Fellow of The Ivors Academy and award-winning composer for film and television

Lunch

13:00 – 14:00

Keeping composers in the loop

Bringing composition into games and screen projects from the start

14:00 – 14:20

What happens when composers are involved from the beginning of a creative project rather than brought in late? Explore how composers can secure early collaboration in screen and games projects, where music and design depend closely on each other, what it changes in the finished work, and what to say to developers and directors.

Nainita Desai

Emmy, RTS Award winning and BIFA, Ivor Novello nominated composer for film, television and games

Luke Hebblethwaite

Freelance games and creative industries consultant

How composers and music supervisors work together across a long-running series

14:20 – 14:45

What does it take to sustain a creative partnership across six seasons of Apple TV’s Slow Horses? Explore how trust is built between composer and music supervisor, how decisions get made under tight deadlines, how a composer keeps a distinct voice, and what to ask for at the start of a long collaboration.

Pablo Clements

Ivor Novello, BAFTA and Emmy-nominated composer, Toydrum

Catherine Grieves

Award-winning music supervisor at 45RPM Music Supervision Ltd

James Griffiths

Ivor Novello, BAFTA and Emmy-nominated composer, Toydrum

Music, not training data: why AI training needs consent and a licence

14:45 – 15:05

AI training requires consent and a licence, and all too often composers’ music is being used to train AI systems with neither in place. Explore what fair AI licensing should look like, how the case is being made to government and the AI industry, and what composers can ask of the companies using their work.

Hayleigh Bosher

Creative industries law and policy expert

Ed Newton Rex

Founder and CEO of Fairly Trained

BMI Fireside Chat

Alex Humphreys in conversation with Stephen Barton

15:05 – 15:25

Stephen Barton

Ivor Novello Award-winning composer for film, television and video games

Alex Humphreys

BBC presenter, journalist, author and creator of Game Tracks

Break

15:25 – 15:50

The business of composition

Managing the business of a busy composing career

15:50 – 16:10

A composing career is also a business, and some of the most important decisions stay with the composer. From choosing projects and building a team to protecting their interests and planning for the future, we explore how those decisions are made and the lessons composers wish they had learned sooner.

Adiescar Chase

Film and television composer and multi-instrumentalist

Tom Howe

Emmy-nominated, multi-award-winning composer for film and television

New routes for classical composers: streaming, film, games and live formats

16:10 – 16:35

Streaming, film, games and innovative live formats are creating new routes for classical composers beyond the traditional commission. Explore how new formats can create work, how composers reach new audiences, how to say yes without compromising the music, and what composers should expect to have a say in.

Lorna Aizlewood

Strategic and Business Affairs Consultant at Lorna Aizlewood Musique & Arts

Roxanna Panufnik OBE

Ivor Novello Award-winning composer of opera, orchestral, chamber and choral music

Oliver Zeffman

Acclaimed conductor and curator of Classical Pride

Composer income today: royalties, collecting societies and new pressures

16:35 – 16:55

With thin streaming returns, buyouts and AI putting pressure on composers’ livelihoods, what does a sustainable career look like today? Explore where composers’ income comes from, the part royalties and collecting societies still play, and what composers can rely on and should expect from the organisations that collect on their behalf.

Emily Howard

Award-winning composer and Board Director of The Ivors Academy

Daniel Lewis

Classical Relationship Manager at PRS for Music

Dru Masters

BAFTA and RTS Award-winning composer and Board Director of The Ivors Academy

In conversation: Tom Gray and Baroness Kidron

16:55 – 17:20

As government and Parliament continue to debate how AI companies can use creative work, what is at stake for composers and songwriters? Ivors Academy Chair Tom Gray and crossbench peer and film director Beeban Kidron explore where the law stands, how the creative industries are making their case, and what comes next.

Baroness Beeban Kidron

Crossbench Peer, House of Lords

Tom Gray

Chair of The Ivors Academy

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