In Autumn 2024 and Summer 2025, Britten Pears Arts held the Composition & Performance course as part of the Britten Pears Young Artist Programme (BPYAP). One of the young artists, Liucilė Vilimaitė, has written about her experience and what taking part in the programme has meant to her:

June 20, 2025, Snape Maltings. A gorgeous summer’s day to be celebrating the highest quality music and art at the Aldeburgh Festival. As part of the festival, our Britten Pears Young Artists 2024–2025 Composition and Performance Course held its grand final concert. How thrilling it was to hear the dedicated musicians of the course perform such a wonderful programme of contemporary music – among which was a piece I had the privilege of writing during this intense yet rewarding year. I will cherish the memory of that day, as well as the whole BPYAP experience, for a very long time.

How did it all come to that point?

Let me start at the beginning.
Being both a composer and a classically trained harpist, I have always felt the duality of my artistic personality: the desire to explore and experience both performance and the world of musical creation. For most of my life I have been primarily a performer (also enthusiastically performing contemporary music in unusual ensemble settings, such as a six harps ensemble) – and I studied mainly as a harpist in the Netherlands, composing only alongside those studies.

In my final year, I somehow lost my spark for composition, perhaps due to the heavy workload of completing my degree. For a while I was unable to write anything at all, but I truly wanted to return to and rediscover the art of music creation. Then, one day, I had the chance to apply to the Britten Pears Young Artist Programme. At first I hesitated: should I apply as a harpist or as a composer? In the end, I dared myself to take the leap and submitted my application as a composer – not knowing what to expect… and what I gained from the course was priceless: the opportunity to work with outstanding mentors in composition, singing, instrumental performance and conducting, as well as with talented and hard-working musicians from all over the world.

The course was divided into two parts: a ten-day autumn residency full of daily workshops and consultations with mentors, followed by a rehearsal week and a final concert at the Aldeburgh Festival in summer. I found the course extremely well structured.

We composers had our own floor with personal composing rooms in one of the Snape Maltings buildings. The six of us were essentially living there, writing from early morning until late in the evening, before returning to Aldeburgh where all participants were staying. I greatly enjoyed this shared daily routine, and especially the workshops with the performers of my piece. Each morning’s composition sketches would come to life that very afternoon. For me, these workshops felt like a giant composer’s sandbox: I could immediately test my ideas and receive valuable feedback from mentors, musicians, singers and the conductor – all at once. That is a rare opportunity for a young composer: to try anything one thinks of on the same day, to fail without judgement, and above all, to learn with the guidance of experts from so many musical fields.

The course was not only intense and fruitful but also full of joy. It brought together passionate young composers and musicians, and I made new friends from diverse backgrounds. Most of us lived in the same accommodation, where we cooked dinners (or breakfasts, for those who were early enough), played board games, or even composed more music together (that was the situation on the night before the deadline, 
by the way)! Over time, we became like a small (and sometimes rather workaholic) musical family, creating fond memories of our weeks together.

To end my BPYAP story, I must mention the sometimes mysterious yet idyllic nature surrounding Aldeburgh and Snape Maltings, which left me in awe from the very first day. Watching the endless reeds sway in the wind at Snape, or listening to Aldeburgh’s very musical stone beach under a sky lit with a red moon – that was where I truly felt Benjamin Britten’s music coming alive. I could experience for myself the landscapes and sounds that must once have inspired him, and it was astonishing to be able to recognize his music from these natural settings.

I am deeply grateful for the chance to take part in this course, which helped me rediscover the composer within me and continue this creative path with renewed joy – perhaps, in some sense, under Britten’s quiet guidance. Having completed the course and become a small part of his legacy, I now hope to continue building the music of today’s world.

Find out more about BPYAP.