Deemed ‘epic’ (The Guardian), ‘striking’ (The Wire) and ‘haunting and powerful’ (PRXLUDES), the music of composer, songwriter, arranger and emerging self-producing artist Emily Abdy merges contemporary-classical innovation, cinematic emotionality and a gritty, alternative edge, forming bold, narrative-driven sonic worlds for studio, stage and screen.

Emily’s growing MUSIC FOR SCREEN earned her first place in the MUBI-sponsored 2025 Sensoria Pro Scoring Contest. She previously scored her own short film SKIN (2019), later commissioned to be reimagined as an installation for Royal Birmingham Conservatoire’s first International Women’s Day Festival. As she moves further into writing for film, television and interactive media, Emily brings a scoring voice driven by classical training, visceral experimentation and vocal-centred, instinctual songwriting.

A prolific CONCERT COMPOSER, Emily’s work has been performed internationally by renowned ensembles and soloists including the London Symphony Orchestra, Southbank Sinfonia, Orkest de Ereprijs and BBC National Orchestra of Wales violist Laura Sinnerton. In 2021 she was appointed an Artist in Residence with Gabriel Prokofiev’s Nonclassical. Other residencies include the International Young Composers Meeting (NL), Ruhrtriennale Festival of the Arts (DE) and Leeds Song Festival (UK). She has released music with Nonclassical and fellow London-based label NMC Recordings.

An experienced ORCHESTRATOR and SELF-PRODUCING ARTIST, Emily has collaborated with pop-leaning performers, such as Electric Light Orchestra musicians Tandy and Morgan, on large-scale live arrangements and has performed her own work widely - from orchestral-backed screams at Hackney Empire to intimate acoustic sets at Sheffield City Hall. She was awarded the 2024 Saffron Sounds Music Production Bursary to further develop her recorded work.

Emily holds MMUS and BMUS (HONS) DEGREES IN COMPOSITION from Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, as well as several composition prizes - including multiple for orchestral writing - and support from Universal Music UK. Previous mentors and masterclasses include Master of the King’s Music Errollyn Wallen; genre-expansive artists Gazelle Twin and Half Waif; established composers Joe Cutler, Ed Bennett and Jennifer Walshe; and Academy Award-winning composer and sound editor Neil Stemp.

Emily is always open to new COLLABORATIONS AND COMMISSIONS. She currently divides her time between London, Birmingham and the rural Midlands of the UK, and is a member of The Alliance for Women Film Composers, The Ivors Academy, The Musicians’ Union and PRS.