About

contemporary-classical innovation, cinematic orchestration and the raw intimacy of a singer-songwriter

The music of British composer Emily Abdy, has been described as “EPIC” (The Guardian), “STRIKING” (The Wire) and “EQUAL PARTS HAUNTING AND POWERFUL” (PRXLUDES). She has written music for concert, screen and recorded projects. Drawing inspiration from her musical roots as a singer-songwriter and classical violinist, she combines these elements in varying quantities with her contemporary-classical training and the alternative rock influence and emotive film soundtracks beloved from her childhood, whilst remaining unafraid to broach heavy subject matter and bring the popular into the contemporary.

Her concert music has been commissioned and performed internationally by leading ensembles and soloists including the London Symphony Orchestra, Southbank Sinfonia, Laura Sinnerton (BBC National Orchestra of Wales) and Orkest de Ereprijs. She has written for community music organisations such as Contemporary Music For All, record labels including NMC Recordings, and arranged music for popular artists such as former Electric Light Orchestra musicians Tandy & Morgan.

In 2021, Emily was appointed an Artist In Residence with Gabriel Prokofiev’s London-based label and promoter Nonclassical. Other residencies include the International Young Composers Meeting (Netherlands), Ruhrtriennale Festival of the Arts (Germany) and Leeds Song Festival (UK).

Her music for screen won the 2025 Sensoria Pro Scoring Contest (sponsored by MUBI). She composed the score for her own experimental short SKIN (2019), later commissioned as an installation for Royal Birmingham Conservatoire’s International Women’s Day Festival. She also produced vocals for the cult web docuseries, Down The Rabbit Hole, premiered at the 2022 Eve Online Fanfest in Reykjavík.

A self-producing artist, Emily was awarded Saffron Sounds Music Production Bursary in 2024. From orchestral-backed screams at London’s Hackney Empire to intimate song sets at Sheffield City Hall, Emily has been performing her own work since writing her first original song at fourteen, as well as others’ music since first picking up the violin at age seven. She’s unable to stop writing songs and also serves as a lyricist for most of her contemporary-classical compositions. In 2022, she was commissioned by Nonclassical to craft an experimental song set for their first Midlands “clubnight” at Birmingham’s Hare and Hounds, deemed “the softer side of Nine Inch Nails and Kate Bush… lyrical and harmonically beautiful” (Birmingham Review).

Emily holds MMus (Distinction) and BMus (Hons, First Class) degrees in Composition from Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, as well as several composition prizes. Her education was sponsored by Universal Music UK. During her studies and beyond she has received tuition from notable artists such as Errollyn Wallen MBE, Gazelle Twin, Joe Cutler, Ed Bennett, Jennifer Walshe, Half Waif and more. She has mentored young composers herself, including for Birmingham’s Young Composers Project, and has presented her work and research at renowned institutions such as the Institute of Popular Music.

Currently, Emily has a back catalogue of recordings she is working on making available, as well as several ongoing projects. She is always looking for new collaborative opportunities and open to discussing commissions. Beyond music, Emily enjoys yoga, caring for animals and any sci-fi/horror/dystopian media. She divides her time between London, Birmingham, and the rural UK Midlands.