Errollyn Wallen (born 1958)
Errollyn Wallen was born in Belize but moved with her family to London when she was two. When her father and mother moved to New York City without her, she was raised by her aunt and uncle. Her Belizean uncle instilled in her a love of literature, poetry, and music. She originally wanted to be a dancer but eventually focused on music. She studied at several schools, including Cambridge.
Errollyn Wallen’s eclectic approach to music is summed up in the motto of the Ensemble X that she founded: “We don’t break down barriers in music… We don’t see any.” She has written an opera The Silent Twins (2007), modernist music for traditional ensembles, as well as songs with a pop flavor that she sings and plays herself.
Errollyn Wallen’s most popular work is probably her unrelentingly lyrical Cello Concerto from 2007. This 2020 video is a performance by student musicians at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. It with begins with a 14-minute interview with the composer, and then a couple minutes of additional introduction. The music begins at about 16:00.
Errollyn Wallen’s Triple Concerto (also known as the Concerto for Kosmos and Orchestra) was composed in 2018 for the Kosmos trio which consists of the unusual combination of violin, viola, and accordion. The type of accordion being played in this video does not have keys. It is a chromatic button accordion, probably a Russian bayan.
Her 2017 work A Mighty River was composed to mark the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in England. This is a beautiful performance by isolated teenage members of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain: