Welcome to the Vaughan Williams Foundation – one of the foremost sources of funding for recent and contemporary music in the UK
The Vaughan Williams Foundation is a grant-giving charity which upholds the values and vision of the celebrated composer Ralph Vaughan Williams and his wife Ursula Vaughan Williams.
Our principal aims are to honour RVW’s desire to support his fellow composers through funding for performances and recordings, and to help make his own work widely accessible to the general public.
VWF was founded in 2022, 150 years after the composer’s birth, and brings together the two charities originally set up by Ralph (RVW Trust) and Ursula (Vaughan Williams Charitable Trust).
Funding
Applications Open
Composers are at the heart of what we do. VWF offers three annual funding rounds towards:
the performance, commission and recording of music by British and Irish composers active in the last 100 years, and/or
work which furthers the knowledge and understanding of the life and work of Ralph Vaughan Williams, and of Ursula Vaughan Williams.
We welcome applications from ensembles, organisations and individuals.
Vaughan Williams Scholarships
For more than 40 years Vaughan Williams funding has been awarded to support postgraduate study in composition.
The 270 previous recipients have included names such as Julian Anderson, Christian Alexander, Anna Meredith, Graham Fitkin, Larry Goves, Gavin Higgins, Hannah Kendall and Daniel Kidane. Congratulations to our four new Vaughan Williams Scholars: Tom Burkhill, Lucy Holmes, André Faria Serra and Elliott Park.
The Vaughan Williams Scholarships of £8,000 each are awarded annually to postgraduate students of composition.
Our new Trustees
Joining the Board
We are delighted to announce the appointment of Sam Wigglesworth, Harriet Wybor and Raymond Yiu as new Trustees, bringing with them a wealth of experience and a passion for music.
We are so grateful for their commitment to the Foundation and look forward to working with them to develop VWF for the future.
Find out more about the faces behind the VWF and our work.
RVW
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) is one of the greatest of British composers whose music, generosity and vision for community music making continue to impact British musical life.
Find out more about the composer and explore our extensive archive of letters and photographs and catalogue of published works.
READ THE LATEST
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Vaughan Williams Foundation
@vwfndn
Winners of the @IvorsAcademy Classical Awards will be revealed on Tuesday, November 11.
The shortlist includes orchestral, choral, chamber and community composition, showcasing contemporary voices and perspectives.
We’re delighted that many VWF-funded projects are included! 👏
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Sinfonia of London
@sinfoniaoflondn
We’re enjoying looking back on some magical moments from our recent tour, celebrating the best of British music in Gateshead, Carlisle, Perth and London.
“Vaughan Williams, Britten and Elgar
played and conducted at the very highest level.” – Arts Desk
📸: Sisi Burn
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Vaughan Williams Foundation
@vwfndn
At the age of 41, Ralph Vaughan Williams volunteered as an ambulance driver in WWI.
He saw the horror of the war firsthand, and his experiences haunted the music he created subsequently.
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Vaughan Williams Foundation
@vwfndn
From The Lark Ascending to Sinfonia Antarctica, here is @GramophoneMag’s take on Ralph Vaughan Williams’ greatest works… Including outstanding recordings from André Previn, Bernard Haitink, Adrian Boult and more…
Read the article here: https://www.gramophone.co.uk/features/article/ralph-vaughan-williams-top-20-recordings
Vaughan Williams Foundation
@vwfndn
Remember, remember… the sound of November… Whether it’s fireworks in the sky or the soaring notes of Vaughan Williams 🎆
#BonfireNight
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Vaughan Williams Foundation
@vwfndn
Find out about the different funding opportunities available from the Vaughan Williams Foundation via the funding page on our website.
💻 Find it here: https://vaughanwilliamsfoundation.org/funding/
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Vaughan Williams Foundation
@vwfndn
Composer Colin Matthews on Vaughan Williams’ determination to support fellow composers.
Our grant-giving is funded by the royalties earned from RVW’s music.
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Ina Boyle Society Limited (IBSL)
@inaboylesoc
🚨 @estherabrami performs Ina Boyle’s Violin Concerto🎻with @bathphil on Thurs 27 Nov in Bath!
@rmconductor also conducts Vaughan Williams’ 5th Symphony at this stunning Art Deco Forum 🏛️ @VWFndn
https://www.inaboyle.org/forthcoming-performances/2025/11/27/esther-abrami-joins-bath-philharmonia-to-perform-ina-boyle
#InaBoyle #EstherAbrami #RVW #Classical #RebeccaMiller
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Vaughan Williams Foundation
@vwfndn
“It had the maturity and surefootedness of a conductor who has fully absorbed the work and long since recognised it as a masterpiece” – A 5⭐ review from @bachtrack of a recent performance of RVW’s Sea Symphony by Sir Mark Elder and the @LPOrchestra.
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Cecilian Music Publishers
@cecilianmusic
Living Ghosts in Oxford last night. A fascinating performance – ritualised and haunting. Many congrats to Molly Mayhew, animator and Dr. Luke Muscutt, music box engineering. Thanks to @VWFndn and @RCMLondon for their generous support. Without it, this wouldn’t have been possible.
THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
Featured Letter
Get to know the man and his music
RVW’s wide-ranging correspondence – with family, pupils, fellow composers, conductors and performers – paints an intriguing portrait of the man, as well as providing fascinating insights into his major preoccupations: musical, personal and political.
Our searchable database includes over 5000 annotated transcriptions of his correspondence all available to read online.
Letter of the Day
Letter from Martin Shaw to Ralph Vaughan Williams
Letter No.: VWL4110
5th October, 1928
This is a copy of what I have sent to V.W.
Dear V.W.,
Songs of Praise for Children, No. 78 “The Shepherds had an Angel”. Do you mind the more elaborate tune not being included? This book is only for children so that the tune would not be any use: and meanwhile it is always available in “Songs of Praise” itself.
I write because the Oxford Press hope to bring out the book for 1/-, which would be an enormous gain. It is already doubtful whether they can manage this, and the only hope is to keep the material down so that they can squeeze the estimates through.
I should be so grateful for a postcard by return.
Yours sincerely,
R. Vaughan Williams Esq.
