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).
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.
FUNDING
Vaughan Williams Scholarships
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.
VWF also 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 music of Ralph Vaughan Williams, and of the work of Ursula Vaughan Williams.
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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Edwin Evans published an article on RVW in the Musical Standard on 25th July 1903. This excerpt is from a letter from the composer providing him with the necessary information.
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Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams set up the RVW Trust (to become the VWF in 2022) in 1956 to support young British composers, and assigned his performing rights income to it.
Find out more about Ursula’s life and work here: https://vaughanwilliamsfoundation.org/the-foundation/ursula-vaughan-williams/
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“Having this support has made so much difference, allowing me to really focus on my studies and dive into university life. My supervisor is such a brilliant teacher and I’m already learning so much” – 2021 VWF Bursary holder.
VWF scholarship details 👉 https://vaughanwilliamsfoundation.org/funding/postgraduate-funding/
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Find out more about funding opportunities offered by the Vaughan Williams Foundation via our website.
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Take a minute (well… 59 seconds!) to enjoy Sir Simon Rattle conducting the London Symphony Orchestra in Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis.
📺 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtWBFja4hp4
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LSO Soundhub provides a flexible environment for composers to explore, collaborate and experiment, with access to vital resources, support from industry professionals and LSO members and staff.
Applications now open! Details 👉 https://www.lso.co.uk/learn-and-discover/support-for-emerging-artists/soundhub/
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G Live
@gliveguildford
Set sail with Guildford Choral! 🚢
Experience the power of the sea through Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture, Stanford’s Songs of the Fleet, and Vaughan Williams’ majestic A Sea Symphony. 🎼
📅 Sat 1 Nov
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Dr Elizabeth Norton
@enortonhistory
A rainy visit today to beautiful Leith Hill Place in Surrey, home of the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams and now in the care of @nationaltrust The house is surprisingly isolated, set within the heavily wooded Surrey Hills #leithhillplace #ralphvaughanwilliams #vaughanwilliams
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This English Heritage blue plaque was installed at 10 Hanover Terrace in London’s Regent’s Park in 1972.
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We hope this weekend is full of music for you! 🎶
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 Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson
Letter No.: VWL2810
The White Gates
Dorking
Oct 14 [1948]
Dear Mrs Thomson
Thank you all so much for your birthday wishes – Please come either Saturday or Sunday (Nov 20 & 21 according to my diary!) it will be very nice to see you
Ys sincerely
R. Vaughan Williams
