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, 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
Vaughan Williams Scholarships
Congratulations to our four new Vaughan Williams Scholars who have just been announced.
The Vaughan Williams Scholarships of £8,000 each are awarded to applicants who demonstrate exceptional compositional talent and who are intending to make composition their professional career. Scholarships are awarded towards the costs of study of a taught Masters course or PhD in composition at UK universities or conservatoires.
Applications for 2026 will open in December 2025
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General Funding
VWF supports the work, performance and recording of British/Irish composers from the last 100 years; as well as projects which further the knowledge and understanding of the life and music of Ralph Vaughan Williams, and of the work of Ursula Vaughan Williams.
Applications are now open. Ensembles, organisations and individuals are welcome to apply.
The Foundation also offers annual funding for postgraduate composition students.
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
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This year, for the first time, we extended our postgraduate funding opportunities to PhD students (find out more about this year’s recipients via our website).
Applications for 2026/27 funding will reopen in December 2025.
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Vaughan Williams Foundation
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Looking for ways to stay cool in a #heatwave?? 🥵
Vaughan Williams’ Sinfonia Antarctica delivers icy winds, wordless choirs, and vast, frosted soundscapes that seem to go on forever… ❄️
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Vaughan Williams Foundation
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Find out more about the opportunities offered by the VWF via our website.
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Vaughan Williams Foundation
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A review of On Wenlock Edge from the Aldeburgh Festival from earlier this month by @RobertHugill for his Planet Hughill blog.
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Vaughan Williams Foundation
@vwfndn
New editions of Vaughan Williams’ Wasps Suite and Overture have been published by @FaberMusic, offering fresh insight into one of the composer’s most beloved orchestral works.
More info here: https://www.fabermusic.com/news/new-editions-vaughan-williams-wasps-suite-overture
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Vaughan Williams Foundation
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“Vaughan Williams, the quintessential British composer.”
A great introduction to the life and works of Ralph Vaughan Williams, compiled by the London Symphony Orchestra.
Find it here: https://www.lso.co.uk/what-you-should-know-about-ralph-vaughan-williams/
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Vaughan Williams Foundation
@vwfndn
Well, we agree that the chief engineer does sound a little dull 😆
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Faber Music Publications
@fabermusic
🎵 Out today!
New definitive editions of Vaughan Williams’ The Wasps Suite and Overture offer fresh insight into one of the composer’s most beloved orchestral works.
Read more: https://www.fabermusic.com/news/new-editions-vaughan-williams-wasps-suite-overture
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Vaughan Williams Foundation
@vwfndn
📖 Ready for some racy holiday reading?!
Vaughan Williams Foundation
@vwfndn
Applications for our 2026 scholarships open in December!
In the meantime, we’re thrilled to introduce the 2025 Vaughan Williams scholars 👏
Congratulations – wishing you a fascinating and rewarding year ahead. Listen out for these talented new voices!
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 Miss Wadham
Letter No.: VWL4722
From R. Vaughan Williams,
The White Gates,
Westcott Road,
Dorking.
Monday [2 November 1936]
