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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“The art of music, above all the other arts, is the expression of the soul of a nation” – Ralph Vaughan Williams.
A dive into the life and work of the ‘quintessential British composer’ by the London Symphony Orchestra here 👇
https://www.lso.co.uk/what-you-should-know-about-ralph-vaughan-williams/
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Tonight at 7:30pm on BBC Radio 3 – Mark Elder conducts the London Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra in Vaughan Williams’ A Sea Symphony.
Recorded last month at the Royal Festival Hall, presented by @Ianskellyradio3.
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Vaughan Williams Foundation
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The VWF is one of the foremost sources of funding for recent and contemporary music in the UK.
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.
Twitter feed image.
Vaughan Williams Foundation
@vwfndn
Alternative Classical provides loads of useful resources for classical music performers and composers, including a roundup of funding opportunities.
Explore it here: https://www.alternativeclassical.co.uk/classical-music-funding
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In this article, @MusicMagazine looks at music “to help us through difficult times” – starting with Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 5 – Romanza.
Find it here: https://www.classical-music.com/features/works/music-soothe-difficult-times
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📅 A treat to come at 7:30pm on BBC Radio 3 later this week!
Mark Elder conducts the @LPChoir and @LPOrchestra in a sea-themed concert including Vaughan Williams’ mighty Sea Symphony with soloists @MasabaneCecilia & @stoutbaritone.
Recorded at the Royal Festival Hall.
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“This Remembrance period offers an important chance for reflection on the role played by music and musicians in securing our freedom” – @jrapepper for @GramophoneMag
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We feel Vaughan Williams might have agreed with this thought from Sir Elton John…
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Symphony No. 4 in F minor was first performed in April 1935 by the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Adrian Boult.
This letter was later ‘Autumn 1944’; Sir Adrian conducted the symphony again on February 14, 1945, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, in Bedford.
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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! 👏
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 Maud Karpeles
Letter No.: VWL4817
The White Gates,
Westcott Road,
Dorking.
[1930]
Dear Maud
I can’t see anything wrong with the scoring of Beggar Boy, Hit & Miss, & F.Companion1 – If the bass sounded too heavy its the fault of the bass not of the scoring – which is, if anything too light – Indeed I made it heavier in one of two places by substituting arco for pizz in the basses.
-Also there are not 1/2 enough phrasing marks to my mind – I don’t dare to do that myself as I always do it wrong (I have attempted it in Hit & Miss F. Companion) Please add them and see that they are the same in all parts – this is most important – Orchestral players if their parts are not fully marked with [insert perf mark] … — etc play it all stodgily
Yrs
RVW
1. Fine Companion. These were traditional dance tunes.
