The Society of Composers & Lyricists has opened its first permanent international chapter, SCL UK, with a reception at AIR Studios in North London. SCL President Ashley Irwin attended alongside the SCL UK Steering Committee, which is led by Nainita Desai, joined by dozens of UK-based composers and lyricists, according to the report of the event.
Society of Composers & Lyricists Opens First International Chapter in London
The Society of Composers & Lyricists has opened its first permanent international chapter, SCL UK, with a reception at AIR Studios in North London. SCL President Ashley Irwin attended alongside the SCL UK Steering Committee, which is led by Nainita Desai, joined by dozens of UK-based composers and lyricists, according to the report of the event.
Irwin said the decision to open a UK chapter followed the number of members already working between the two countries. "We've got so many members over here already, coming back and forth from the States and vice versa, working on American productions that it became obvious that we should have something here," he said.
Irwin described the organization's purpose as advocacy and education. "This is a community, first and foremost, of people who write music for audio-visual, whether it is film, television, or video games. Anything where there's an image," he said.
After the opening speeches, a small band of musicians performed compositions by five SCL UK members: Ruth Barrett, Stephen Barton, Atli Örvarsson, Carly Paradis and Daniel Pemberton. All five were present and spoke about how the SCL has helped them in their careers, according to the report.
Pemberton spoke before a performance of his score for "Project Hail Mary." He described the SCL as "an organization that has really had a unique place in advocating for us in the absence of a union," and said that without it, "we might not have this ability to be able to come together." He thanked those who sustain the organization and the new London venture.
The evening closed with a tribute to the British composer George Fenton, who died on October 5, aged 76. Fenton was Oscar-nominated five times over his career, with nominations for "Gandhi" (1983), "Cry Freedom" (1988), "Dangerous Liaisons" (1989) and "The Fisher King" (1992), and he wrote the music for David Attenborough's "The Blue Planet." Musicians performed a medley of his work.
Mike Ladouceur, an American-British composer and SCL UK Steering Committee member, opened the tribute. He said Fenton's career "was incredibly prolific" and that his generosity was even greater, recalling him as a visiting professor at the Royal College of Music and a contributor across the musical ecosystem. Ladouceur said Fenton "not only defined a style of writing but really invented a genre of writing for natural history docs and so much more."
The full SCL UK Steering Committee comprises Mat Andasun, Claire Batchelor, Paul Farrer, Andrew Kremer, Mike Ladouceur, Bankey Ojo and David Tobin. Alongside its original Los Angeles chapter, the SCL has outposts in New York, Chicago and Nashville.
- The source does not state the calendar date of the London reception, describing it only as taking place in the evening.
- The source does not state the year of George Fenton's death, giving only the date October 5.
- The source states Fenton was Oscar-nominated five times but lists four films.
- The source does not state the size of the SCL's membership or of the new UK chapter.
- The source does not state the year the SCL was founded, saying only that it has supported composers and lyricists for more than four decades.
- The source does not state what activities the new UK chapter will undertake beyond the advocacy and education described.