About Ben Lunn
‘A composer with Northern roots, and an Internationalist perspective’
‘A Radical Optimist’ – Aleksandra Line, Mūzikos Saule
‘BEN LUNN puts his beloved birthplace Sunderland on the musical map’ – Linton Stephens, BBC Radio 3
Ben Lunn has forged himself a unique position within the new music landscape. As a composer, Lunn’s music reflects the material world around him, connecting to his North-Eastern heritage or how disability impacts the world around him or his working-class upbringing. Alongside this, he has become renowned for his championship of others, which have seen him creating unique collaborations with musicians from across the globe and developing unique concert experiences and opportunities for others. He has won accolades from the Scottish Music Awards in both 2023 and 2020 for his work with Hebrides Ensemble and Drake Music Scotland, and in 2024 was shortlisted for the RPS Awards for his concerto History Needs… composed for Nicholas McCarthy. In 2022, Ben Lunn became the first North-East composer to be selected for the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Composer Scheme which saw him paired with Music in the Round. He is currently working with Welsh Bass-Baritone, Paul Carey Jones, and the Durham Miners’ Association Brass Band on a new work to commemorate the centenary of the Sunderland-born poet, William Martin.
Ben is chair of the Musician's Union's Scottish and North of Ireland Regional Committee and is chair of the North Lanarkshire Trades Council. He also contributes to the Morning Star and Culture Matters.