Tom Harrold (b.1991) is a Glasgow-born composer whose award-winning music has received performances worldwide by a multitude of performing groups and artists.
Described as “brazen, bold, confident” [The Guardian], "thumpingly rhythmical" [The Financial Times], and "packed with incessant energy" [The Scotsman], Tom’s music has been aired across five continents at venues which include the Royal Albert, Berlin Philharmonic, Cadogan, Queen Elizabeth, Wigmore and Bridgewater Halls, Birmingham Hippodrome, Sadler's Wells, Maison Symphonique de Montréal, Kings Place, the Purcell Room, and St John’s Smith Square by groups which include the BBC Symphony, BBC Scottish Symphony, BBC Philharmonic, Bournemouth Symphony, Scottish Chamber, Aurora, and Birmingham Festival Orchestras, Royal Ballet Sinfonia, WorldBrass, Onyx Brass, SuperBrass, Manchester Camerata, the Edinburgh Quartet, the Maxwell Quartet, Psappha, the Endymion Ensemble, Trinity Boys Choir, the BBC Singers, Pro Coro Canada, and Exaudi. His music has been recorded by Linn Records, Chandos, Polyphonic and Bayerischer Rundfunk, and broadcast internationally across many networks.
Tom’s recent projects include Nightfires, a BBC SSO commission that was described as "among the most exciting pieces by a Scottish composer in the last 25 years" [The Herald], Concerto for Saxophone and Orchestra for Emma McPhilemy and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, A Brief Nostalgia for Birmingham Royal Ballet and Queensland Ballet companies, and Unchained, a mini-concerto for Colin Currie.
Raze (which opened the Last Night of the Proms in 2016) was selected by the BBC Symphony Orchestra to represent BBC Radio 3 at the International Rostrum of Composers in 2017.
Tom’s upcoming engagements include his second sonata for saxophonist Emma McPhilemy and pianist Philip Sharp, a new concerto for euphonium virtuoso Gary Curtin and Foden's Band, and a new album of library music for EM.
Tom graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music with a Bachelor with Honours in 2013, and a Masters with Distinction in 2015. He was a Radcliffe Trust Scholar and was awarded many prizes, including the Soroptimist International for Composers Award and a Gold Medal, the highest awards bestowed by the College. His teachers included Professors Gary Carpenter, Adam Gorb, and David Horne. Tom is grateful to have received sponsorship from Dewar Arts Awards, the Scottish International Education Trust, the RVW Trust, Caird Travelling Scholarships, the Countess of Munster Musical Trust, and the Cross Trust during his studies. Tom was recently conferred as an Associate Member of the Royal Northern College of Music.
Before the RNCM, Tom was a BBC Proms / Guardian Young Composer winner, shortlisted twice by the NCEM / BBC Radio 3 Young Composers' Award, and highly commended in the First International Competition for Choral Scores (ISCM / EC / JMI).
In 2014, Tom broke a Guinness World Record for his work Ticcatoccatina, for the largest number of musicians performing on one piano at one time.