Amelia Clarkson

credit Jannah Claire

Amelia Clarkson is a Northern Irish composer whose work spans both concert hall and stage. Notable works include music for Ireland’s National Symphony Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Opera Holland Park, Crash Ensemble, and Royal Air Force. She is an Associate Composer of the Contemporary Music Centre Ireland and a Music Patron Composer, which reimagines models of music patronage for the 21st century. Dance is central to Amelia’s creative practice. Recent highlights include works for the Dutch National Ballet Junior Company’s 2024 national tour, and music for Belfast-based Six Dance Collective, as Co-Founder and Composer-in-Residence.

Amelia is currently undertaking doctoral research at the Royal Northern College of Music, supported as the 2022 Mendelssohn Scholar, an award established in 1856 to commemorate composer Felix Mendelssohn. Supervised by Laura Bowler and Gary Carpenter, her research explores the evolving role of the composer in collaborative dance, with particular interest in how abstract narratives can be used to address themes of violence and non-violence. She is inspired by ideas of reshaping traditional choreographer-composer dynamics through collaborative creative processes.