composer/musician
Purcell  '23 | RAM '27
laila.arafah2239@gmail.com
https://www.laila-arafah.co.uk/

'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
‘His work extends the palette of sounds that can be brought into contemporary classical music, redefining both modern composition and concert-hall inclusion.’ – Alan Morrison, Rhinegold.co.uk 

Powerful, poignant and deeply moving, Lunn’s composition certainly represents the spirit of Disability History Month 2018 and our current struggle for justice. – Gemma Nash, Disability Arts Online

‘Ben’s music is intricate and complex with unusual harmonies, making it challenging and exciting – well worth making the effort as the effect created was magnificent’ – John A. MacInnes
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 sees him paired with Music in the Round. 

Lunn’s music has been described as ‘Evocative’, ‘Restrained Otherwordliness’, ‘Chilling’, ‘sophisticated and most importantly obsessive’ or ‘produces…glorious roaring sounds’ and ‘desolate monotone’. He has also been referred to as a ‘Composer of life music’, as well as ‘like Beethoven but drunk’ or a ‘real barn-stomper’.

Ben Lunn studied at the Royal Welsh College of  Music and Drama under the guidance of Peter Reynolds, and also the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre with Marius Baranauskas. He has also received mentorship from composers Param Vir and Stuart MacRae. Since graduating from his Master’s Lunn relocated to Airdrie, where he currently resides; working as conductor, musicologist, teacher and composer. In September 2021, Ben Lunn started his PhD at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland where he is exploring the impact of political ideology on composition – discussing Hanns Eisler, Alan Bush, Isang Yun, Luigi Nono, Jian-er Zhu, and reflecting upon his own work.

Lunn’s work has been featured in many leading international festivals including Sound Festival, Crossroads International Festival, Vale of Glamorgan, London New Wind Festival, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Druskomanija, DaDaFest, Arēna Festivals, Leeds Leider+, Zilele Muzicale Aniversare, HASS FEST, Durham Brass Festival, Toronto Contemporary Music Lab, Second Movement’s Rough for Opera, and Occupy the Pianos. He has had the privilege of working with leading international ensembles and soloists including Royal National Scottish Orchestra, Orkestris Sinfonia Concertante, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, N.A.M.E.S, Sofia Soloists, Ensemble 360, Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, Quadra Quartet, Hebrides Ensemble, Digital Orchestra, SONO Ensemble, Lomond Brass, Lotte-Betts Dean, Eegeru, Grace Maria Wain, NOYO, Orkest De Ereprijs, Ensemble Proton Bern, Red Note Ensemble, Ensemble Synaesthesis, Music Theatre Wales, Lore Lixenberg, Ligeti Quartet, ÖeNM, Ensemble X and Y, Nikolai Matsov, Rolf Hind, Stephanie Lamprea, Francoise-Green Duo, Garth Knox, Lore Lixenberg, Ember Septet, 5K Brass, Zubin Kanga, Martynas Levickis, JVLMA, and Jauna Muzika. 

As musicologist, Lunn’s specialities focus on Baltic Music, Horaţiu Rădulescu, Political Ideology and composition, and Composing and Disability. He has had the honour of lecturing at some of the world’s leading academic institutions including Fordham University, Mozarteum, RWCMD, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Jazepa Vitola Latvijas Muzikas Akademija, Komitas Conservatory, Durham University and Amsterdam Conservatoire. His articles have been published across Germany, UK, US, Russia, Lithuania, and collected by the Arvo Pärt Centre. He has also written for the Music Information Centre of Lithuania and Latvia. He was featured in the recent Policy Press book Lived Experiences of Ableism in Academia in which he contributed a chapter. He has also produced documents offering unique insights into how to make the concert experience more accessible Concerts from my point of view, as well as advising concert promoters and organisations to make their work more accessible for disabled artists, What we need to thrive. He has also worked closely with Making Music UK on a new document to assist amateur ensembles. 

In 2021, Ben helped found the Disabled Artist Network, an organisation which is bridging the gap between the professional world and disabled artists. 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.

Upcoming

10.10.2025, 17h, Berlin, Berlinerphilharmonie, Kammermusiksaal - Breakdown Resonanzraum No. 2 (2025) - Kammerakademie Potsdam 


24.10.2025, 20h, Paris, Cité de la musique, Salle des concerts - SOUTH MEMPHIS, BITCH (*UA 2025) - ensemble intercontemperain, Festival d'Automne


29.10.2025, 20h, Berlin, Kesselhaus in der Kulturbrauerei - Confections of the Mind, Version 2 (*UA 2025), thermo_doxa (2024), Orchestra (2025) - ensemble mosaik


18.11.2025, 19:30, Wiener Konzerthaus, Berio-Saal - Isolation Forest (2023) - Ensemble Phace


20.11.2025, 20h, Wien, Musikverein, Gläsener Saal - thermo_doxa (2024) - Black Page Orchestra


24.2.2026, 20h, Rudolf-Oetker-Halle, Grosser Saal - Sketch for Kritter (AT) (2025) - Trixster Orchestra


21.3.2026, 19:30, Wiener Konzerthaus, Berio-Saal - thermo_doxa (2024) - Ensemble Phace


29.5.2026, 20h, Theater am Alten Markt, Kritter (AT) (2025) - Bielefeld Theater






Photos: 
Profile: by Camilo Pachón, Stiftung Künstlerdorf 2024
Simulation - Part One: © IEMA/Wonge Bergmann

link to spotify below (for better recordings)

Liis Jürgens (Viira) (b. April 7, 1983) is a composer, harpist, improviser and experimental animation maker. Her compositions are characterized by figurative thinking and translating the visual into music.
● In 2009 she graduated with a MA in harp performance, under Eda Peäske, from the Estonian Academy of Theatre and Music. At same, she furthered her training in composition with Helena Tulve and studied electroacoustic music with Margo Kõlar.
● She has studied improvisation with Taavi Kerikmäe and Anto Pett; she performs improvised music on a regular basis. 
● She has composed works for symphony orchestra, choir, big and small ensembles, vocalists and solo instruments. In addition to Estonia, Liis Viira’s works have been performed in Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Sweden, Russia, Denmark, Italy, USA and Austria. 
● She has performed her compositions herself on harp and piano.
● At present Liis Viira is a freelance composer and harpist. She is a member of unique sounding ensemble Una Corda (three plucked string instruments: harp, kannel and harpsichord) and participates in many other solo and chamber music projects. 
● Her orchestra experience includes playing principal and second harp with Estonian National Symphony Orchestra (2007-2017), and principal harp with Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Baltic Sea Youth Philharmonic, Kymi Sinfonietta and Estonian Festival Orchestra. 
● Viira studied 2012–2015 at Estonian Academy of Arts animation department and since autumn 2017 she is studying composition (with Helena Tulve and Toivo Tulev) in practice based PhD at Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre to go further with her interest of developing musical and visual compositions simultaneously.

I am a composer, pianist, author ("Death of a Medium" [1992], "In my Own Light" [2014]), and political activist based in Dublin (Ireland) and Fürth (Germany).

Founded in 1962, the UW Eth­no­mu­si­col­ogy Archives is home to more than 100,000 rare and unique films, videos, and sound recordings. Collected by ethnomusicologists and community members, these materials document global and local music across a range of traditions and styles: Some materials may be restricted or require special permission to access.

Monknash fuels the obsidian mindset with harsh percussion and raw sonic textures, blending dark ambient, noise experimentation, and industrial electronica. Her music channels stark realities and urgent societal issues, demanding attention in today’s world.

Stylianos Dimou is a distinguished Greek composer renowned for his expertise in acoustic, electroacoustic, and acousmatic music. In addition to his compositional work, he is an accomplished conductor, accordionist, and electronic music improviser. Dimou’s contributions to the field have earned him numerous awards and recognitions, supported by prestigious international organizations such as the Fulbright Program, the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation, and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Public Humanities Initiative, Ernst Mach weltweit, Federal Ministry of Culture and Media of Austria, SWR Experimentalstudio, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, and Cité Internationale des Arts.

Dimou's musical education began with advanced studies in Music Composition at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, where he completed his BMus and MMus under the guidance of Prof. Christos Samaras. He further developed his compositional skills at the University of Rochester's Eastman School of Music, earning an MA in Composition while studying with notable composers Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon, Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez, Robert Morris, and David Liptak, and exploring advanced electronic music with Allan Schindler "(deceased)".

In 2017-18, Dimou participated in the prestigious Cursus program at the Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music (IRCAM) in Paris, where he received professional training in Composition and advanced Electronic Music, under the mentorship of Mikhail Malt. He subsequently served as a Composer and Music Researcher at the OeAD organization, affiliated with the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, Austria.

Dimou’s dedication to artistic excellence led to his selection as Composer in Residence at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris during the fall of 2019, an opportunity extended by The Embassy of Greece. He earned his Doctoral Degree from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Columbia University, where he conducted advanced artistic research and pursued graduate studies as a Dean’s Fellow. His doctoral studies were guided by Prof. George Lewis, Prof. Fred Lerdahl, Prof. Georg Friedrich Haas, and Prof. Brad Garton, specializing in Composition, Music Theory, and Computer Music.

Stylianos Dimou is a tenured Associate Professor of Composition at the Grieg Academy, University of Bergen, Norway, within the Faculty of Fine Art, Music, and Design. He specializes in both acoustic and electroacoustic music, with teaching interests that encompass Composition (acoustic, mixed electroacoustic, and acousmatic), Music Technology, Music Theory, and Analysis. Dimou teaches across undergraduate and graduate programs, fostering students' exploration of contemporary compositional practices.

Dimou's research explores the creative symbiosis between human performers and technological systems across various artistic mediums and performance practices. His work emphasizes sonic hybridity and spatial immersion, with a focus on the integration of interactive sound systems, digital signal processing, and multichannel audio. His research delves into the complex structural relationships between chromatic and microtonal aggregations in intricate sonic architectures, with a particular focus on the music of Georges Aperghis. By investigating the intersections of instrumental and electroacoustic elements, Dimou seeks to create cohesive artistic frameworks that expand the boundaries of contemporary music.

Prior to his appointment at the University of Bergen, Dimou served as an Adjunct Faculty member at the University of Peloponnese, Greece - Spring 2024 -, where he taught sound design, interactive sound systems, digital signal processing, and immersive audio. He also held the position of Research Assistant Professor in the Academy of Music at Hong Kong Baptist University - Spring 2021 to Fall 2024 -, where he taught Composition, Music Technology, and Electroacoustic music. His work at these institutions emphasized the integration of technology into music performance, with a particular focus on live interactivity and the creative possibilities offered by technological innovation in the compositional process.

Among Dimou’s most distinguished accolades are the Ulysses Network / IRCAM Award for Artistic Excellence (2018-2019), 1st Prize at the 2nd International Composition Competition "Amici della Musica di Cagliari," and 1st Prize at the International Prize for Composition "Luigi Nono" (3rd edition). He also won 2nd Prize in the 24th Annual Martirano Award, 1st Prize with the Audience’s Prize at the Weimarer Frühjahrstage für zeitgenössische Musik (2012), and the Prize for orchestral music at the 5th [‘tactus] Young Composers Forum (2013). Dimou was a finalist for the Roche Young Commissions at the Lucerne Festival Academy (2013), judged by Pierre Boulez. His academic achievements include the Charles S. Miller Prize (2029) from Columbia University and the Wayne Brewster Barlow Prize from the Eastman School of Music.

https://stylianosdimou.com/biography

Arash Yazdani is following