Nicholas Gawley is a British composer currently studying at the Royal Academy of Music under Helen Grime and David Sawer. His music aims to explore the increased sense of alienation present in contemporary life, as well as reflecting his interests in drama, sensuality and human relationships.

Nicholas graduated from Selwyn College, Cambridge with a BA in Music. While there, he had numerous works premiered such as his opera The Seashell, premiered with acclaim as part of the 2024 CUOS Shorts festival, and his settings of three of John Donne’s Holy Sonnets. His choral music has also been frequently performed, such as the Selwyn Service written especially for the Choir of Selwyn College Cambridge, of which he was a member, and Rise up my fair one, which won the 2022 Pembroke College Music Society Choral Composition Competition. He also pursued a diverse array of research interests which influenced his compositional activity, including two dissertations investigating works by Schoenberg and Debussy, and an analysis portfolio on the topic of popular music.

While at Cambridge, Nicholas also sang in Selwyn College Choir, as well as various opera and theatre productions. These activities have informed his understanding of writing for the human voice as well as the craft of dramaturgy. Other interests of his such as 20th century literature and art; the psychology of Freud, Lacan and Jung; and the effects of technology on modern society have also influenced his compositional style.