Nicholas Gawley is an award-winning British-born composer whose music has been described as 'reflective' and 'unfolding in expressive dissonance.' (New York Classical Review) His music takes inspiration from musical influences such as early music, late-Romanticism, early/mid 20th century modernism, and post-1945 popular music, and from interdisciplinary interests including visual arts and natural landscapes. He seeks to meld a colourful evocation of these influences with an emphasis on tight structure and development.
Nicholas has worked with numerous ensembles and organisations, including CHROMA, RIOT Ensemble, and the Hermes Experiment, among others. His chamber opera The Seashell was commissioned for and performed as part of the 2024 CUOS Shorts festival in the Chapel of Trinity College, Cambridge. His has been performed by the Choir of Selwyn College, Cambridge, and members of the Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge. He also collaborated with guitarist Gonçalo Maia Caetano on a trio of guitar pieces based on three famous paintings, which have been performed multiple times, including in Kings Place. Nicholas's orchestral music has received international acclaim, being the recipient of multiple prizes and performances in the UK and internationally, including the Ernest Read Symphony Orchestra Emerging Composers Competition (for Vienna, c. 1825, colourised) and the Pegasus: The Orchestra Call for Works (for Appalachia). In 2025, Nicholas received the Irish Heritage Music Bursary for Composition for his piece Prelude, March, and Cortège. He is currently working on projects involving Septura and New London Chamber Choir.
In 2024, Nicholas graduated with a BA in Music from the University of Cambridge, where he studied composition with Benjamin Graves and Tim Watts, and was a choral scholar at Selwyn College. Nicholas is currently studying at the Royal Academy of Music with Helen Grime and David Sawer. He is generously supported by Irish Heritage.