The 2024 Laudemus Composition Competition in the UK has awarded its top prizes to David Harris and John Sturt. Harris was recognized for his anthem Hail, Gladdening Light, while Sturt received acclaim for Te Lucis Ante Terminum.
Both anthems will be performed for the first time during Evensong at Wimborne Minster on August 10, 2024. Following their debut, the winning compositions will be published by the Royal School of Church Music.
The competition’s judges included Dr. Barry Rose, Jeremy Jackman, Sam Hanson, and Tim Ruffer.
David Harris, from London, began his musical journey with piano lessons at an early age and took up organ studies with Paul Gobey at 13. He won scholarships at St George’s Parish Church in Beckenham and Portsmouth Cathedral, mentored by David Price and Oliver Hancock. Harris is a Durham University graduate and serves as Director of Music at St Oswald’s Parish Church, Durham. He was also a finalist in the BBC Radio 3 Carol Competition in 2021.
John Sturt, who comes from a musical family, began violin lessons at six. Despite a cancer diagnosis that thwarted his RAF aspirations, he began composing at 14. Sturt earned his master’s degree from the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, studying under Deirdre Gribbin, Paul Newland, Errollyn Wallen MBE, Stephen Montague, and Soosan Lolavar. Known for his rich harmonies and folk music influences, Sturt won a joint prize in the Ludlow English Song Weekend Composition Competition in 2017 and the Trinity Laban Silver Medal for Composition in 2018. In 2023, he was featured in the Choir and Organ “New Music” series.
