Bethan Morgan-Williams is a composer whose work explores the evolving dynamics of performer-composer collaboration and the transformative phenomenon of ‘material-drift’— a dynamic process through which musical strands evolve significantly from their initial conceptual state. Described as “marvellously oblique and obscure” (5against4) while being “rooted in something ancient and folky” (The Telegraph), Bethan’s music plays with expectation and variance, fostering co-creative frameworks and investigating the interplay between systems and intuition.
Collaboration is a cornerstone of Bethan’s practice, and she regularly works closely with performers. Her music has been commissioned and performed by esteemed soloists, including Carl Rosman, Antoine Tamestit, Colin Currie, and Ben Goldscheider, and by internationally acclaimed ensembles such as Ensemble Mosaik, Ensemble Musikfabrik, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, Riot Ensemble, and Ensemble 10/10, and orchestras including the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra. Her works have been broadcast on WDR, S4C, BBC Radio 3, Hometown Radio (KY), and Omroep Max.
Bethan’s achievements include a Darmstadt Stipend (2023), Leverhulme Scholarship (2018-19), the Susan Bradshaw Composer Prize (RPS – 2017-18), and the Christopher Brooks Composition Prize (RLPO – 2015-17). She has participated in prestigious schemes such as the LSO Panufnik Scheme and has been shortlisted for ISCM World Music Days, a Paul Hamlyn Award, and Manchester Jazz Festival’s Irwin Mitchell Prize.
Currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Huddersfield, Bethan is exploring how performers can inform and expand the phenomenon of ‘material-drift’ through collaborative processes with composers, examining its impact on the evolution of musical material during the creative process and advancing new co-creative methodologies.
