Biography 

Georgia Olivia Barnes (b.2000) is a British Composer, Researcher, Producer and Soprano who is currently based between the University of Cambridge (MPhil Composition) and London. Georgia studied for her undergraduate degree in composition at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance under Errollyn Wallen CBE, Prof. Paul Newland and Prof. Deirdre Gribbin. She is now studying at the University of Cambridge, with the financial help of the Countess of Munster Trust, under Prof. Jeremy Thurlow and Prof. Marta Gentilucci. As of 2024, Georgia was accepted onto the Royal Opera House Engender Programme Mentoring Scheme.

Georgia is mixed-race and born in Croydon but, because she is from a military family, she lived around the UK and America growing up. Her music often explores identity and she is particularly interested in opening up classical music to new audiences. She frequently works in participation, engagement, and audience development and has volunteered for Venus Blazing (a theatre company for children with intellectual disabilities) and as part of multiple schools projects as a composition teacher and practitioner. Georgia is now working for Pegasus Opera Company as a researcher and producer in audience development and ‘Make Them Hear You’-  a project to decolonise music curriculums. Georgia has also written music for various UK festivals including Leeds Lieder Festival and Tête à Tête Opera Festival, during which she interviewed on BBC Radio 3. See Full interview here: 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001lzdq

Georgia was also recently commissioned to write a childrens’ opera for Opera Prelude. This was based on the book ‘The King’s Pants’ by Nicholas Allan. The 25-minute childrens’ opera will tour UK childrens’ festivals in 2024. It premiered at the Isle of Wight Childrens’ Story Festival on the 17th February 2024. Listen to the music here. 

As a composer, Georgia Barnes has been commissioned by the Royal Opera House, The Central School of Speech and Drama, the London Mozart Players and more. Recordings of these works are available on this website with scores available on request. She was commissioned by the Royal Opera to write a piece for the Jette Parker Young Artists and the Casco Phil as part of the Europalia Festival and International Women’s Day 2022. This project was a success and received high praise in the Guardian and The Telegraph. Georgia was also commissioned by the London Mozart Players to compose a 5 minute carol for String Quintet and Boys’ choir as part of the Christmas at Fairfield concert series. This was performed at St  John the Evangelist in Upper Norwood with repeat performances at St Mary’s Church, Putney and Fairfield Halls (Performance cancelled due to Covid-19). 

As a soprano, Georgia trained (second study) at Trinity Laban with world-acclaimed, experimental vocalist Linda Hirst. She has taken part in workshops with Alwynne Pritchard and recorded works of Loré Lixenberg. As part of the CoLab festival at Trinity Laban Conservatoire, Georgia ran a week-long program in collaboration with the institution and external artists. The aim was to record contemporary work by underrepresented artists. This was a huge success and she collaborated with artists such as Charlotte Marlow, Lore Lixenberg, Laura Boyland, James Banner, Maya-Leigh Rosenwasser, and more. 

Georgia’s music has been described, by Stephen Fry, as exhibiting ‘pockets of richness’ which ‘gain in rhythmic complexity’(2020) in relation to her piece for the Runswick Competition. She has premiered  3 operas - The Kings Pants, A Time of Empty Tales and Scarlet. Her first opera, ‘A Time of Empty Tales’ was premiered during Tête à Tête Opera Festival 2023.  Her second opera, Scarlet, was premiered in 2023 with Libretto by Olivia Bell and funded by the Greenwich Bluecoat Foundation. Her most recent opera, The King’s Pants was premiered at the Isle of Wight Story Festival (commissioned by Opera Prelude). 

Most recently, as a Producer/ Researcher, Georgia has worked as a TV Researcher on the BBC Proms 2023. She was a TV Researcher on the Bollywood Prom, Yuja Wang Plays Rachmaninoff, Bomsori, Bruch and Brahms and Mindful Mix. She is currently the Head of Strategic Development at Opera Prelude, and Researcher/ Producer for Pegasus Opera Company in audience development and on their ‘Make Them Hear You’ School’s Project. 

During December, Georgia went on an artist residency to the VCC Composer’s Centre in Visby, Sweden. Read about the experience here.