HUGO BELL is a composer and performer based in South-East England. He has worked with groups including Ensemble Semblance, Hand Werk, Ensemble Proton Bern, Ensemble TaG, XTRO, Residentie Orkest, New European Ensemble, Britten Sinfonia, Ensemble Oerknal, Decibel, Royal Northern Sinfonia, The Marian Consort and The Tallis Scholars, and has collaborated with performers including Ere Lievonen and Jacob Lekkerkerker.
 
His music has been presented across Europe and North America, with performances at festivals including Harrogate International Festival (2024), Impuls (2023), Gaudeamus Muziekweek (2020 & 2021), CODA (2018) and Cheltenham Music Festival (2015). His awards include the Mendelssohn Scholarship (2022), the Conlon Foundation Prize (2021), the Philip Bates Prize (2017) and the NCEM & BBC Young Composer Award (2014), and he has taken part in development programmes such as London Symphony Orchestra’s SoundHub (2024) and Britten Sinfonia’s Opus 1 (2021).
 
Coming from a background in performance, his practice is heavily reliant on collaboration whether it be a traditional composer-performer relationship or a composer-composer/artist relationship. Hugo has collaborated with musicians and artists from a wide variety of creative backgrounds including choreographers, early music practitioners, visual artists, electronic musicians and instrument builders. He also performs regularly with New London Chamber Choir, an ensemble specialising in contemporary repertoire, where he additionally serves as a trustee.
 
He began his musical career as an aspiring organist and conductor studying at Newcastle University and Gothenburg Academy of Music, during which period he was awarded the Lawrence Phelps Recital Award. After completing his undergraduate studies, his enthusiasm for contemporary music led him to start composing. After two years of private lessons he was awarded a scholarship to study composition at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. In 2023, Hugo completed a Masters degree in composition at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague where his studies were generously supported by the Leverhulme Foundation.