The Ivors Academy has announced the 36 composers and librettists nominated for an Ivor Novello Award across nine categories.
The winners will be revealed at The Ivors Composer Awards, sponsored by PRS For Music and in association with BBC Radio 3, on November 17 at Grosvenor House on Park Lane, London.
The nominees include Hania Rani, Patrick Jonsson and Siôn Trefor, who have each received two nominations and are all nominated for the first time.
Other first-time nominees include Ailís Ní Ríain, Anselm McDonnell, Deirdre McKay, Ioana Selaru, Pav Gekko, Richard Collins, Ruth Morley, Sam Slater, Samuel D Loveless, Sasha Scott, Thomas Farnon and librettist Lee Hall.
“The new, elevated ceremony will celebrate the breadth of composition and its contribution to contemporary culture, recognising composers working across genres and disciplines, from film, television and video games to concert halls, community engagement and live performance,” said a statement. You can read more about the ceremony in the new edition of Music Week.
A new category recognising original documentary scores has been introduced for the first time this year, bringing the number of nominated categories to nine.
Alongside the nine nominated categories, four gift-of-the-Academy special awards will be presented, including the Ivor Novello Award for Innovation to Max Richter. The Academy will also induct a composer into the Fellowship, the highest honour it bestows.
The Ivors Composer Awards will be hosted by broadcaster Petroc Trelawny, with BBC Radio 3 as broadcast partner. Highlights from The Ivors Composer Awards ceremony will be broadcast across BBC Radio 3’s schedule, in programmes such as The New Music Show (November 21) and Sound of Cinema (November 21) as well as on Breakfast and In Tune.
The nominated works were composed by British, Irish and UK resident composers and heard by UK audiences for the first time.
Lord Neri, CEO of The Ivors Academy, said: “It’s a pleasure to announce the nominees for The Ivors Composer Awards 2026, our new ceremony celebrating excellence in composition. They represent some of the most exciting and innovative British and Irish composers. Their creativity makes an extraordinary contribution to our culture and creative industries, and these nominations recognise the skill, originality and impact of their work.”
Tom Gray, chair of The Ivors Academy, said: “An outstanding composition changes everything. Across games, films, programmes, festivals and concerts, music enriches our understanding, evokes emotional subtleties and opens new ways of experiencing the world. This year’s nominees demonstrate that power in abundance. Congratulations to them all.”
Their creativity makes an extraordinary contribution to our culture and creative industries, and these nominations recognise the skill, originality and impact of their work
Lord Neri
Julian Nott, chair of the PRS Members’ Council, said: “I’d like to offer my congratulations to all the extraordinary composers whose work has been nominated. Thirty-three PRS members are among those nominees, spanning classical and choral music composers to creators working in film, television, games, performance and community composition. Their talent, originality and ambition deserve the highest recognition. We’re proud to champion and celebrate their achievements and the joy their music brings to audiences everywhere.”
Sam Jackson, controller, BBC Radio 3 and BBC Proms, said: “We are delighted to continue BBC Radio 3's broadcast partnership with The Ivors Composer Awards, which shine a spotlight on the extraordinary creativity and craft of composers working across so many different fields today. This year's nominations showcase the remarkable breadth of contemporary music-making, from concert works to music created for television, film, video games, and vital works at the heart of education and community projects.
“As the UK's largest commissioner of new music, the BBC is proud to champion the artists whose work enriches our cultural life. We look forward to sharing highlights from the awards with our listeners across Radio 3's schedules, in programmes such as The New Music Show, Sound of Cinema, Breakfast and In Tune. Congratulations to all this year's nominees."
Across the screen categories, video game developers IO Interactive, Housemarque and Infuse Studio and screen companies including Netflix, BBC, Sky Studios, ITV Studios, Amazon MGM Studios, Film4 and S4C all commissioned original scores.
Best Original Film Score and Best Original Television Score are categories historically celebrated at The Ivors, which have been moved to join the rest of the composition categories at The Ivors Composer Awards for the first time.
First-time nominees Ioana Selaru and Siôn Trefor are nominated in the Film category for their soundtrack to Welsh drama film Effi O Blaenau.
Former Ivor Novello Award winners Daniel Pemberton and Oliver Coates are also nominated in this category for their scores to Project Hail Mary and The History of Sound respectively.
In the Television category Carly Paradis is recognised for her soundtrack to ITVX true crime series Believe Me, alongside Siôn Trefor for the Netflix thriller Legends and Patrick Jonsson for BBC comedy-drama series Mint.
The Best Original Video Game Score category recognises the specialist skills required for games soundtracks. The Flight (Alexis Smith and Joe Henson) are nominated for 007 First Light, Sam Slater is nominated for Saros and Pav Gekko is nominated for Spirit of the North 2.
Best Original Score for Performance recognises three nominees: Mark-Anthony Turnage and librettist Lee Hall for their contemporary three-act opera Festen; Richard Ayres for his theatrical journey into the inner workings of an orchestra No.59 (Dr Frompou’s Anatomical Study of an Orchestra); and Bushra El-Turk's music theatre work Oum – A Son’s Quest for his Mother.
Former composer winners include George Benjamin, Judith Weir, James MacMillan, Errollyn Wallen, Stephen Sondheim, Anne Dudley, John Barry, Debbie Wiseman, Julian Joseph, John Dankworth, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Anoushka Shankar, Brian Eno, Gavin Bryars and many more.
The new ceremony will be part of The Ivors Composer Week, taking place on November 16-20, in order to broaden the celebration and empowerment of composers further.
IVORS COMPOSER AWARDS NOMINEES
1. BEST COMMUNITY AND PARTICIPATION COMPOSITION WITH ABRSM
BENCHES
composed by Samuel D Loveless
HOLOCENE
composed by Ailís Ní Ríain
HOW WE STAND, HOW WE BREATHE
composed by Brian Irvine
2. BEST LARGE-SCALE COMPOSITION
BEFORE WE FALL
composed by Anna Thorvaldsdottir
EXOPLANETS
composed by Robert Laidlow
NON FICTION: PIANO CONCERTO IN FOUR MOVEMENTS
composed by Hania Rani
THE WHITE BOOK - EXTRACTS FROM HAN KANG'S *THE WHITE BOOK* FOR SOPRANO AND ORCHESTRA
composed by Laura Bowler
[UNTITLED]
composed by Cassie Kinoshi
3. BEST ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY SCORE
A GORILLA STORY: TOLD BY DAVID ATTENBOROUGH
composed by Richard Collins and Patrick Jonsson
DAVID FROST VS…
composed by Thomas Farnon
GRENFELL: UNCOVERED
composed by Benjamin Kwasi Burrell
THE LAST MUSICIAN OF AUSCHWITZ
composed by Jessica Dannheisser
UNDERLAND
composed by Hannah Peel
4. BEST ORIGINAL FILM SCORE
EFFI O BLAENAU
composed by Ioana Șelaru and Siôn Trefor
PROJECT HAIL MARY
composed by Daniel Pemberton
THE HISTORY OF SOUND
composed by Oliver Coates
5. BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR PERFORMANCE
FESTEN
composed by Mark-Anthony Turnage, with libretto by Lee Hall
NO. 59 (DR FROMPOU'S ANATOMICAL STUDY OF AN ORCHESTRA)
composed by Richard Ayres
OUM – A SON'S QUEST FOR HIS MOTHER
composed by Bushra El-Turk
6. BEST ORIGINAL TELEVISION SCORE
BELIEVE ME
composed by Carly Paradis
LEGENDS
composed by Siôn Trefor
MINT
composed by Patrick Jonsson
7. BEST ORIGINAL VIDEO GAME SCORE
007 FIRST LIGHT
composed by The Flight
SAROS
composed by Sam Slater
SPIRIT OF THE NORTH 2
composed by Pav Gekko
8. BEST SMALL-SCALE COMPOSITION
HOPE SPIRAL
composed by Ben Nobuto
NIGHT OWL
composed by Sasha Scott
REEF
composed by Ruth Morley
SCRUNCHY TOUCH SWEETLY TO FALL (KITE AND FINGER RUN)
composed by Alex Paxton
SHINING
composed by Hania Rani
9. BEST VOCAL AND CHORAL COMPOSITION
A TASTE OF TRAPPED SUN
composed by Anselm McDonnell
BALLADS OF A BOGMAN
composed by Stephen McNeff
LITANY TO THE MAGDALENE DEAD
composed by Deirdre McKay
SONGS OF SLEEP AND PROPHECY
composed by Martin Suckling
THE BLACK LAKE
composed by Richard Blackford
FOLLOW 
