Liverpool-born composer Nneka Cummins has won an Ivor Novello Award.
The homegrown artists claimed the Best Large Ensemble Composition category for their work ‘finding gills [when they try to drown you]’.
Commissioned by nonclassical, the work was first performed by the Sinfonia Smith Square Orchestra at Sinfonia Smith Square.
Judges said that Cummins’ work ‘creates a mesmerizing underwater sound world, effortlessly blending electronic and acoustic elements’.
They also described the first-time nominee’s composition as both ‘focused and beautifully orchestrated’ and ‘a piece you’ll return to again and again’.
Cummins received the accolade at BFI Southbank on Tuesday (November 11) after being premiered to UK audiences between April 2024 and March 2025.