Patrick Ellis (b. 1994, UK) is a composer, performer and curator based in London. His music has been described as being "focused, intense and unrelenting" (Gaudeamus Jury, 2024), with much of his work utilising limited musical materials, small developments and juxtapositions.
An active composer, he has worked with many acclaimed ensembles including Terra Invisus (UK), Ensemble Klang (NL), To Your Ear Collective (UK), collective lovemusic (FR), XTRO Percussion (NL), the Residentie Orkest (NL), Kluster 5 (NL), Orkest de Ereprijs (NL), The Tantrum Saxophone Quartet (NL), The Spaceship Ensemble (NL), Kirkos (IE) and 315 Ensemble (US/UK), and has collaborated with soloists such as Kathryn Williams (flute), Huw Morgan (organ), Alfian Emir Adytia (cello), Dauphine Van der Velphen (saxophone), Chris Cresswell (electric guitar) and Carson Cooman (organ).
Upcoming projects include a new multimedia work exploring burnout within the classical music industry for the ensemble Standard Issue as well as a new collaborative work with the cellists Laurence Gaudreau and Audréanne Filion.
Patrick's music has been presented at numerous festivals and concert series across Europe, North America, Asia and Australasia, which includes Gaudeamus Festival (NL), Festival Dag in de Branding (NL), November Music (NL), Rainy Days Festival (LU), Mittelfest and Mittelyoung Festival (IT), De Link Tilburg (NL), Lilium SoundArt (IT), Sundays at The Hugh Lane Gallery (IE), AżTak Festival (PL), New Music Now NL's Dag van de Componist (NL), Click Fest (US), Sounding Here (NL), Union Musicale (IT), Mainly Slow Organ Music (UK), Kammer Klang (UK), the Frequency Series Chicago (US) and the Harmos Plural Festival (PT).
In 2024, Patrick was nominated for the Gaudeamus Award and in 2022, he was the Artist in Residence for the AMPA Fontys/De Link Residency programme in Tilburg, The Netherlands. He has also been a part of the Psappha Composing For Piano Scheme in 2019-20, the 25th Edition of Orkest de Erepijs’ Young Composers Meeting and Kathryn Williams' innovative Coming Up for Air Project.
His music has been broadcasted on the Dutch radio stations NPO Radio 4, NPO Klassiek, Concertzender and Stranded FM, as well as on the US station WCNY and the podcast series, Living Classical, and has had commercial recordings featured on releases by Birmingham Record Company and Huddersfield Contemporary Records.
Patrick performs in Open Union, an electric guitar and modular synth duo with composer-performer colleague Peter Bell. Described as being 'sometimes subtle and unstable; sometimes rich and dense' by Howard Skempton, the duo aims to build up strong collaborative relationships and create new works. Their current collaborators include Christine Cornwell, Wilson Leywantono, May Chi, Paolo Griffin, Seán Clancy and Peter Bell. The duo have performed at events such as SAOM, Ealing Extranormal, Sounding Here, AMOK, Don't Mind Control, Birmingham Modular Organisation and CODA Festival. Keen to perform to different audiences, they have done mini tours of both the UK and The Netherlands, and have curated concerts which have included a portrait concert with the saxophonist David Zucchi featuring music by Paolo Griffin at the Hundred Years Gallery and two double billed events with experimental-performers James McIlwrath and Zahrah Hutton.
Alongside composing and performing, Patrick serves as the creative director of PRXLUDES, an online contemporary music magazine, platform, and resource dedicated to promoting emerging and early-career composers. Together with the artistic director Zygmund de Somogyi and the creative Georgie West with a small team of contributors (Sofia Jen Ouyang, Finn Mattingly, Marisse Cato and Jess Naomi), they have written over 150 articles on some of today's most exciting composers, ensembles and music organisations from the UK and beyond. In 2025, PRXLUDES were awarded a multi-year partnership with The Hinrichsen Foundation to begin a series of events throughout the UK between 2026 and 2028 that platforms emerging and early-career composers. Partnering with Standard Issue and Stomping Ground Collective; the first set of these events took place at Folklore Hoxton in London and The Nest in Oxford, which featured a commission by Millicent B James, the first in PRXLUDES' '5 for 5' initiative. The next set of events takes, featuring the second '5 for 5' commissioned composer, Rebecca Galian Castello, takes place at Chat's Palace in Homerton, London and The Nest in Chichester.
He holds a Masters degree in composition from the Koninklijk Conservatorium Den Haag (Royal Conservatoire of The Hague) and a Bachelor's degree from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. His principal tutors have included Martijn Padding, Guus Janssen, Andrew Hamilton, Seán Clancy, Ed Bennett, Howard Skempton and Michael Wolters.
