Thank You For The Music

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Local musician makes it to semi-finals of national Song Writing Contest

A Shepherd’s Bush musician and songwriter has made it to the semi-finals of the UK’s Song Writing Contest – a competition that attracted more than 6,000 entries this year.

Liz Owen, who lives near Askew Road, entered her piece of music, called 'Lost', in the instrumental category of the Contest, which is the country's most prestigious song-writing competition.

“It’s a dreamy, relaxing” piece, she told ShepherdsBushW12.com of her composition. “I wrote it at University as part of my dissertation. I called it ‘Lost’ because I was lost, trying to think of a name for it. It was me sitting at the piano, improvising.”

She scored six points out of a possible 9, meaning the judges considered her piece to be “one of the stronger songs in the contest” and that she was just short of making it through to the finals.

The 25-year-old, who plays the piano and sings, studied Music and Music Technology both at GCSE and A-Level and has a BA Honours degree in Music Composition and Professional Practice from Coventry University.

She says she mainly writes piano and vocal music but has also written various orchestral and small chamber music pieces and musical arrangements, including an arrangement of Abba songs for a school Christmas concert.

However, Owen says it is almost impossible to make a career as a composer because it is so competitive. “It is very, very, very hard to get noticed,” she told ShepherdsBushW12.com. “I want to write music for film and TV but to do that, you have to have done it before. If you’re a student or a graduate, there’s no hope.”

However, she said getting so far in a national music competition had given her a real boost. “It’s motivated me,” she said. “I’m definitely going to pursue it to become a full-time composer. If people see the Contest on my CV now, they’re impressed.”

You can hear the piece that made it into the semi-finals by clicking here.

Now in its seventh year, the UK Songwriting Contest is dedicated to promoting the art of songwriting and the discovery of new talent.

This year, the competition attracted more entries than ever before which meant the judges had to postpone publishing the results for almost a month.

All entries are examined by experienced industry professionals and everyone has the chance to get noticed. According to the competition organisers, the music industry follows the event closely and past winners and finalists have been noticed by big music names including Sir Paul McCartney and Simon Cowell.

The UK Song Writing Contest was formed in 2002 with The BRIT Trust (of BRIT Awards fame) to encourage and promote the art of songwriting. The contest is supported by some of the most highly respected names in music including BBC Radio, Music Aid, the BRITSchool, The Guild of International Songwriters and Composers, The British Academy of Composers and Songwriters, The International Song Copyright Agency, Sibelius, Broadjam, Virtual Studio Systems, Backbeat Books and many other leading music industry professionals, organisations and companies.

16 September 2008