Errollyn Wallen is a renowned British composer. Her music has framed royal occasions, ceremonies and iconic events like the Last Night of the Proms. In 2024 she was the first person of color to be appointed as Master of The King’s Music, an honorary title that dates back to the early 17th century.
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Ella Fitzgerald
It’s not a piece of music, it’s a voice! The voice of Ella Fitzgerald singing anything! I think of her as a composer, the way she sings, the way she phrases, she brings such supreme musicianship that’s astonishing to me.
I was born in Belize, and I grew up listening to Ella because my parents were always playing her records. When I started to sing myself, I nearly stopped because I thought, what’s the point, you don’t sound like Ella Fitzgerald. She makes it sound so easy; she can be playful, sentimental, heartbreaking…
Evidently, my parents said to me that when I was a baby – and I hope this is true – that I was really, really happy. I never cried but I was always singing. My cot was by their bed and if I woke up before them, I wouldn’t cry, I would sing. One day, I wouldn’t have been two yet, they said they woke up and said, ‘Oh Linny!’ because I was singing a Nat King Cole number, When I Fall In Love. Those are crazy intervals, but they somehow recognized what I was singing.
