Nigel Hess has been commissioned to compose a new work for the Coronation of King Charles III. It will be among twelve new works specially written for the ceremony, which takes place on Saturday 6 May 2023.

Andrew Nethsingha, the Abbey's Organist and Master of the Choristers, will direct the music at the service and oversee all musical arrangements. Sir Antonio Pappano, Music Director for the Royal Opera House, will be conducting the Coronation Orchestra which comprises a bespoke collection of musicians drawn from orchestras of the former Prince of Wales’ Patronages, including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Hess is renowned as a composer for television, film, and the concert hall. His celebrated scores include music for the 2004 film Ladies in Lavender, and A Christmas Overture, commissioned by John Rutter and premiered by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Hess has a longstanding artistic relationship with the Royal Family. In 2007 he composed a ballet score after The Old Man of Lochnagar, a children’s story written by the then Prince of Wales in 1980, commissioned and premièred by the National Youth Ballet of Great Britain. The same year saw the premiere of his Concerto for Piano and Orchestra from Lang Lang, commissioned by The Prince of Wales in memory of his late grandmother, the Queen Mother. Hess was also honoured to be asked to arrange and direct the music for the late Queen’s private 90th birthday celebration at Windsor Castle and for the then Prince Charles' 70th birthday dinner at Buckingham Palace.