Kemal Yusuf

Improvised piano music, full orchestral scores, chamber music, an album of “pop sketches” and 3 soundtracks, kemal is a musician who is hungry for sound. He has composed 150+ works for a huge range of ensembles and groups. Amongst these works is the prestigious NNF commission in 2016, of which he was the youngest recipient since Benjamin Britten. He composed this retelling of the Cain fable for the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra & the NNF Chorus and 3 soloists. He has since worked with some of the UK’s most exciting artists including the BBC Singers, Carducci Quartet, Fidelio Trio, Ligeti Quartet, the National Children’s Orchestra, Streetwise Opera, Tangram Ensemble and the Ora Singers. Kemal made his Queen Elizabeth Hall debut in 2023 with his micro opera “No Ordinary City” performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra, Streetwise Opera Chorus and the Sixteen with animations from the 1927. The work was also performed at the Nottingham Playhouse and Bridgewater Hall in Manchester.

Kemal is also an established educator. He has been a staff member for the Royal Academy of Music since 2017 where he teaches Composition, Theory and General Musicianship, and was mentored as 1 of 6 composers by the ABRSM (the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music). He has also taught in schools across the country and worked with Sistema England, the Ora Singers Young Composer Scheme, the London Music Masters and Kuumba Youth Music.

kemal performs his improvisations regularly across London.