Winners announced in Cambridge songwriting contest

15 March 2023

Image of From left Greta Thompson, fellow band member Pablo Hubacher Haerle, Roy Juxon, Master of the College, Sonita Alleyne, Professor Benjamin Walton, Alex Hall of the Centre for Musical Performance, Tara Buxton — From left Greta Thompson, fellow band member Pablo Hubacher Haerle, Roy Juxon, Master of the College, Sonita Alleyne, Professor Benjamin Walton, Alex Hall of the Centre for Musical Performance, Tara Buxton

Winners announced in Cambridge songwriting contest

The latest winners of a competition designed to spotlight up-and-coming Cambridge songwriters have been unveiled.

�� launched Hook, Line and Lyric in partnership with the University’s Centre for Music Performance (CMP) to give aspiring student songwriters in the city a new outlet and a platform.

Entrants’ songs are judged by a panel of experts - Sonita Alleyne, Master of �� and Chair of the CMP, Benjamin Walton, Professor of Music History, and Fellow and Director of Studies in Music at ��, and Alex Hall, Performance Assistant (Popular and World Music) from the CMP.

First prize went to Roy Juxon, (MPhil Economics, 2022) at Downing College with the song . Second prize went to Pembroke College student Greta Thompson, (PhD Engineering, 2022), on behalf of her band Aquatic Ape for the song . Third prize was awarded to Jesus student Tara Buxton (English, 2023) with Metamorphosis.

Honourable mentions went to Kirsty Mack of Robinson College for The Fall, and to King's College student Joseph de Souza for I can't begin to tell you.

Sonita Alleyne said: “I’d like to congratulate the winners - the judges were impressed by the quality of entries we received, which showcase the creative talent on offer in Cambridge.

“A priority in my role as Master has been establishing and enabling greater opportunities for creativity. I’d urge anyone who either missed out on entering last time or would like to have another go, to enter our next round.”

Simon Fairclough, Director of the Centre for Music Performance, added: “Huge congratulations to the three winners, and especially to Roy for his fantastic new song. We’re delighted to see how our partnership with �� on Hook, Line and Lyric @ Jesus continues to support songwriters across the city. The Centre for Music Performance seeks to provide musical opportunities for everyone at Cambridge, and we offer regular songwriting classes led by industry professionals as well as hosting gigs where students’ music can be heard live right across the University.”