Lynsey de Paul Prize winner and runners-up announced

27 August 2015 - Press release

Winner Emma McGrath receives £2,000 talent bursary & mentorship and three runners-up receive £500 bursary each
 
Winner will perform at the ‘Lynsey de Paul – A Celebration’ evening on September 10, 2015

PRS for Music Foundation and PRS for Music Members Benevolent Fund announce today that the winner of the career-developing Lynsey de Paul Prize, set up to support emerging female singer-songwriters, is 15 year-old Emma McGrath.

Emma, an acoustic singer-songwriter from Hertfordshire, receives a £2000 talent bursary, mentorship and will perform at the ‘Lynsey de Paul – A Celebration’ event which will take place on September 10, at PRS for Music’s office in Kings Cross, London.  Tickets for the event can be purchased by contacting jessica.morgan@prsformusic.com

Although at the early stages of her music career, Emma has already had her music played by her local BBC Introducing station and on BBC Radio 2.

Emma McGrath said,

“I feel very grateful to have won such a fantastic prize and excited to know that the money will enable me to continue working on my next EP!  Recording has already begun and it’s good to know that I will have the funds to finish it and promote it properly.  I am particularly keen to access the mentorship and look forward to meeting new people and learning lots of new things.”

In addition to the winner there are three runners-up, Emma McGann (Pop), Niomi O’Rourke (Electronic) and Saachi Sen (Indie/Folk), who will each receive a £500 talent development bursary.

Vanessa Reed Executive Director PRS for Music Foundation said,

“Congratulations to Emma McGrath for winning the first Lynsey de Paul Prize and also to the runners-up.  We received over 100 applications, of which the standard was very high, showing there is an exciting wealth of talented emerging female singer-songwriters in the UK.  We’re proud that through the Lynsey de Paul Prize we are able to encourage and support more talented female singer-songwriters to take the next steps in their career.”

The Lynsey de Paul Prize is a talent development award for emerging female singer-songwriters, set up by PRS for Music Foundation and PRS for Music Members Benevolent Fund, to honour the career of the multi-award winning songwriter and artist Lynsey de Paul who died in 2014.  Lynsey was the first female songwriter to win an Ivor Novello Award, composed 12 top twenty hit records, and achieved great success in the music business.

Read more about the winner and the runners-up on our website: http://prsformusicfoundation.com/Funding/Lynsey-de-Paul-Prize