Frederick Viner is a multi award-winning composer and pianist based in York. He studied at the University of York (BA 2016) and University of Oxford (MSt 2017). After spending two years as Eton College Composer in Residence, he returned to York to complete his PhD (2023). Having previously served as Head of Keyboard at Queen Margaret’s School, Viner now teaches at York and Hull Universities, and Bootham School.
Viner’s music has received many accolades. In 2015, whilst an undergraduate at the University of York, his Bagatelle won the Ebor Organ Prize and was published by Banks in the Ebor Organ Album – Seven Pieces for Seven Decades. In 2016 Viner was awarded first prize in the Royal Northern Sinfonia’s Mozart’s of Tomorrow competition for Sleeping Gomatz, which the judging panel described as ‘ravishing’ and ‘constantly engaging’.
After graduating from York with distinction, he was appointed Artist in Residence with Sage Gateshead’s Young Sinfonia and was also commissioned to write the closing piece for the Brundibár Arts Festival. In 2017, during his time in Oxford, Viner won first prize in William Howard’s Love Song Composing Competition with Herz an Herz, chosen from 152 compositions submitted anonymously from 61 countries. In 2017 he was also awarded The Henfrey Composition Prize for Bells Wrung, as well as the prestigious National Centre for Early Music Young Composers Award for Prayer from Afar, which was performed at Bridgewater Hall by the Tallis Scholars and broadcast on BBC Radio 3.
In 2018 he was commissioned by Choir & Organ Magazine, Orchestra for the Earth, Borough New Music, Northern Praeclassica and pianist Jakob Fichert. In 2019 his music was performed by the Royal Tunbridge Wells Symphony Orchestra, the Chapel Choir of Selwyn College and the Gromoglasova Piano Duo. In 2020 he was awarded the STR Music Composition Prize (sponsored by Sean Rourke) for his piece The Annunciation, as well as the LeFanu Composition Prize for his Etude I: Mirie it is. Between 2020-21, his piano work ‘Something She’d Like’ was performed worldwide – in the UK, Germany, Turkey, Austria and Thailand – by world-class pianists including Paul Barton and Vadim Chaimovich.
Viner is the host of a popular Youtube channel (28k subscribers and over 2 million views) and has used this platform to collaborate with an array of internationally recognised musicians, including: Lowell Liebermann, Ben Laude, Denis Zhdanov, Josh Wright, Charles Szczepanek and Mark Viner. This work has also led to collaborations with ABRSM, in which Viner produced videos for the recently launched Creative Musicianship Qualification.
Most recently, Viner’s music has appeared on BBC Radio 3 Unwind, Moving Classics TV, Ashish Xiangyi Kumar’s Youtube channel, and been featured on ABRSM’s Performance Grade Syllabus. His new set of beginner books for various instruments – ‘Jump Start’ – is due to release in summer, 2026, published by Kevin Mayhew and distributed by Hal Leonard.
Frederick Viner | Composer 