Judging Panel: Professor Wendy Gadian
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
We are honoured to have Wendy Gadian serve on the judging panel for both the Drama Award and the DCCI Reading Competition.
Professor Gadian is a distinguished composer, conductor, and academic, and a former Head of Composition at the Royal Academy of Music. Her work spans concert music, opera, and music for theatre, and she has long been recognised for her ability to bring narrative to life through sound.
As composer of the musical score for Taken by Storm, she brings a rare sensitivity to the relationship between story, performance, and emotional expression. Her contribution has helped shape the work not only as text, but as something lived – interpreted through voice, movement, and collaboration.
In reviewing this year’s entries, it has been particularly encouraging to see how students have responded with imagination and initiative. Notably, The King’s School Canterbury submitted a reading entry accompanied by original animation – a thoughtful and inventive interpretation from the Woodland Sprite Series that reflected both creativity and a strong sense of teamwork.
Such contributions speak directly to the spirit of the DCCI School Awards: encouraging students not only to engage with story, but to explore how it can be expressed, extended, and shared in new ways.
Professor Gadian will also say a few words on the evening, and we are most grateful for her generous support of the Fleur Rossdale Foundation through the donation of individual and group tuition in drama and music as part of the evening’s auction.
We are deeply grateful to Wendy for her insight and care in helping to guide this process.
Discover the speakers and program for the DCCI School Awards event on 20 May at the École Européenne de Bruxelles–Argenteuil.
Tickets for the event are now available on our website.