Helen MacKinnon

Helen MacKinnon is a Scottish composer who works across the UK and internationally, writing choral, chamber and orchestral music. Helen studied music at The University of Glasgow, specialising in composition with composer William Sweeney.

Helen’s notable setting of Gloria in excelsis Deo was awarded by Academy Award-winner Ennio Morricone in the 2nd International Competition of Choral Composition and now features as a repertoire piece in Florence Choral Festivals. The work premiered in The Philippines, was recorded in Prague with Prague Mixed Chamber Choir and Jiří Petrdlík, and released as part of a choral album, Voices of Earth & Air Vol. II. The recording receives regular global airplay and was nominated for a Scottish Award in New Music in 2020. Helen’s work for strings Ave Maris Stella recently premiered in Serbia, with the country’s oldest symphony orchestra, the Subotica Philharmonic.

In January 2022, a recording of ‘The Rinns of Islay’ – a work dedicated to the Scottish island, performed by the RSNO and conducted by David Watkin – was released worldwide on the album Legends and Light Vol. 2. The work premiered Perth Symphony Orchestra in May 2022.