When most people meet Lewis Murphy, the thing that surprises them most is his occupation.

"It's amazing how many people I speak to who have never met a composer before and don't even think there are any composers left," the 25-year-old from Glasgow explains.

"People think the last composers died 100 years ago, 200 years ago."

In fact, 'young' composers are generally considered in operatic terms to be in their thirties and forties.

Least of all perform in their own rock band in their spare time.

Yet having just completed a two year residency with one of the UK's top opera houses, Lewis is making sound waves in the music world.

For Lewis, music was a passion from a young age but he understood pursuing it as a career would be difficult and without the security other roles can offer.

This, he explains, is why his path nearly led him to become an engineer.

"Through my high school I thought I wanted to do engineering , I thought I wanted to do something completely different.

"Music was always the thing I was most passionate about and throughout my school years other things would fall by the wayside as music became the all for me.

"The choice I had at the end of school whether to go with something that I knew that I was definitely going to enjoy but perhaps didn't have the security that other careers offer."

Taking the leap, Lewis studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, graduating with first class honours before moving to London to continue his studies with Mark-Anthony Turnage at the Royal College of Music.

It was then he began work as the Young Composer-in-Residence at Glyndebourne in 2015.

The opera house in East Sussex helps to develop new talent and reach new audiences through the programme.

Now Lewis' work has been performed by a number of ensembles in the UK and abroad, which is particularly impressive for such a young composer.

His latest project has been working with Scottish Opera on Opera Sparks and he has composed a new 15 minute opera, 'Then To The Elements', for youth company Connect alongside writer Laura Attridge.

He hopes to encourage young people that music can be more than just a hobby if you have a true passion for the art.

When it comes to seeing his music come to life on the stage, Lewis admits the process can be emotional.

"It comes off the page and you hear people perform it and you get to work with other people and you create something as a group, that's one of the most fantastic feelings actually and it's always slightly emotional hearing something for the first time," he says.

While working with the other members of the Scottish Opera team can be difficult at times, Lewis adding that he tries not to be "too bolshy" when it comes to other people interpreting his composition.

"It's important that I am there in the room to give my input wherever I can because it's my responsibility to kind of turn up and make sure they are doing it they way that I want it to sound," he says.

"There is always a bit of give and take with the conductor and the director because they have their own ideas and I have to leave them space so they can be creative and make the piece they want to make."

Having made his mark in both Scotland and England with his music, Lewis' next project is a piece commission for the National Opera Studio in London as part of their 40th anniversary celebrations which take place in June.

Looking to the future, Lewis believes the future sounds beautiful.

"I think I've got a really strong portfolio of pieces and from here it's just about trying to keep that momentum going," he says.

Additional reporting by Clare McNeill

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