A FORMER BBC Young Composer of the Year has realised his ambition to open his own music shop in his hometown.

Nathan Rose, from Kingswinford, celebrated the opening of Nathan Rose Music in Townsend Place on Saturday (June 15).

The 39-year-old pianist and organist, who also runs a shop in Wolverhampton which has been going for ten years, said: “It’s really exciting. I’ve always wanted to do it.

“Ever since I started out this is where I wanted to be - serving the local community and people that I know. It’s really good to be able to do that.”

The Mayor and Mayoress of Dudley, Councillor Alan Finch and his wife Heather, were invited to officially ‘cut the ribbon’ at the new venuture which will be taking on a number of part-time music teachers.

Mr Rose, a qualified music teacher who was made an examiner for the London College of Music and Media in 2005, added: “It’s nice that we’re expanding at a time when many people are struggling.”

The Birmingham Conservatoire graduate, who won the BBC Young Composer of the Year competition in 1998, has over the years secured many commissions for new works including two orchestral pieces - performed on Radio 3 and BBC 2 by the Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

He also composed a piece to celebrate the Millennium which was performed at London’s Millennium Dome.

Teaching and running the shops has kept him busy over the last few years but in his spare time he has been working on a film score for an independent animated movie and he hopes to further this side of his career in the future.