FOUR composers based in Scotland are in the running for the British composer awards.

Sally Beamish has been nominated for her composition Merula Perpetua, which reflects on her first experiences living in Glasgow where she rediscovered her love playing viola and piano.

The piece is also dedicated to her late friend and mentor Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, who has also been nominated.

The late Sir Peter, lived much of his life in the Orkney Islands where he wrote most of his music.

His opera for children ‘The Hogboon’ is nominated in the Amateur or Young Performers category.

Hanna Tuulikki, who is based in Leith, Edinburgh, has also been nominated for an award.

Ms Tuulikki, who works with voice and gesture, has had her acclaimed work commissioned by the Edinburgh Art Festival and Glasgow International Festival.

Ms Tuulikki has been short listed for 'cloud-cuckoo-island' in the Sonic Art category.

Stuart MacRae, the former composer in association with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra is nominated for the first time.

Born in Inverness and currently living in Edinburgh, his nominated piece, Piano Sonata No. 2, was partly funded by research award from Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Overall thirty composers are nominated for the British Composer Awards, including 33 works across 11 categories.

The number of young composers nominated this year increased by 16 per cent, with 46 per cent of nominees under the age of 40.

The number of women nominated has continued to increase year on year, with women making up 42 per cent of the shortlist.

Half the composers are first-time nominees.

Crispin Hunt, chairman of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors, said: "Britain is home to a flourishing and bold community of enlightened and reformist contemporary composers, whose work continues to accelerate music’s role in society.

"The works nominated here speak to politics, ecology, art and history and somehow manage to distil the disorder about us into form.

"It’s inspiring to note a significant uplift in submissions this year, especially to see so many first-time nominees and young composers shortlisted – further testimony to the pioneering musical spirit of today.”

The winners in each category will be announced at an awards ceremony presented by BBC Radio 3 presenters Andrew McGregor and Sara Mohr-Pietsch at the British Museum in London on December 6.