Simon Bainbridge (1952-2021) was a British composer whose works draw inspiration from and respond to architecture, visual arts, poetry and jazz. His music has been commissioned by the BBC Proms, Aldeburgh Festival, Cheltenham Festival and performed by the London Sinfonietta, the Chigago Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Singers and the BBC Symphony Orchestra amongst many others.

Born in London, Bainbridge studied with John Lambert (Royal College of Music) and Gunther Schuller (Tanglewood). His early successes Spirogyra (Aldeburgh Festival 1971) and Viola Concerto (1976) were followed by large-scale commissions such as Fantasia for Double Orchestra (1983) and the horn concerto Landscape and Memory (1995). Ad Ora Incerta (1994), awarded the Grawemeyer Award in 1997, Chant (1999), a re-working of Hildegard von Bingen for York Minster, as well as Counterpoints (2015), a double bass concerto for jazz musician Eddie Gomez, are notable examples of his unparalleled sound and subtle craftsmanship.

Simon was Head of Composition at the Royal Academy of Music. He taught and lectured internationally and was an active conductor, particularly of contemporary music. In 2016, he was awarded the inaugural British Composer Award for Inspiration.