She studied composition in London with Harrison Birtwistle and Brian Elias and in Karlsruhe with Wolfgang Rihm. In 2015-16 she received a scholarship from the Berlin Senate Department of Culture for a six-month residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris. Her numerous accolades include the 2017 PRS Foundation Composers’ Fund Award, the 2020 Royal Philharmonic Society Award for Chamber-Scale Composition (for I am, I am), and the 2022 Ernst von Siemens Composer Prize. 

Naomi Pinnock’s music has been performed worldwide by groups such as the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, WDR Symphony Orchestra, Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, Ensemble Adapter, Quatuor Bozzini, Arditti Quartet, KNM Berlin, EXAUDI, London Sinfonietta, Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart and Schola Heidelberg. Her works have featured at festivals including Klangspuren Schwaz, Acht Brücken, Ultraschall Berlin, Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Tectonics Glasgow, Eclat Festival Stuttgart, Rainy Days Luxembourg, Musica Strasbourg, Only Connect Festival in Stavanger, Norway, and Spitalfields Festival London. In 2020 her first portrait CD – Lines and Spaces – was released on WERGO. 

Major works: Obstinare for seven instruments (2003), IS for piano (2006, rev. 2009), RE-sonare for accordion, cimbalom and two percussionists (2006), Nostos for soprano, violin and ensemble (2007), ukuðr for eight instruments (2007), Oscillare for vocal ensemble and accordion (2010), String Quartet (2010), Words for baritone and ensemble (2010–11), Everything changes for viola and cello (2011), everything does change for clarinet, violin and cello (2012), String Quartet no. 2 (2012), The writings of Jakob Br. for vocal ensemble (2013), Always again for two pianos and ensemble (2013–14), and yet there was (love) for solo mezzo-soprano (2014), Lines and Spaces for piano (2015), Music for Europe for flute, clarinet, harp, piano and percussion (2016), Between for seven instruments (2017), The field is woven for orchestra (2018–19), BILLIE for bass clarinet (2019), I am, I am for soprano and string quartet (2019), vestige for soprano (2020), passing, vanishing for cello (2020), beneath for trombone (2021), The shadow of the thing for violin (2022), After Severn Cullis-Suzuki for violin and viola (2022), Landscape for vocal ensemble (2022), (it looks like someone lived there) for ensemble with soprano (2022), (were the ruins still there) for ensemble (2023).