Annabel McLauchlan Rooney was born in 1973. A cellist in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, she read music at Christ's College, Cambridge, holding a university instrumental award on the cello. She continued her studies in Cambridge with an MPhil and a PhD on eighteenth-century opera. Annabel started composing seriously in 2011, predominantly writing choral music, and now combines this with performance and instrumental teaching. Annabel's music appears regularly at Evensong at Christ's College Chapel, and has been performed by choirs including those of the Chapel Royal, and Exeter and Ely Cathedrals. The choir of Christ's College, Cambridge, released a CD of Annabel’s sacred choral music, As a Seed Bursts Forth, in 2019.