Compositions
While I was at school, I wrote music. Playing instruments came later. My teachers suggested I attend Leeds University to study composition with Alexander Goehr. That was a great idea. I found his teaching inspirational and I'm still thinking about things he said today.
Playing took over and I wrote nothing for many years, but I started to write again a while back.
Esperanza for baroque oboe and harpsichord, was written for my partner, Gail Hennessy.
Steven Devine seemed delighted with the harpsichord part so in 2016 I wrote him two pieces - one for harpsichord, Flats, one for fortepiano.
Pieces I wrote, and have been performed
Esperanza - Gail Hennessy - baroque oboe and Steven Devine - harpsichord.
Flats written for solo harpsichord, performed by Steven Devine.
I wrote Berry Hill in memory of Iain McGillivray. It was premiered by the Fitzwilliam String Quartet on March 18th 2020. They played it twice that night; this is a recording of the second time. The audience collection will fund a piece for next year; my piece came free to ensure we still had a Walthamstow premiere in 2019-20 season! Many thanks to the Fitzwilliams for allowing this recording to be made.
Pieces waiting performances
Some keyboard pieces I wrote, Stepping Stones, I Remember, a piece in search of a title and Coragio (written for Trevor Pinnock's 60th birthday) are all looking for a performance.
Berry Hill
Stronghold
Written for Malachy Robinson.
A Distant Kiss
A Distant Kiss, for string quartet was a present for Lucy Russell, first violinist of the Fitzwilliam Quartet. It's been played by the Fitzwilliam Quartet at several concerts since the premiere in 2012.
I made a different version of that material for string
quartet violin/viola/cello/double bass for the Robinson Panoramic Quartet.
During 2019 I wrote Vender, an unnaccompanied violin
solo for Miki Takahashi. Miki intends to premier it in
Basel, 2021.
In the meantime this is the 'lockdown' premiere.
I wrote Daalamist during 2020 for Adam Römer on viola, in memory of Gustav Clarkson.
Premiered on-line here.
Daalamist
Vender
O'r Galon - a soliloquy for trombone against a drone, for Emily White (a musician to inspire other musicians). Premiered at the Tin Hut, Aberdeenshire and on the Welsh borders since then..
O'r Galon
