Category Archives: News

Sylva Song (2024) for oboe and piano will be premiered at the Bishop’s Palace, Hereford Cathedral, on 11th April by members of Ensemble Quorum (Ruth Watson – oboe, Jeremy Fisher – piano). This miniature looks back to the many ‘romances’ for oboe and piano which I wrote for my wife early on in our relationship. […]

When visiting the Basilica of St Francis of Assisi for the first time in July 2023, I was immediately struck by the kaleidoscopic, bright but muted pastel colours of the interior, and by the contrastingly rugged stone tomb of St Francis. As I slowly explored the various spaces, I began to imagine a plainchant-like line […]

My arrangement of the folksong Bingo (commissioned by conductor Jo Williamson for Hereford Cathedral School’s Cantabile Girls Choir) will be performed on Thursday 4th July at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, directed by Jo Williamson and accompanied by Dane Preece. The folksong Bingo is not the well-known “B-I-N,G,O” version (though this refrain makes an appearance), […]

The River Wye played a central role in my early life, both personally and creatively. As a teenager I spent many days with friends by the river in Hereford and in and around Hay-on-Wye; a time when I was beginning to find my feet as a composer. In 2005-6 I wrote a large (too large!) […]

Watch performances of Fanfare for the Common Shed and Twilight it is by the brilliant Imogen Whitehead (trumpet/flugelhorn) and Richard Errington (piano): Fanfare for the Common Shed – click here Twilight it is – click here Read more about both pieces here Preview/buy scores: Fanfare for the Common Shed – here Twilight it is – […]

The fantastic Le Voci ladies choir (dir. Jo Williamson) will be performing two arrangements written for them at this year’s Isle of Man Festival of Choirs (13-15th Oct). After their success with Drunken Sailor at this year’s Llangollen International Eisteddfod (see post here), Jo and the choir hope to impress the judges again in the […]

Star trumpeter Imogen Whitehead will premiere Twilight it is for Flugelhorn and Piano (with Richard Errington on piano) at The Bishop’s Palace, Hereford Cathedral, on 12th October, 7:30, in a concert presented by the Herefordshire Composers’ Workshop. Twilight it is is a lullaby written to celebrate the birth of my niece, Rosaline. The music is […]

Le Voci ladies choir (dir. Jo Williamson) won the single voice category at Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod on Sat 8th July, against stiff competition! Watch their set on BBC iplayer here (set begins at approx. 53mins, Drunken Sailor at 60mins) Well done ladies!!

Songs for Earth Day – Saturday 22nd April, 7pm – Holy Trinity Church, Whitecross, Hereford In this concert celebrating Earth Day 2023, my Stone Study No.3 ‘Black Honey’ for solo piano will be performed by Jelena Makarova, as well as the premiere of my Japanese Death Poems (Book Two) by Jessica Summers (soprano) and Jelena. […]

I am delighted to have received a commission to set three poems by Edward Thomas as part of a project centred on ‘The Dymock Poets’. Hereford Chamber Choir (Dir. Simon Harper) have commissioned new choral settings of poems by Edward Thomas, Robert Frost, John Drinkwater and Wilfrid Gibson from composers Liz Dilnot Johnson, Kerensa Briggs, […]

My contribution to the Royal Academy of Music’s 200PIECES project – Morlich Meditation for solo Marimba (performed by Ethan Skuodas) is now available to hear on the 200PIECES website. Listen here. This immensely varied and ambitious catalogue is well worth exploring, featuring so many beautiful and unique solo pieces. 200PIECES celebrates the 200th anniversary of […]

Tyto Alba for solo Alto flute is now available through Composers Edition – click here to be redirected to the product page, and here for more info on the piece, which was premiered last autumn by Catherine Handley. Tyto Alba will also be reviewed by Carla Rees in a future edition of ‘Pan’ – the […]

Tyto Alba for solo Alto Flute will be premiered by Catherine Handley at Kington Church, Herefordshire on Friday 7th October 7:30, in a concert of new music for piano and winds (concert details here). I have had a solo flute piece based on the barn owl in mind for some time, and in this miniature […]

2nd July, BBC Hoddinott Hall, Wales Millennium Centre – part of the 2022 International Choral Festival Cardiff Le Voci Ladies Choir (directed by Jo Williamson and accompanied by myself) will be performing two of my arrangements of English Folksongs made for the choir – an off-piste arrangement of the well known Drunken Sailor, and a […]

3pm, Sunday 19th June, Middleton on the Hill Church, Herefordshire. My Garden Days (2014) (settings of R. L. Stevenson for choir and piano) will be performed by the Birchpole Singers dir. Andrew Morris with myself accompanying. I will also perform a selection of piano pieces from Chameleana (2020), a suite of miniatures written for my […]

The revised version of Two Souls (originally Two Souls in One) for 4 harps, choir, organ and two narrators, will be performed in Belmont Abbey, Hereford at 11am on Tuesday 26th July as part of the 2022 Hereford Three Choirs Festival. Commissioned by Hereford Chamber Choir (Dir. Simon Harper) with funds provided by The RVW […]

The newly formed Andromeda Ensemble will be premiering Japanese Death Poems – Book One at the Royal Academy of Music (ABRH), at 6:30 on Tuesday 18th January. Click here for details Penning a ‘death poem’ in one’s final moments’ is an ancient Japanese tradition, and when I came across Yoel Hoffman’s compilation Japanese Death Poems […]

My Three Diversions will be performed at Chichester Cathedral by the brilliant Aurora Trio (Flute, Viola, Harp) on Tuesday 28th September at 1:10pm. These three wayward miniatures (subtitled Rounds, Elegy and Tango) were written for the Aurora Trio in 2016, and came out of diverse range of influences – from tango’s and medieval dances, to […]

My Four Early Love Songs will be performed by the fantastic Jessica Summers (Soprano) and Jelena Makarova (Piano) at The Chapel of The Royal Foundation of St. Katherine, Limehouse on Friday 9th July, 7pm. Details here @LivingSongs21 www.livingsongs.co.uk @JessicaSoprano The ‘Early’ of the title refers to both the time in my life in which these […]

Morlich Meditation for solo Marimba will be premiered by Ethan Skuodas at 1pm on Friday 30th April as part of a live-streamed percussion showcase from the Duke’s Hall, Royal Academy of Music. Tune in here Loch Morlich is located in the Badenoch and Strathspey area of the Scottish Highlands. At 318 metres above sea level, […]

It seems an appropriate time to post these Four Passing Songs, performed here by Soprano Emily Prosser and myself at Holy Trinity Church in Hereford. They were written at a time of some upheaval (just before the COVID 19 pandemic hit), and reflect on a theme of transition from one world/state to another. The first […]

Following Clare Hammond’s beautifully shaped performance of Pearl on Prestigne Digital this year (still available to watch until Dec 31st – click here), Clare is performing the piece twice more this month: Firstly on Monday 7 December in a solo recital at Mansfield Street, London (full details below), and again on Friday 11 December at […]

“Full of telling echoes and resonances, Pearl (2013) by Robert Peate is a compact, single-movement statement based on an eight-note cantus firmus that pervades the score, accruing decorations and embellishments as it unfolds. The contrast between the still, numbed opening paragraphs and the ensuing ornate passages is highly effective and the work’s underlying theme, which is loss and […]

As part of a number of musical alternatives to the COVID-19 stricken Presteigne Festival, Presteigne Digital, a series of specially-filmed mini-concerts and literary events, will be streamed via the Presteigne Festival website. Pearl was written for the wonderful Clare Hammond and commissioned by the Royal Philharmonic Society / Presteigne Festival Alan Horne Memorial Prize in […]

The fantastic Philippa Mo (violin) with guest artist Olivia Jageurs (harp) will perform Three Idylls at The Curtain, Shoreditch on 29th October 7:30. The concert includes works by Bach, Birtwistle, Pärt, Patterson and more – click here for tickets/details Commissioned in 2012 by cheese and spirit makers Charles Martell and Sons, Three Idylls depicts three typically pastoral […]

My 6-minute trio Swift for oboe (Ruth Watson), Bassoon (Olly Galletta) and Piano (Andrew Morris) will be performed on Sunday 29th September at 3pm in Yarpole Church, Herefordshire, as part of a Herefordshire Composers’ Workshop concert. This ‘miniature epic’ was inspired by the impressive aerial displays of Swifts over our house this summer. The score […]

My Sylva Suite (2018) was recently premiered in Hay-on-Wye by the wonderful Alexandra Guiraud (for whom it was written). A set of five musical portraits or character studies of five different trees (Yew, Birch, Cherry, Spectred Oaks and Mountain Ash) – the music explores the historical, cultural and personal connections assosiated with each tree. Movements […]

The wonderful Cantabile Girls’ Choir present their summer concert at All Saints Cafe, Hereford on 26th June 7:30, with …Luciferum… on the menu. http://www.cafeatallsaints.co.uk/event/

Watch Jo Williamson and her Cantabile Girls’ Choir performing …Luciferum… in Hoddinott Hall (Wales Millennium Centre) as part of the International Choral Festival Wales 2019. Buy the score here Watch the full performance of the first round of the competition (with myself accompanying) here

A new musical commentary exploring the extraordinary lives of Hypatia and Saint Katherine of Alexandria for Choir, 4 Harps, 2 Narrators and Organ. Performed by Hereford Chamber Choir and The Royal Academy of Music Harp Ensemble.

The award winning Pelleas Ensemble will be adding Three Diversions to their repertoire, with performances next season beginning on 3rd/4th April 2020 in Hexham and Holmes Chapel. More info on Three Diversions here 

Stone Study no.2 – Cave and Cliff will be premiered on the evening of Friday 7th September at the Lion Ballroom in Leominster, Herefordshire by Tony Urbainczyk (Violin), Joris Boon (‘cello) and Anne de Dadelsen (Piano). The music was heavily inspired by the works of the writer Alan Garner, as well as by prehistoric cave paintings […]

‘Shared Freedom – Shared Future’ was conceived by students at Whitecross Hereford to illustrate to young people their common history with Polish immigrants, in particular the stories of local post-WW2 Polish settlers to the area, who fought with Britain in the war. I was commissioned to write the music for the short film at the […]

Hereford String Orchestra and soloist Laura Rickard will premiere my piece Lullay on 24th March. A lullaby for solo violin and double string orchestra written for HSO, the piece creates a nocturnal world of peaceful simplicity, combined with a more expressive, meditative, and at times darker character. An interview with Composers Edition on the work can be […]

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