Category Archives: News

Pythagoras’ Toolkit ACE Funding

‘Pythagoras’s Toolkit’ for puppet and ensemble, has been awarded funding for further Research and Development work from Arts Council England. The application was led by my theatre director collaborator Rachel Warr and includes funding towards creating an outreach project for the Hands on Humanities Festival at the University of Southampton.

The Driver

Terrific workshop last week with Riot Ensemble for my collaboration with poet Luke Wright. Exciting to be putting stuff together and making plans for a tour, hopefully in 2021.

Here’s a taster of the poetry:

Is this how it ends for all of us?
love born at festivals
in chemicals and poetry
love that lived beyond our bodies
love that conquered motorways and calendars
love that conquered half of England
is this how it ends?

from The Driver, by Luke Wright

More info and some taster audio on the Riot Ensemble website: http://riotensemble.com/the-driver/


‘The Virus Within: Hearing HIV’ at Turner Sims

It was great to perform The Virus Within: Hearing HIV with Workers Union Ensemble and Chad Swanson at Turner Sims as part of the University of Southampton Science and Engineering Day 2019.

Some lovely feedback from the audience including:

” A fascinating window in composition”
” Amazing innovation. Meaningful. Science in musical language”
“Intellectual synethesia ending with hope”

My colleague Jeanice Brooks got some fantastic photos too…


SHIFTS

Super excited about a project I’m directing next month, SHIFTS, which will feature students from the University of Southampton Music Department performing as part of the Hartley Loop Orchestra at Turner Sims. We’ll be performing music by Steve Reich and Lois V. Vierk as well as new pieces by my super cool colleagues Drew Crawford and Brona Martin. I’ve written a new version of a solo percussion piece I wrote for the London Sinfonietta a few years ago – this time featuring large ensemble and called Changing Up + (rather than Changing Up!). Fellow Workers Union family member Joley Cragg is coming to play the solo part. More details on the poster below!

‘The Virus Within: Hearing HIV’ at Turner Sims

Really delighted to be performing The Virus Within: Hearing HIV again in March next year thanks to funding from the University of Southampton Public Engagement with Research Team. Workers Union Ensemble will perform the work twice at Turner Sims as part of the University of Southampton Science and Engineering Day 2019. Here’s a promo vid for the piece:

New York

Dorothy Chan

I had a great time at the MISE-EN Music Festival in New York last week. Great to meet and talk with composers from all around the world and to hear their pieces and presentations. Pianist Dorothy Chan performed my Mr. Turquoise Synth (2017) brilliantly, alongside Mr. Turquoise Synth himself of course. We hope to find a way to work together again in the future. Thanks to Moon, Jordann and everyone at Ensemble Mise-En.

Mr. TS resting before the concert

Brooklyn Bridge

‘B.m.B’ for New Music Players

I’ve just finished a new piece B.m.B for small ensemble and electronics, which will be performed by Ed Hughes’ New Music Players on 8 February 2018 at the Attenborough Centre as part of a their Tallis Festival.

The piece is my creative response to Brexit and the world of the great 16th century English composer Thomas Tallis!

It will be performed alongside works by Ed Hughes, Rowland Sutherland, and Sussex composers Lee Westwood, Eleanor Clapp, Jason Hazael and Hugh Chambers, and an AI generated composition based on machine readings of Tallis’s musical output.

Live video of ‘Piano Trio (with whistles)’

On 27 November Aisha Orazbayeva (violin), Alice Purton (‘cello) and Mark Knoop (piano) performed my Piano Trio (with whistles), which I wrote in 2014 as part of their concert at the University of Southampton Music Department professional concert series. I’m pleased to have uploaded to Youtube a video of their fantastic performance: