NEWS!
New Diabelli variations by female composers
I don't spend much time writing piano music but a friend alerted me two years ago to a call for scores for the Diabelli Recomposed project, led by Claudia Bigos of Braunschweig Music School, Germany. 50 women composers from many different countries took part, in an echo of Diabelli's original invitation (200 years ago) to 50 composers to write variations on a waltz theme he had written. It was a lot of fun to listen to the inaugural performance of the 50 new variations (available on youtube here). And now the sheet music has been published in a beautifully bound volume available from Furore Verlag. Thank you, Claudia Bigos!
Back in the USA Long time, no update. In February 2022 I moved back to Columbus, Ohio after an eight-year sojourn in London looking after family members and being involved with wonderful choirs there. Recent highlights here in Columbus: two concerts with The Magpie Consort to raise money for humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Wonderful to be working with old and new musical partners.
New short songs The wonderful Philomel ensemble dir. Janet Oates recorded a set of short pieces for soprano and piano by four composers this August (2020). Check them out here.
Multitude of Voyces third volume of sacred music by women composers Delighted that my piece The Christmas Bird (SATB, flute obbligato) is going to be included in the third volume of sacred music published by Multitude of Voyces. Further info..
Performances by King’s Voices Delighted to hear from Ben Parry that King’s Voices (the mixed college choir of King’s College, Cambridge) will be performing my Evening Prayer several times this year: Monday 17 February for Evensong at King’s College Chapel; Sunday 8 March at St Mary Magdalene in Richmond; and Monday 9 March back in King’s College Chapel as part of a sequence of words and music by women for International Women’s Day.
Masterclassed Back from a stimulating masterclass with Catherine Beddison and Malcolm Archer, organised by the wonderful Sing for Pleasure. Gestures all brushed up and ready to go.
New choir season Getting underway with new music for Belsize Community Choir and The Michael Singers. European carols, a 7th century hymn, music by Praetorius, Tallis and Dufay, and four Low Carbon Christmas Songs each written using only one sheet of paper. Contact me if intrigued!
The commission is done! Off to Edinburgh next week (trains permitting) to hear Calum Robertson (clarinet) and Sally Carr (soprano) perform Un Petit Psaultier, my most recent commission. They are performing it as part of five Edinburgh Festival Fringe programmes. Further details.
Esther Inglis inspiration Time to get started on a lovely commission from Jamie Reid-Baxter to write a piece based on writing by the 17th century calligrapher and miniaturist Esther Inglis - for two wonderful Scottish artists, Calum Robertson (clarinet) and Sally Carr (soprano). Taster of Esther Inglis’s life and work.
Latin American children’s songs Have just sent off a batch of arrangements of Latin American children’s songs to Luke Mather, director of Icosa. Come to the concert in Guildford on 6 May. It Takes Two To Tango.
Singing And Drawing With Trees Excited to be piloting a new approach to singing and composing with Angie Brew, every two months in Highgate Wood, London. Our pilot meeting took place on 17 March amid bursts of hail and rain but was a wonderful experience (in the words of one of the participants: original, alternative, mad and fun). Next one is on 12 May 2019. Information and registration.
Earth Songs I'm preparing programmes of ’Earth Songs’ for both my London ensembles (Belsize Community Choir and the Michael Singers at UCL). Busy arranging the lovely Gaelic tune Chì mi na mòrbheanna (Mist-covered Mountains) and my ballad The Place Called Planet Earth.
New releases from Canasg Music Check out the Rabindranath Tagore song Aalo Aamar Aalo (Light, My Light) and other new choral sheet music releases at Canasg Music.
A Christmas Carol video Thanks to Katy Lavinia Cooper for recording A Christmas Carol for this year’s Christmas video greeting from Glasgow University Chapel Choir. Happy Christmas.
Christmas Cracked The Michael Singers (a choir I direct at UCL) is collaborating with CoMA Singers (a group that specialises in contemporary music) in a concert of carols as you have never heard them before: deconstructed, reconstructed, invented and re-invented. Catch us in the Haldane Room, Wilkins Building, UCL at 7:30 pm on Saturday 8 December, 2018. Collection for Singing for Syrians.
Philomel concert Two pieces of mine and several other commissions - as well as amazing 17th century music for sopranos, theorbo and recorder in various combinations - were performed in a wonderful concert by the London group Philomel, dir. Janet Oates, on 24 November 2018. Video coming soon.
Off to Glasgow Excited to be going to Glasgow in November when the amazing Juice Vocal Ensemble will be workshopping my Scotch Snapshots, a set of three pieces based on traditional Scottish songs. The workshop is at the Scottish Music Centre from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday 13 November and is open to the public.
Remembrance concert at St Alban’s Cathedral The Lea Singers, dir. Tori Longdon, are performing Songs of Sorrow in a remembrance-themed concert at St Alban’s Cathedral on Saturday 10 November, 2018. Tickets here.
Something fishy My piece A Song about Fish was commended in the 2018 CIMCF (Cornwall International Male Choral Festival) Composing Competition.
Exon Singers Festival Delighted that Songs of Sorrow, my choral lament for Aleppo, is going to be performed at this year’s Exon Singers Festival in Tavistock, Devon, directed by Joseph Judge.
BBC Radio 3 debut I missed my Radio 3 debut as I was on a coach to Cardiff to sing Spem in Alium. But it was here, sandwiched between Bernstein and Strauss. Thanks to Luke Mather of Icosa for submitting the recording.
Commission from Philomel Delighted to be commissioned to write two pieces for Philomel, an ensemble of four sopranos, for a concert this November in celebration of St Cecilia’s Day.
River Song premiere River Song, an aleatoric treatment of the American folk song Shenandoah, got two wonderful performances by Icosa Choir, dir. Luke Mather, in London this April. Recording here.
NYCGB Two pieces of mine get an airing this April (2018) by the fabulous National Youth Choir of Great Britain and the National Girls Choir. NYCGB are performing wind song, a piece that evokes the sound of wind, and the Girls Choir is taking on Songs of Sorrow, a wordless aleatoric lament.
Zodiac pieces I've now finished eight out of an eventual twelve pieces for treble voices and piano, based on the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac. Wonderful lyrics by my friend Edwina Towson and a great deal of fun. Two of the pieces are in rehearsal with the Tri-borough Chamber Choir (London).
Sing for Pleasure Although I have been directing choirs for years, I have very little formal training in conducting. So I signed up for a Sing for Pleasure course in London. Huge thanks to Ruth Evans of Welsh National Opera for teaching a very enjoyable and informative Intermediate I course.
Songs of Sorrow This choral lament for Aleppo will be performed by the exciting new chamber choir Echo on 22 and 23 September in two London venues. It’s also being workshopped by the BBC Singers on 3 October. Excited!
Forms of Motion Thrilled that my suite for amateur string orchestra Forms of Motion will be workshopped in Leeds by Yorkshire Late Starter Strings in October - and that I'll get a tutorial with Judith Weir too.
Choral directing refreshment Had a good time at this year's ABCD (Association of British Choral Directors) Convention in Glasgow. Introduced my aleatoric piece river song based on the American song Shenandoah.
referendum rerun I'm off to Lewes, Sussex for a performance by CoMA Sussex of my open score piece based on the events of the Brexit referendum a year ago. Concert is 6 pm on Sunday 2 July, at the East Sussex Music Academy.
Icosa sings Evening Prayer The wonderful Icosa Choir is performing Evening Prayer, a piece based on bell sounds and bits of Tallis, at the Voices of London Festival. Details here.
Justice Choir Songbook My climate change song The Place Called Planet Earth has been selected for inclusion in the Justice Choir Songbook.
referendum My open score orchestral piece referendum, composed in the wake of the UK referendum on Brexit, is being premiered by CoMA Bristol on 29 March, 2017. And there are two other performances coming up, both by CoMA Sussex, dir. Adam Swayne: 18 May 2017 in the Brunswick Pub, Hove, E. Sussex and 2 July 2017 at the East Sussex Music Academy, Lewes. Come and get angry all over again!
New airing for wind song My vocal piece wind song was performed by CoMA Singers at the Festival of Contemporary Music for All at Baden Powell House, London, in March, 2017.
Commission accomplished I have just finished Lead Me To The Rock, a setting of Psalm 61 for Summit on 16th United Methodist Church in Ohio - for choir, cello obbligato, piano, guitars, drums and congregation.
New job I'm excited to be the new Musical Director of Belsize Community Choir in northwest London.
Return to Edinburgh Had a very enjoyable few days in Edinburgh rehearsing with and conducting Rudsambee Company of Singers in a Christmas concert at Rosslyn Chapel.
Lorca settings Three Lorca settings for treble voices and piano are now available in print. The suite is called Niño and is published by Boosey & Hawkes.
referendum My open-score (flexible instrumentation) piece called referendum, inspired by the tumultuous events of the British referendum on Brexit in June, was workshopped at this year's CoMA Summer School.
night airs The premiere of my orchestral piece night airs was performed at this year's St Magnus International Festival in a concert by Orkney Camerata on Sunday 19 June, 2016 at 10 pm in the wonderful St Magnus Cathedral.
The Pied Piper of Hamelin I've written a setting of Robert Browning’s poem The Pied Piper of Hamelin, scored for adult choir, children’s choir, narrator, flute/piccolo, piano, bass and percussion.