Category: Events

  • People, Place, Purpose

    I enjoyed returning to Royal Opera House Leaders for Impact programme on Friday to join a panel about leading cultural education. Marvellously this programme is now into its sixth year; I was part of Generation 4, joining the programme as I started a new role in Bexley. The timing was ideal; I welcomed the collegiality…

  • Winterreise re-imagined?

    I had high hopes for Daniel Behle and his Winterreise arrangement, performed at the Wigmore Hall on 19 April. I had in my mind the ‘reimaginings’ of Christopher O’Riley, Luciano Berio and could not decide whether I would hear a mere extension of the original or something completely different. The interpretation of the cycle was…

  • Watford Festival 2014

    I had a wonderful  afternoon meeting a few young composers who had entered the Watford Music and Drama Festival Composition Class of 2014. There is always a buzz when you’re about to hear a piece performed for the first time, and it was pleasing to hear live performances of the works for the most part.…

  • Pro Corda Recomposed

    It was a real pleasure to teach composition on the Senior Course at Pro Corda in August; all the students had a genuine love for chamber music and enjoyed every minute of their time in the beautiful surroundings of Leiston Abbey, Suffolk. I wanted to devise a composition project that would allow the students to…

  • Woodwose: Wigmore’s first opera

    I never thought I’d see a bicycle whizz by me in the Wigmore Hall but it immediately captured the scene for the opening of Woodwose; the first ever community opera at Wigmore Hall. What makes the project so exciting for me is that the community of 120 local children and adults – joined by the…

  • Ignite inspires at Wigmore Hall

    I’m all for collaborative composition; new music works best when it is a partnership between performer and composer that allows both parties to communicate confidently and faithfully. Ignite gave a short but compelling recital as part of Wigmore Hall’s Aperitif Series on Tuesday 4 June 2013 that demonstrated how successful this collaborative work can be.…

  • Pitching it right: My first concert talk

    Vivace Chorus kindly invited me to introduce the programme at their ‘Best of British’ concert last Saturday; my first pre-concert talk. I’d received the scores a few weeks prior to the concert and was quickly reminded of my own experiences of singing similar repertoire as a child, and an adult. Reading that the concert was…

  • Imagined Occasions: London Contemporary Orchestra celebrates its 5th birthday

    I don’t recall what I did for my fifth birthday but I certainly will remember the London Contemporary Orchestra’s fifth birthday. I visited the abandoned Aldwych Underground Station on the 24th May to experience behind the scenes of the first of the London Contemporary Orchestra’s ‘Imagined Occasions’ series (performed that evening). Helen Scarlett O’Neill and…

  • Vocal Tai-Chi

    I realised this weekend how powerful voice work can be. More importantly, how powerful group work with the voice can be. Jenni Roditi’s Vocal Tai-Chi workshop this weekend was a pleasure to experience. I offered some additional backing to the solo performances in the second half of the workshop – improvising on the piano –…

  • Keynote Student Conference

    It was an enjoyable day yesterday joining of a team of experienced musicians and teachers to talk about the performing, composing and analysing/listening components of the A Level Music courses. The audience of over 250 students and teachers were appreciative and got involved with enthusiasm and humour with the various activities. What made the day…