How to begin?
No matter what our profession, we all have the same dilemma at one point or another: how do we begin? Whether it’s an artist staring at a blank canvas, a programmer staring at an empty coding screen, or a writer Read more
Circles for chamber orchestra
A while ago I posted my programme notes for Circles. A work for chamber orchestra (two oboes, bassoon, two horns, strings), The basic structure of the piece is based upon one I have used in several pieces over the last Read more
Summer Rain – a final few notes
A couple of weeks ago, I posted some notes about Summer Rain – a semi-structured piece I had almost finished. True to my word, here are my final notes! Layout One of the first key problems with this score that Read more
The Javanese influence
Composers are often asked about what in particular influences their work. I find this a particularly troublesome question. So many things have undoubtedly had a huge influence on who and what I am musically, and on my developing compositional voice Read more
The structuring of a semi-structured piece
When I told my marimba player (the person for whom this piece is written) about the nature of Summer Rain, she said “Ah, that’s what we call composers being lazy!”. Thinking about it, I both agree and disagree with that Read more
