Violet, my opera with Alice Birch, is being featured in a show of contemporary opera scenes by the National Opera Studio in Leeds and London, directed by Olivia Fuchs. Sarah Seunghwa Chae (as Violet) & Laura Fleur (as Laura) will sing Day 20, one of the final scenes of the opera, with members of Orchestra of Opera North conducted by Garry...
Having given the world premiere of Three Pieces that Disappear, the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra are in the studio next week with soprano Anna Dennis to record a programme I've devised, for a live Radio 3 broadcast on 28 April. The pieces are all about mirrors and portraits – Britten's Two Portraits and Beautiful Caged Thing, my take on Oscar Wilde's The Picture...
Violet, my opera written with writer Alice Birch, is receiving its French premiere in Paris on 19 April, in what will be its third production, directed by Jacques Osinski, with the L'Aurore Boréale company. Bianca Chillemi will conduct Ensemble Maja. The cast is: Juliette Allen (soprano – Violet), Olivier Gourdy (baritone – Felix), Natalie Perez (mezzo soprano – Laura), Manuel Nunez...
The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Nicholas Collon, are premiering Three Pieces that Disappear on the 1 April at Manchester's Bridgewater Hall – the second of my three major pieces as their Composer-in-Association. Also in the concert are Berg's Seven Early Songs (with soprano Francesca Chiejina) and Richard Strauss' An Alpine Symphony. You can hear the broadcast of the concert on BBC...
March will see the premiere of a new piece for music education charity Music Masters at London's Wigmore Hall – they've commissioned ten composers to work with primary school-age students on a new piece for beginner/intermediate string ensemble. I ran a workshop at Jubilee Primary School near Brixton where I worked with nine- and ten-year olds, gathering material generated by them...
Violinist Daniel Pioro's new album, Saint Boy, is out today on Platoon, and it features a recording of my arrangement of Hildegard of Bingen's O Ecclesia. The arrangement was originally written in 2021 for solo violin and string orchestra, but on Saint Boy is adapted for violin and chamber organ (played by Kat Tinker). Also on the album are works by Tartini,...
I've written a short piece for solo bass viol, for the Royal Academy of Music's '200 Pieces' project to celebrate their bicentenary year in 2022 - A little recessional. It was given its world premiere by RAM student Nathan Giorgetti in the Academy's David Josefowicz Recital Hall in June, and Nathan has now recorded it beautifully for the 200 Pieces...
Violet, my opera with Alice Birch, was given its German premiere on Friday at Theater Ulm, in a fantastic production by Rahel Thiel – here are some photos… Designs by Maike Häber, lighting by Marcus Denk & Johannes Grebing. Soprano Maria Rosendorfsky as Violet, baritone Martin Gäbler as Felix, mezzo soprano Carolina Krogius as Laura and tenor Joshua Spink as the...
Daniel Pioro and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Andrew Manze, will give the London premiere of my violin concerto Pleasure Garden at the Royal Festival Hall on 26 October. Premiered by Daniel and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra in Manchester last year, the four movements of Pleasure Garden take inspiration from constructed natural spaces in and around cities. They will perform...