So far 2012 has turned out to be quite a busy year indeed...I've been lucky enough for the Tempest Flute trio to give multiple performances of my new work 'Kokapelli' - the most recent of which was on Friday at the National Portraits Gallery in London. Thank you very much ladies :)

Sadly I couldn't attend the premiere of 'Ticket : 250654' for Wind Orchestra last month, but am eagerly awaiting a recording and am also very pleased that the band will be performing it again very soon! How exciting!

There have also been some fantastic performances of my brass pieces so far this year, including 'Petrichor', 'Mearcair', 'In Pitch Black' and last Friday I was lucky enough to go to a concert at Chetham's School of music to hear their wonderful performance of 'Storm'. The band were fantastic and the smaller ensembles truly stunning. Bravo to everyone involved and thanks to Dave Thornton for superb interpretations as MD. I'm also off to the RNCM this week to listen to the RNCM Brass Band repertoire sessions on a few of my pieces, including 'Alchemists' Fire'.

I've been busy scribbling away too and recently just finished two new works, including a piece for brass band based on a short childrens' story, entitled 'Mr Sonnemans' Unusual Solution' - it was so much fun to write and I'm really looking forward to the premiere in Jersey this summer. Also I've literally just finished the first draft of a piece for a youth string orchestra. It's based on the legends which surround the Liver Birds (who are 101 years old!) I've been fascinated by them ever since I can remember, so the research is long overdue!

And to top the week off I shall be accompanying my lovely other half, Paul McGhee and the wondrous Tom Davoren to the European Brass Band Championships, where they are both finalists in the composer competition. Well done boys!

We'll be heading over to Rotterdam for the festivities and will be staying on a barge...

...HURRAH!

Saturday 24th March 2012 saw the premiere of two new works of mine; one in London, one in Ohio.

Unfortunately, I couldn't attend either concert, but I was really touched to receive so much positive feedback from both venues and I'm really looking forward to hearing recordings of the performances.

Many thanks indeed to Pat Herak, Tim Jameson and the DSB for the performance of Mearcair and, of course, a huge thank you to BASBWE, Mike Purton and BYMT for all their hard work on Ticket : 250654

L

(P.S. There is also now a link to the performance of Mearcair on the MUSIC section of my website - thank you DSB!)

On Tuesday last week (6th March) I was fortunate enough to have a piece played during the New Music North West festival at the RNCM in Manchester. In Pitch Black has been a very important piece for me and one which is very close to my heart, so it was fantastic to hear it live, if not a little emotional. A huge thank you to Russell Gray and the RNCM Brass Band for such a dramatic performance.

It was also fantastic to see Carpenter's work, Chi on the programme - I played it during my degree and loved it, so it was great to hear it (from outside the band) once more!

I will be posting a recording of In Pitch Black onto the MUSIC section of my website this week (really this time!) so if you would like to hear it, stay tuned!

:)

I had a spot of rather lovely news a few days ago, when I found out that a piece I wrote in January for the Dublin Silver Band in Ohio has been shortlisted for the OBAF composition award. The first I knew about it was congratulatory messages, facebook wall posts and tweets - but lovely news all the same! Good luck to fellow composers Andy Baker (And The Moon Rises) and Richard Huw Cole (The Corbels Of Kilpeck Church) who have also been shortlisted!

My piece is entitled Mearcair (Quicksilver/Mercury) and is set to be premiered on 24th March during the 2012 Ohio Brass Arts Festival. Many thanks to Pat Herak and all at the DSB!

:)