It may come as a surprise to many, but many of the orchestras in the UK, and particularly London, are functionally homeless. Sure, the administrative staff are based in a permanent office, but the orchestra itself lives an itinerant lifestyle that belies the slick and polished performances. Visitors from other countries, such as the US,… Continue reading London orchestras are homeless
Blog
In defence of the day job
There are almost no composers, at any level of success, who just do composition full time. I’m talking about the world of ‘classical’ concert music rather than media work, but even in those fields composers might have other gigs as performers, teachers, etc. The most frustrating thing, from the point of view of someone trying… Continue reading In defence of the day job
Classical Music’s Naughty Secret
Let me let you in on a dirty little secret of the classical music industry: Encores are not a surprise. I saw a question posted on a classical music subreddit recently where the poster was asking about why, when the audience was asking for an encore at the end of a concert, the orchestra and… Continue reading Classical Music’s Naughty Secret
Looking scruffy in a video
And used the word ‘chunk’ as a real-life composer. Not a great quality video, and I’m certainly a scruff, but nice to keep these things somewhere. The piece we are talking about can be found elsewhere on this site.
Musicology and Research
MMus Research Essay – Music as Sound: Applying ideas of schizophonia and soundscaping to music for the narrative Read More Honours research thesis – Music for Plays: Towards a theatrical musicology Read more , Excerpted into a journal-style article Music in Theatre Theatre Scores
Recent Work
I have almost finished the final term of the first year of the Guildhall Masters Programme. Although we are still writing and preparing for performances I have written an account of the various pieces and projects that I have been working on over the last year. I approached the projects that are part of the… Continue reading Recent Work
February Update
Well, here’s another update for all of you following my progress here in London (ahem). I’ve just gone through a month of intense busyness, as I juggle projects and performances, but things have eased off now, allowing me to focus on the compositions I am writing. I’ve also shifted my focus a little bit to… Continue reading February Update
Christmas Update
As Christmas approaches I felt it was appropriate to update you on my progress and activities this term. Last weekend we concluded our contemporary dance project with two performances at the London Contemporary Dance School. Although it went through many revisions and rethinks over the 6 weeks that we worked on the project I ended up composing… Continue reading Christmas Update
An Update
Over the last few months I have been properly settling into London and into music college and my degree. I moved into my flat three weeks ago, and have been busily getting set up with all the usual living necessities, as well as a digital piano so that I can compose at home whenever I… Continue reading An Update
Kitchen Drums
This series (The Horne Section) is being repeated on BBC Radio 4 at the moment, and this segment was recorded as a video, probably because it is so visually and technically impressive. Transferable skills! Enjoy, see you next week!