Spent the majority of May working on three pieces for the summer – Flicken for chamber orchestra and film to be performed in Porvoo, Finland, Esau’s Hunger for double guitar orchestra, electronics and light projections for performance at the 21C Guitar Festival in Ottawa, Canada, and finished my new choral work Tearing as it is Woven for the Chamber Choir Ireland and CMC Choral Sketches programme (premiere in Autumn 2019).
My big news was the release of my first published chapter in Annunciations: Sacred Music for the 21st Century, edited by George Corbett, which can be read for free at the link in the title. I contributed chapter 7.2 and 7.3, discussing sacred music in my output and the collaborative process which lead to the creation of Hinneni, the score for which is published in the book.
I spent some time in workshops with performers for the summer – Shards on a Beach for double bass and electronics with William Cole of the Ulster Orchestra, and Threads and Ribbons with singer Vojtech Sembera, who will record the piece in the Czech Republic in early June. I was also delighted to have my piece Ezer selected by the Peridot Duo for a performance in the States in their 2019/20 programme. Crossing the Firth was also broadcast on the Radiophrenia Glasgow station on May 22nd.
Finally, I’m thrilled to be able to share a project that has taken 2 years to put together: my large work for solo viola The Testimony of John Paton, performed by Laura Sinnerton of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and recorded in VR and ambisonic sound (kindly provided by Michael McKnight and Declan Keeney from Queen’s University, and funded by HMUK). You can watch below, headphones recommended, along with a VR headset if you have one available.
And keep an eye out for this upcoming release from guitarist Chris Roberts, which features my solo guitar piece Hiraeth am Nefoedd, more information in June on the release and the UK tour.
