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2024 Catch up - Dani Howard at the Proms, The Triumph of Three Choirs Festival and The Cambridge Companion to Composition

In what has been such a busy year, I have not yet had time to write, but having celebrated such a wonderful new commission from Dani Howard for the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and their NYO Inspire Musicians at the BBC Proms last weekend I felt compelled to write an update. 




What a magnificent evening of music and the brilliance of our next generation of musicians. I felt proud to be working in Classical Music in the UK at that moment.

You can still watch it here for the next 30 days





But in recent weeks, there has been so much else to celebrate. In another area of my work life, as Chair of the Three Choirs Festival, we were treated to the most extraordinary programme in Worcester this year, which garnered reviews you can only dream of!

 I will soon be writing my next whisky review on other pages on my website for some of the music and whisky I enjoyed during the festival week.




Lastly for budding composers out there I heartily recommend the wonderfully edited book by composer Toby Young. A fantastic guide to the vast array of methods and practices in composition with chapters from Howard Skempton, Kenneth Hesketh, Cheryl Francis-Hoad, Nico Muhly, Christian Mason, Raymond Yiu, Liza Lim, Eleanor Alberga and many more. A true companion to your compositional process with one chapter from me tackling a differet area for a composer but  equally as important: Beyond the notes: how to tell your story, and who needs to know. 

Do check it out Here