Dani Howard is a British composer and orchestrator who is quickly gaining international recognition with regular performances across Europe, the US and Asia. 2019 marked her debut with the LSO  (a new commission for Cheltenham Festival conducted by Elim Chan), BBC Symphony Orchestra and a return to the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic with a new commission for the opening of their 2019-20 season conducted by Vasily Petrenko. In 2021 she looks forward to the premiere of a new Trombone Concerto written for Peter Moore (Principal Trombone, LSO) with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. As well as commissions with the Marian Consort, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the ORA singers among others. 

Michael Zev Gordon’s music has been described as ‘a clockmaker’s craftmanship [which] somehow coincides with romantic phantasmagoria’ (Sunday Times). Memory, time and the pursuit of serenity are recurring themes.                                                                                                                                                       Major projects in the 2020s include Raising Icarus – described in the Guardian as a ‘high-flying chamber opera that packs a punch’ – and the release of two new albums: The Impermanence of Things (NMC), featuring commissions from the BBC Symphony Orchestra and London Sinfonietta, and Diary Pieces (Resonus), an ongoing series of piano miniatures. 2025 looks forward to Gordon’s most personal statement to date, as he reflects upon memory and the Holocaust in A Kind of Haunting, a commission for Britten Sinfonia.

Piers Hellawell’s work has been performed around the world by artists such as LSO, Håkan Hardenberger, Evelyn Glennie, Philharmonia Orchestra and the Hilliard Ensemble. The 2012 CD ‘Airs, Waters’ was hailed as “gorgeously impassioned work….. a rich kaleidoscope of inspired creativity”. 2014 saw the improvisation-collaboration Sound Carvings, Strange Tryst, premiered in the New Music Biennial; in 2016 came Wild Flow at the BBC Proms, Up By The Roots, a collaboration with poet Sinéad Morrissey and a feature at Detroit’s Great Lakes Festival. For many years, Hellawell has been Professor of Composition at Queen’s University of Belfast.

Michael Price’s first taste of composing was for contemporary dance choreographers over 20 years ago. Price loved the freedom and creativity, but when he was offered a chance to be the assistant to the late Michael Kamen on the film score for Paramount picture Event Horizon this led to exciting music editing and arranging work including on the Academy Award-winning Children of Men, the Lord of the Rings trilogy and James Bond: Quantum of Solace, then headline composition roles on the small screen for Sherlock, Dracula, and Unforgotten.                                                                                                 Michael also craves the opportunity to work without click tracks, headphones and film, which has led to collaborations with Erased Tapes and Manchester Collective and showcases his hyper-detailed orchestral work, as heard on critically acclaimed releases such as Entanglement (2015) and Tender Symmetry (2018). Michael is keen to explore further collaborations in the concert space in the UK and further afield.

Bernard Hughes music is colourful and exciting; often exemplified by his rhythmically propulsive choral works. Bernard is also drawn to writing hilarious, witty orchestral works to delight a family audience but enjoys esoteric writing through his chamber music. His music is bound together with melodic poise that revels in unlikely juxtapositions and new perspectives.

Working with artists, composers, publishers and lablels from the British Isles. Naomi and Matthew are exploring opportunities for placing cutting-edge cotemporary Classical Music in Television, Films, Advertising, Games and beyond.                                                                                                                                       'The best of cutting-edge contemporary classical music from the British Isles. Featuring instrumental, avant-garde, ambient, and experimental sounds'

Samuel Andreyev is a composer, author, professor and host of the Samuel Andreyev Podcast.His chamber, orchestral, vocal and solo works have been performed, recorded and broadcast throughout the world. His YouTube channel, interviews and lectures have reached millions of people.                                                                                                   Samuel Andreyev’s music has been featured in portrait concerts in Bern, Geneva, Toronto, Paris, Kyiv, Strasbourg, Montréal, Tours, and many other cities. Andreyev is a laureat of the Henri Dutilleux Prize (2012, for ‘Night Division’), and the Grand Prix Lycéen des Compositeurs (2020, for ‘Vérifications’). He is also Vice President of the music council of the Fondation Prince Pierre (Monaco).

Diana Yukawa is a revolutionary violinist and composer of electronic classical music. Writing and releasing her own original music, a dynamic performer appearing on some of the worlds most prolific stages, she is one-third of Ghost Harmonic. Diana demonstrates that the violin is a diverse instrument captivating event-goers with her powerful performance and through her original compositions has created a refreshing, electronic classical sound that enthrals audiences all over the world.

Outside Music and supporting composers and artists; one from my favourite pastimes is whisky. So especially in a time of not much socialising I thought I might share the whisky I am mostly drinking this week!