Keep up to date with recent news about my work
The Month Ahead
Autumn is a busy time for performances and premieres across the world (and it isn't that often I can say that!). The 22 September sees the American premiere of my song cycle Lakesongs (2011) by Ellen Scholl, Matthew McBride-Daline and Kevin Bylsma in Toledo, Ohio with further performances in October.
'Fourth Service' in The Netherlands
It was really nice to hear that the Schola Liturgica Leeuwarden will be giving the Dutch premiere of my Fourth Service [St Pancras] this Sunday (08/09) at the Grote Of Jacobijner Kerk, Leeuwarden, conducted by Geke Bruining.
Book launches in Edinburgh, Cumnock and Aberdeen
This week I will be taking part in the first of three book launches for The Music of James MacMillan at Blackwell's Bookshop in Edinburgh - further book launches will take place at The Cumnock Tryst in October and at the SOUND festival in November.
'There is no rose' published by Music Sales
It was really nice to see my carol There is no rose (2013) available as a separate publication from Music Sales.
The Music of James MacMillan
I recently received my copies of The Music of James MacMillan and they look amazing! It was a strangely overwhelming experience leafing through the book, something that I had first imagined back in 2006 and had spent the past two years intensely working on.
On The London Festival of Contemporary Church Music...
I’m going to begin this with an admission: I’m not a very collaborative composer – some composers are, and I admire them for that – but I am not. As I approach my fortieth year I think I’ve collaborated with poets, librettists, directors or producers at maximum 10 times, and have never struck up a lasting collaboration that has resulted in multiple pieces or projects.
The Month Ahead
There are various performances of my work taking place in May and June, particularly as part of the London Festival of Contemporary Church Music. On the 11 May Il Suono will perform Invocation (2010) with the trumpeter from the work's first performance, Simon Desbruslais in Hampstead with a performance of my organ work Exsultet (2014) the following day at St Pancras Church.
The Month Ahead
There are a few performances of my music taking place in the next month, beginning with the Scottish premiere of Two de la Mare Songs (2012) in Aberdeen on the 30 January.
Excellent Reviews of 'Star of Heaven'
The reviews of Star of Heaven have been unanimously good, and the kind words about my work Ave Maria, mater Dei have been overwhelmingly positive.
Review of 2018
2018 was a slightly different year for me, still full of successes across my professional life, but one with a very different focus from previous. As a composer, the highlight was the commission, performance, broadcast and recording of Ave Maria, mater Dei a new work commissioned by the Genesis Foundation for The Sixteen.
On Bob Chilcott's 'The Shepherd's Carol'...
As always, I try to write a festive blog entry every year in the vain hope that it might be the apex of someone’s holiday season; the signal that Christmas has really started, and the festivities can begin. I’m joking. I do it because I love Christmas music and I’m stuck into a pattern of doing this every year.
New Promo Photos
I recently had some photos taken of me for a new brochure at the Department of Music at the University of Aberdeen.