Compositions
The Treasure of May Hill
The narrative, interweaving with the music, is a tale about the myth of May Hill and is a collaboration with actor, Phil Hemming. Its orchestral overture is based on an old pipe-and-tabor Morris dance tune whistled by Mr William Henry Watts in Tewkesbury, April, 1908, and recorded there by Cecil Sharp.
Programme: 1. Air of Gloom 2. The Town Council 3. The Landlord; (Intermezzo) 4. The Tax Man 5. May Day Morris 6. The Despair 7. The Storm 8. The Spirit 9. Composer's Gold 10. Wilma's Return; (Intermezzo) 11. Finale.
Telstar Revisited
For Joe Meek, 'The Telstar Man', whose childhood home is just round the corner from my own house in Newent.
I wrote this some years ago but the orchestration was poor. I've completely revised it in 2023 and the new version is, I think, much better.
AtmospheresFour painting-with-music meditations on seasonal haikus by Japanese masters:
Under the Rainclouds - Uejima Onitsura (1661 – 1738):
Under the rainclouds The plum blossoms seem like stars Despite the daylight Spring: Flute, Viola, Bassoon and Celesta
The Charcoal Kiln - Hayano Hajin (1676 - 1742):
The charcoal kiln – A deer watches The evening smoke Summer: Flute, violin, piano & percussion
Leaves of Ivy - Yamamoto Kakei (1648 - 1716),
for Jasper: Leaves of ivy Every one astir - The autumn wind Autumn: Oboe, French horn, cello & percussion
Snow's Falling! - Masaoka Shiki (1867 – 1902):
Snow's falling! I see it through a hole in the shutter... Winter: Octet
String Quartets
String Theory - referring to the unifying theory of everything. Also scored for string orchestra:
The (Get It) Together Song - As an eccentric lock-down project, I played all the string quartet parts for this, plus percussion. As my cello skills are nil, this part was transposed up an octave for viola and then the software transposed it back down to sound like a cello! 
Inspired by quantum-mechanical principles, in four movements, see Video Installation.
Alchemy In Music
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Birnbeck Pier
A suite for orchestra, telling the story of the old pier at Weston-super-Mare, its heyday, decline, disaster and rebirth:
Dead Cat Bounce
Octet for wind band
No cats were hurt in the making of this music.
Whispers of the Garden
Bagatelles for brass quintet
Six short pieces inspired by poems of T.S Eliot, Longfellow, Wallace Stevens, Philip Larkin and Oscar Wilde:
Rebecca Northway Photography
The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls
A Symphony of Scenes
The Onion Fayre
More Orchestral Works
The Well-Tempered Orchestra
For small orchestra: a nice piece but the original had several compositional faults. This updated version (2023), is, hopefully, much improved.
Arrangements
... and a song by Vivian Ellis from 'Bless the Bride':
More Chamber Music
Inspired by the Offa's Dyke national trail, featured in Ramblings About Music:
Imagination for solo Violin:
Written for my chamber group, Carnevale:
With apologies to Vivaldi and Philip Glass:
Scores and parts can be downloaded from
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