The Royal Albert Hall, marked public domain, sourced here. As a composer, one of the best things about the BBC Proms is that new works are commissioned each year. This helps keep Classical music a living tradition, and also shines a spotlight on both established and up and coming artists. I thought it might be useful to provide an overview of as many of the 2026 world premieres as I could find, complete with relevant information. Click the arrows to expand each item (please n

Cover of CD for 'To the end, in songs.' I am beyond thrilled to share that a recording of my symphony 'To the end, in songs.' is now available to stream. The conductor is Dr Paul French, the soloist is Christòpheren Nomura, and the choir are the Southern Oregon Repertory Singers. I am immensely grateful to them for commissioning and premiering the piece. The recording will also be available soon on CD. Hope you have a good week. PWR 2026

I'm pleased to share a little piece for piano - 'O Sacrum Convivium'. You can stream it below, and the score is available here. PWR 2026

I'm very pleased to share with you that a recording of the Horizon Mass is now available to stream. This setting of the Mass was originally premiered on the 28th of August 2022 by Anchorae in the Church of St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol. It features the standard movements of Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei. You can view the score by clicking here - the Horizon Mass is listed on my Choral Music page. Happy New Year! PWR 2025/6 I Kyrie, eleison. Christe, eleison. Kyrie, eleis

A quick note to say that I've updated the list published last month to include this year's commission The Darkling Thrush by Rachel Portman. You can view the full list via the button below. An early draft of 'The Darkling Thrush' by Thomas Hardy, which the carol sets to music. Image marked as public domain, sourced here.

I'm delighted that Bes Klein ensemble will be performing my choral piece 'Sisyphe' in Amsterdam (6th Dec) and Utrecht (7th Dec) this weekend. You can find out more information about the concerts on their website here. Sisyphe was written as part of the Anchorae Isolation Choir project, which ran from 2020 - 2021. You can listen to a recording of the piece below. PWR 2025 .

Interior of King College, Cambridge.* It's difficult to think of the Advent/Christmas season without the service of Nine Lessons and Carols at Kings College, Cambridge. A particular highlight of this service is the premiere of a new carol commissioned annually, a tradition initiated by the Director of Music Stephen Cleobury in 1983. Not being able to find a definitive point of reference for these commissions online, I thought it might be a good idea to list them below. So, af

I am thrilled to announce the upcoming premiere of a symphony: 'To the end, in songs.'. The first performances will be given by the excellent Southern Oregon Repertory Singers, and conducted by Dr Paul French on Sat., May 9, 2026, 7:30 p.m and Sun., May 10, 2026, 2:00 p.m. Further details on their website here. The cover of 'To the end, in songs.' features an image of the Aurora Borealis taken by Madeleine Relph. A Note on the Composition In late 2023 I was delighted to be in

There’s been a constant stream of articles and discussion about the continuing spread of AI and its effect on the creative industries. Debate about the opportunities of new AI tools are counterbalanced by concerns about the threat of job displacement for composers.[1] Paganini Variationen: Public domain, sourced here The likelihood is that going forward it will become difficult to impossible to tell the difference between music composed by AI and music composed by human being

I was recently in Portsmouth on route down to France and, having some time to spare, went to have a look around the cathedral. Fortunately for me, evensong was just beginning, and so I found myself a seat in the aisle to listen. The quire of Portsmouth Cathedral: public domain (from wikimedia commons) The choir performed exceptionally: a particular musical highlight was the Leighton Preces and Responses. The Preces (found towards the beginning of evensong) and Responses (foun

I'm delighted to share that I've been selected to present a paper at the upcoming 'Words, Music and Silence' Symposium, being run by The Open University Literature and Music Research Group in partnership with University Music Bournemouth. You can view my title and abstract below. The Dramatic Quiet: Using silence as musical structure in text setting This paper will discuss how silence has been incorporated into a practical model of compositional practice I have developed to e

I'm thrilled to announce that a brand new setting of 'O Sacrum Convivium' (ATB) will be premiered by the choir of St Mary Redcliffe, conducted by Joe Cryan, on the 26th of May 2024 in the service of evensong. The interior of St Mary Redcliffe The Sacrum Convivium Text The short yet deeply meaningful text of 'O Sacrum Convivium' links the eucharist to the Paschal mystery, and has been used as an antiphon to the Magnificat. O sacrum convivium! in quo Christus sumitur: recolitur

Brokkeleyghe Variation 2 is now available to stream on soundcloud. This is the second bonus track from the Sound Garden Project from last year. I hope you enjoy it. Many thanks to the Churches Conservation Trust, Supersum's 'Let's Gather In Project', and Ralph Hoyte for the project last year. Thanks, Peter

There are certain pieces of music which leave a lasting impression; James Macmillan’s Seven Last Words from the Cross (1994), widely considered a masterpiece of contemporary music, is certainly one of them. To describe the piece, it’s important to understand the meaning of the text: the ‘Seven Last Words’ themselves are the seven final sayings of Jesus before death on the cross. The pain and suffering of this crucially important moment in the Christian story is self-evident i

In December 2022 I was delighted to be asked to help with Will Hall’s Service of Lessons and Carols; a collaboration between Wills Hall Chapel Choir, and vocal quartet Anchorae. As part of this, I was invited to write a new carol which could bring both vocal ensembles together to perform. This carol was written and premiered as part of that service. The text of O Virgo virginum is an interesting one, being an addition to the traditional seven advent ‘O’ antiphons performed in

I'm delighted to announce that a significant new work - The Horizon Mass - will be premiered this Sunday in the Church of St Mary Redcliffe (Bristol) from 10:30am. The Horizon Mass is a 'Missa Brevis' (or short Mass), scored for choir SATB and organ. The total run time for the piece is c. 11 minutes.

I'm delighted to share that I've recently been on The Handful's new podcast, discussing the upcoming premiere of Via Crucis. You can read more about Via Crucis in my previous blog post. Listen below:

I’m delighted to announce that Via Crucis will be premiered by The Handful Chamber Choir on the 19th of March in Bath. More information on that here. In 2019 I was delighted to win a composition competition to write a piece for The Handful Chamber Choir’s concert. The piece was to be performed alongside Allegri’s Miserere and James Macmillan’s Miserere, both well-known and well-loved Lenten works.[1] I had been considering setting the stations of the cross (also known as the

The score for The World is now available at GIA Publications for both SATB and SSAA. Click the links to find out more. Background In March 2020 all concerts and live performances were suddenly cancelled as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold across the globe. Collaborating with my friends and colleagues in vocal quartet Anchorae: Chessie Mills Smith, Adam Lloyd, and Ned Tennet, we decided to initiate a 'virtual choir' project in which we invited singers from around the world to s

I'm delighted to announce that my Magnificat will be released on Dr James Jordan and The Westminster Williamson Voices' upcoming Christmas CD A Scattered Light In Winter later this week. In 2019 I completed a setting of The Magnificat, a biblical text where Mary is talking to her cousin Elizabeth. In this setting I incorporated aleatoric sections - sections where the creation of sound is somehow left to chance - into the music. When using aleatoric elements in music, you inev