A pastoral theme and variations reminiscent of early 20th century British composers such as Coates and Bridge. The recording is of the world premiere performance by the Peninsula Strings, under the direction of Michael Reason.

Adagio for Strings

A symphony written in the style of music for action and adventure movies. Watching films of this genre is one of my favourite "down" time gigs.

1st mvt:
2nd mvt:
3rd mvt:
4th mvt:

  Allegro
  Molto Adagio
  Presto
  Allegro

The concerto, written for B-flat clarinet, explores the versatility and expressive range of the solo instrument - not least of all it's four octave range, from sultry lows to lyrical mid-range and screaming highs.

1st mvt:
2nd mvt:
3rd mvt:

  Allegro
  Adagio
  Andante cantabile

A very early work that needs serious revision, particularly to the outer movements. However, the remaining movement, with its flamenco allusions, still has some appeal and is presented here.

2nd mvt:  Adagio

This piece is based on the composer's memories of England, where he was born and raised. The four movements follow the seasons of the year. Memory and distance have a way of filtering events, so this is undoubtedly a very 'impressionistic' work!

In "Winter's Gift", the 4th movement, you'll hear the pre-Christmas rush, excited children playing, church bells ringing, family reunions, and the occasional snowstorm blowing a Dickensian touch over the landscape (or is it the Grinch....?).

4th mvt:

  "Winter's Gift"

A whimsical, sometimes tongue-in-cheek piece intended as a concert curtain raiser and inspired by earlier masters of the genre such as Georg Philipp Telemann and Leopold Mozart.

While there is no explicit "programme" for the music, lively entertainments such as the circus came to mind during the writing.

Ouverture Bourlesque

A theme and 12 variations, each of which uses the 12 tones of the chromatic scale. The variations were developed using techniques such as retrograde and inversion. Essentially this is experimentation with serial techniques of composition to produce a work that sounds like it is based on more traditional approaches.

Twelve

The Concertino for Trumpet is a bright, joyful concert piece composed for the instrument I played in my youth and inspired by virtuosi like Maurice Andre and Wynton Marsalis. Ah, how I wish I had played like this.......

Concertino for Trumpet

Writing for an instrument that seems to have a zest for life, its difficult not to imagine virtuosic passages. The pitfall (hopefully avoided in this work) is forgetting to allow the soloist sufficient places to breathe!

1st mvt:
2nd mvt:
3rd mvt:
 

Allegro
Adagio
Allegro molto -
    Adagio

Northland is an ongoing project portraying in music the varied landscapes of the composer's adopted country, Canada. So far, four pieces have been completed:

Northland I: - inspired by Canada's abundant forests.

Northland II: - celebrates the denizens of the very warm and very humid weather that pervades much of Canada during summer - small flying critters who bite!

Northland III: - inspired by Canada's high arctic. Vast stretches of ice and ocean. A stunning landscape full of exotic wildlife. Daunting, forbidding, and magnificent.

Northland IV: - a recollection of the sheer grandeur of Canada's mountainous regions, including the spectacular peaks of the Rockies and the picture-postcard beauty of the Laurentians.

An eclectic combination of classical sonata form, full orchestra and themes in the style of American folk tunes. The first movement featured here harkens after the Hoedown, methinks.

1st mvt:

Andante

This opening phrase, a 3-note motif played in the Violas, is the basis for all the music that follows. The piece is in four sections played without a break:

- Introduction , Theme and Variations I   (Largo-Adagio)
- Variations II, based on the theme   inversion (Adagio)
- Variations III, based on the theme   retrograde (Andante)
- Coda (Allegro)

Variations for String Orchestra