PERSONAL STATEMENT

I am an experienced educator and composer, holding an MA in Art Education from UCL with a grade A dissertation focused on the developmental visual communications of the very young.

My first degree, a BA in ‘Music with Visual Practice’ from Brighton (2:1), provided a fertile environment for experimentation and interdisciplinary exploration. Under the tutelage of Scottish composer Billy Cowie, I was exposed to the vibrant world of new and experimental music, as well as Live Art. Highlights included participating in The International Festival of Live Art at The Sallis Benney Theatre and working as an accompanist for children's eurythmy classes at St Michael’s Dance Studio. This period saw me introduced to emerging contemporary composers such as Rebecca Saunders, while my foundational influences include Erik Satie, John Cage, and Stephen Oliver.

Teaching music was formalised through teacher training at Brookes. My mentors included Dr Sarah Maidlow and Nigel Timms, and I benefited from workshops by Lin Marsh and WNO. Over the past two decades, I have held numerous roles across the education sector, from Music Coordinator in a Southwark primary school to Music Specialist for a Special Needs Institute in Islington. My work has spanned all ages and abilities, including post-16 ASD students for whom I wrote and recorded scripts for their online radio station. Leadership roles such as Head of Music at a prep school in Hammersmith, and Art Leader at a primary school in Hertfordshire, have allowed me to foster links between artistic disciplines and nurture independent, creative learning. My experience with graphic scores and composition workshops has enabled students to access and develop their own musical ideas.

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My undergraduate degree show comprised four experimental and studio-based works for a slide installation, selected for external examination. The period of lockdown in 2022 reignited my passion for composition, enabling me to revisit and rework earlier material and pursue new forms through exploratory practice. I compose primarily using Noteflight, exploring the interplay between sound, pattern, and musical structure through formal notation. My output ranges from solo piano to small ensembles.

Projects include an AV Installation at Trinity Buoy Wharf in collaboration with NZ composer Emily Madill (with whom I have joined the ‘Consort of Newly Composed Music’), composing soundtracks for educational videos (All Kids ABC, London), and contributing to a TV pilot for Xon Productions alongside folk artist and producer Skopje. Notable performances include a slideshow introduction for the ‘London Fragments’ exhibition at ArtFix Greenwich (2023), and ‘London Bone’ for trombone, piano, and percussion, performed as part of The SoundShapes Tour of the Netherlands in 2024. The latter piece, inspired by Michael Moorcock’s novel, reflects a blend of English eccentricity with influences from Ravel, Saint-Saëns, and Trad Jazz. My compositional focus now addresses small forces and piano. I continue to explore new instrumentation, recently developing arrangements that blend contemporary and historical styles, such as a ‘Wassail’ version inspired by the Lautten Compagney. I believe that contemporary music is fundamentally about communication.

My instrumental training began with electronic organ, progressing to Jazz Organ under Chez Bishop and then to Classical Organ in my teens. I performed for services and recitals into my mid-twenties, tutored by cinema organist Alan Bartlett. I also presented a Classical programme at the Yamaha Centenary Festival at The Victoria Rooms, Bristol. My influences remain wide-ranging, from gamelan improvisation (reintroduced to me by Billy Cowie) to ensemble playing as a violinist in regional orchestras and string quartets. Additional collaborations include co-teaching workshops with Yassin Zelestine and producing music and poetry evenings for venues such as The Candid Arts Trust and The Poetry Society in London.