An amazing premiere

The premiere of my Te Deum took place in Lancaster, Ohio last night and received a tremendous standing ovation. I don't think I have ever been so moved by the warmth of the reception at a concert of my music. The Catholic Church of St. Mary was filled to capacity - an audience of just under a thousand. The Lancaster Chorale, the two soloists and the Festival Orchestra absolutely excelled themselves. Gary Sheldon conducted brilliantly. Thank you to all who performed on the night and the many generous people who made it happen.

Arrival in Lancaster, Ohio

I arrived in Lancaster yesterday to a wonderfully warm reception. Last night the Lancaster Chorale rehearsed the Te Deum with piano ahead of the dress rehearsal with orchestra this evening. What a choir! Bob Trocchia has done the most fantastic job in preparing them - and Gary Sheldon (artistic director of the Festival) provided inspired direction. The magnificent Catholic Church of St Mary must seat almost a thousand, and the concert is a sell out for tomorrow night. I have to thank the Chorale board (particularly Susan Lantz) and Father Don Franks for their help and support.

Laura Wright

I spent a few weeks in April working on seven new arrangements for Laura Wright's new album The Last Rose. This is due to be released late in July by Decca and I have just seen the album cover. It's really lovely and does real justice to Laura and her beautiful voice. Watch this space for more details over the next couple of weeks!

Te Deum Premiere

I am delighted to say that my Te Deum has a premiere looming! Bob Trocchia and the Lancaster Chorale based in Ohio have performed quite a few of my pieces and have recently posted a beautiful rendition of Perfect Love on Youtube. They have now commissioned the Te Deum for premiere on July 21st this year at the opening concert of the Lancaster Festival. I am really excited about this and delighted that I will be there to hear the performance under the expert conducting of Gary Sheldon.

New Piece for Oboe and Harp

I am sorry to any regular readers for the late arrival of a new blog. I had the dreaded flu virus just before Christmas and it's taken me ages to get over it properly. But I am back on course - and there are lots of exciting things happening in 2011. The first is a new piece for oboe and harp. It is just finished and is being rehearsed today by the oboist James Turnbull and my dear friend Claire Jones. They aim to premiere the piece on the 28th of this month at the Avon Valley Concerts

http://www.avonvalleyconcerts.com/concerts.html

The piece is called Earth Rise. It was James's idea and this is what he wrote to me about it:

The picture was taken by Apollo 8 in December 1968 and it was the first time humankind caught a glimpse of the planet from deep space. A while ago I read an amazing book about how the Apollo missions changed the way we view our existence and how it changed the astronauts and believe it is considered to be a highly significant moment, showing how fragile, and small the Earth actually is.

Talking about the Highgrove Suite

Tomorrow (Friday) I'm going to Lincolnshire to talk about the Highgrove Suite at Edenham Regional House (my brother's vicarage). I'm really looking forward to it because the people who attend are such wonderful, grounded people and it's a real pleasure to share my experiences with them. And then on Sunday morning I am in Manchester to talk with Aled on his Good Morning Sunday show. He'll be playing bits of the Highgrove Suite.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006wqvh/episodes/upcoming

Towards the Light

Today sees the re-release of Towards the Light. This is the album I wrote for Classic FM during my time as resident composer. The new release is part of The Full Works Series and retails for around £6. It's great to know that it has a new life because a lot of people have been e mailing me about its lack of availabilty.