PROJECTS & PIECES
I have been engaged on a number of large-scale, long-term exciting musical adventures as well as (to me) significant but shorter ones. They all involve the typical things that I do – social engagement, instant songs, more measured and longer compositions and often extending into health and wellbeing.
Here is some information and links about four of them.
1
THE ROCK CONNECTS USGeological music-making
I engaged with, and co-led, several large-scale performance and community projects with the English Riviera Global Geopark Organisation for over a decade, as part of the UNESCO Geoparks Movement.
This began with a performance walk around Torbay with two colleagues wearing rock costumes and composing one of my most popular songs ‘The Basic Rock Song’. It then developed onto projects with schools, creative trips to the UNESCO Conferences in Japan and Canada, and finally composing the music with an intergenerational company of 100 people for the 2016 Geopark Conference in Torbay ‘Earth Echoes.’
What is our relationship with the earth we live in?
2
MAKING BRIDGES WITH MUSICIntergenerational Music-Making
I have been developing a programme of intergenerational projects making music and more with pre-school-age children and childminders visiting care homes to engage with elders. This led to a ground-breaking project Making Bridges With Music, which in turn spawned a follow-up during COVID entitled Rebuilding Bridges With Music, and further developments including training sessions as part of Tokyo 2020 in Japan, leading workshops for Red Note Ensemble in Fife working with Generations Working Together and co-composing two song-cycles ‘Dementialand’ and ‘Going To Charlie’s House.’
Since being involved in this work the profile of intergenerational work has increased nationally. Intergenerational communication is essential for society. This site has a short film of our work and a report.
3
SITE SPECIFIC THEATREWorking alongside Wils Wilson
I have composed music for promenade and site-specific pieces including with choreographer Stephen Koplowitz and actor/performer Tony Lidington (Prom-Prom). I have devised several pieces working closely with Wils Wilson including two successful pieces for the National Theatre of Scotland (‘Home:Shetland’ – CATS Award Winner 2006 and ‘Ignition’) and for The Marsden Jazz Festival and Wilson+Wilson.
Each of these pieces sets out to work with local people, find their stories and help to map and mould them into something new and rich, involving creative music-making at the heart.
‘there’s a moment when the youngsters and volunteers pouring the tea suddenly turn towards the band on stage, raise their voices, and form themselves into a choir, singing songs of their own composing, about Shetland, their home. It’s one of those moments of transformation that makes a project like Ignition just slightly magical…’
– from The Scotsman 23/5/2013
4
THE CHORAL ENGINEERSA Creative Choir for Torbay
I have led a number of long-term creative community projects including Dangerous Volume in Huddersfield and The Aubergines in Exeter. Alongside colleague Steve Sowden, I formed The Choral Engineers to make a piece of music-theatre about the life of engineer/mathematician Oliver Heaviside. This then led onto a range of diverse, controversial and exciting projects including music for the opening of a new road (The South Devon Highway) and a triptych over three years that documented the UK’s extraction from the EU. The choir had members who had voted remain and leave.