Hello and welcome to my website!
ABOUT ME
I enjoy a wide variety of activities as part of my career as a freelance musician, with most of my time spent working with choruses.
I was delighted to be appointed Chorus Director of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra Chorus, one of the leading choruses in the UK in April 2022, following a very successful 10 years as Chorus Master of Belfast Philharmonic Choir. I particularly enjoy working with amateur singers and I'm also Musical Director of both Edinburgh Bach Choir (since 2017) and The Garleton Singers (since 1994). Over the years I've also directed a variety of 'Come & Sing' events, frequently in aid of charities as well as part of my various director roles. I was the Director of Music of St. John's Episcopal Church, Edinburgh for some 18 years, directing the 30-voice choir through the full range of sung services, which also included large-scale, orchestrally-accompanied services during the Edinburgh Festival.
As a keyboard player, I play harpsichord/organ continuo and orchestral piano and have given frequent organ recitals including several four-star recitals on the grand Mulholland Organ in the Ulster Hall, Belfast. My organ recitals frequently feature an eclectic mix of music from early English and German composers such as Gibbons and Buxtehude through the romantic works of Mendelssohn and Liszt to music from the 20th century including Hindemith, Messiaen and Leighton. You can hear some performances here.
I am also in demand as an Arranger and Orchestrator. My "highly excellent arrangements" (David Byers, former Chief Executive of the Ulster Orchestra) have been commissioned and performed by many leading organisations including the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Children's Classic Concerts and the Ulster Orchestra. Over the years it has been my pleasure to undertake arrangements not only in the classical sphere, with commissions from the BBC including works for Proms in the Park and the launch of BBC Alba, but also a number of Folk/Classical crossover projects with Kurt Rosenberg and the award-winning folk band Dallahan.
Recent collaborations with composer and pianist Christopher Norton have given rise to two publications of my arrangements of pieces from his popular 10-volume Connections series, initially for Piano Duet (watch here) but which has since spawned further arrangements for Wind Ensemble. In post-Covid times a new arrangement of Brahms' Schicksalslied for piano duet was performed, while more recently a performance featuring an ensemble of 7 instruments has inspired arrangements of Vaughan Williams' lovely Serenade to Music and Ken Johnston's Song for St Cecilia.
You can hear some of my arrangements here and please visit here to find a portfolio of my arrangements. There are regular additions so please do check back again another time!
Finally, in addition to the above I am an Examiner for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music.
If you would to contact me about any of the above, please click here.
