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.
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In 2022 I was delighted to be appointed Chorus Director of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra Chorus, one of the leading choruses in the UK, following a very successful 12 years as Chorus Master of Belfast Philharmonic Choir. I particularly enjoy working with amateur singers, spending 7 years as Musical Director of Edinburgh Bach Choir and have been Musical Director of 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, with the most recent RSNO events attracting 800 singers!
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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.
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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.
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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, the Ulster Orchestra and the BBC. My arrangements appear on various recordings, with commissions featuring in the Proms and the launch of BBC Alba. In addition I have contributed arrangements to a number of Folk/Classical crossover projects with Kurt Rosenberg, which resulted in a recording by the RSNO Chorus, 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 Sextet. Most recently new arrangements for Piano 6-hands have been published. In post-Covid times, when performing with smaller ensembles was the preferred option, a new arrangement of Brahms' Schicksalslied for piano duet was performed, with further arrangements using an ensemble of 7 instruments including Vaughan Williams' lovely Serenade to Music and Ken Johnston's Song for St Cecilia.
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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!
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Finally, in addition to the above I am an Examiner for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music.
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If you would to contact me about any of the above, please click here.