Educated at St. Paul’s School, London, I was steeped in the historical tradition of sacred choral music. As head chorister from 1972 to 76 I experienced music of many faiths in churches, cathedrals, synagogues and temples. Our head of music was Christopher Herrick who took us to St Paul’s Cathedral, where he was an organist, the Royal Albert Hall and to Olympic Studios, where we recorded Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar amongst many others.

I grew up by Richmond Park, where I would spend whole days with the family dog, listening to the sounds of nature and learning about the beauty of wild and secluded spaces.

At the University of East Anglia, part of my BA Hons in music was directed by the electro-acoustic musician Dennis Smalley. Through him I learnt to explore the waveform of a musical note and to link that to found sounds and environmental ambience.

I transcribed Jools Hollands’ first album in the early nineties before computer programs and also produced a Grade 5 version for learners. He introduced me to memorising music as a visual landscape, a technique I use in my compositions.

I was pianist for the Swansea Male Choir for eight years, the Remembrance Day service in the Brangwyn Hall being one of those occasions where I always felt closer to the spiritual essence of life. With my own choir, the 30 piece Belmont Male singers, 2002 to 2007, we would experience the sunlight bursting through the church window as the bride said her vows or the beauty of a song in an Old Peoples’ home as the audience felt taken to a different place and time.

I also worked as a teaching assistant giving whole class music lessons to primary school students in Manselton, Swansea. The children inspired a huge burst of musical creativity for me, their enthusiasm to perform and sing was only matched by that of their grandfathers in the Belmont choir!

Recent work has included Fanfare for Malmesbury for the 26 piece Malmesbury Wind Band, which takes you on a journey through the Second World War townscape, from the now defunct station yard through the Abbey and to the market square.

In 2023 my piece Matins, Evensong was accepted for Wells Contemporary Art in the Cathedral. The work is based on the choirs of starlings on the Somerset levels, exploring the environmental sounds which accompany them and linking it to the sacred in music. I am honoured to be given the Corpus Christi chapel in Wells Cathedral, where the sacrament is kept. It is a wonderful meditative space with original medieval tiles where 12th century feet once walked.

I am currently exploring the sounds of Wiltshire wildflower meadows to produce a work for the 12th century Malmesbury Abbey for their next Pride of Place festival in 2024.

When I am not engaged in music I am out in nature with my dog, Oli, a deerhound lurcher. Together we build stables and treehouses, skate ramps and garden studios. He’s the boss.