Search

I had considered the possibility of studying for a PhD for many years, but never seriously thought it could be a reality until a chance meeting with Professor Anthony Powers on a train to London, who mentioned that I might be interested in the new PhD in Composition at Cardiff University. Anthony was one of my composition tutors when I was an undergraduate and along with Professor Stephen Walsh, had encouraged my work as a composer at a time when I was unsure if this was the direction I wanted to take. Since graduating, I had established a professional music career but after thirteen years, felt I lacked focus and direction; I had also kept in touch with both Anthony and Stephen and it was these reasons, amongst others, that led to my decision to undertake the course. I am very grateful to Cardiff University School of Music for giving me a scholarship to enable me to pursue my studies without financial burden and for believing in me as a composer. The wealth of experiences during my period of study has been extensive, ranging from performance opportunities, workshops, concerts (many featuring twentieth and twenty-first century music), seminars and lectures, to being part of a lively and vibrant postgraduate community, all of which I have greatly valued. I am also indebted to Professor Anthony Powers, for his help and encouragement and to Professor Stephen Walsh and Professor Judith Weir, who kindly gave up their time to look over this Commentary. Writing about my music has been one of the greatest challenges of this PhD. Whereas composing music is a skill I have developed over several decades and studying for a PhD in Composition has, in some respects, been a continuation of this, analysing my approach to composing music and the music itself has been a new, and surprisingly rewarding, experience. Being first and foremost a composer who writes intuitively with little recourse to planning, at first I wondered how I would gather together enough information to write abo

I had considered the possibility of studying for a PhD for many years, but never seriously thought it could be a reality until a chance meeting with Professor Anthony Powers on a train to London, who mentioned that I might be interested in the new PhD in Composition at Cardiff University. Anthony was one of my composition tutors when I was an undergraduate and along with Professor Stephen Walsh, had encouraged my work as a composer at a time when I was unsure if this was the direction I wanted to take. Since graduating, I had established a professional music career but after thirteen years, felt I lacked focus and direction; I had also kept in touch with both Anthony and Stephen and it was these reasons, amongst others, that led to my decision to undertake the course. I am very grateful to Cardiff University School of Music for giving me a scholarship to enable me to pursue my studies without financial burden and for believing in me as a composer. The wealth of experiences during my period of study has been extensive, ranging from performance opportunities, workshops, concerts (many featuring twentieth and twenty-first century music), seminars and lectures, to being part of a lively and vibrant postgraduate community, all of which I have greatly valued. I am also indebted to Professor Anthony Powers, for his help and encouragement and to Professor Stephen Walsh and Professor Judith Weir, who kindly gave up their time to look over this Commentary. Writing about my music has been one of the greatest challenges of this PhD. Whereas composing music is a skill I have developed over several decades and studying for a PhD in Composition has, in some respects, been a continuation of this, analysing my approach to composing music and the music itself has been a new, and surprisingly rewarding, experience. Being first and foremost a composer who writes intuitively with little recourse to planning, at first I wondered how I would gather together enough information to write abo