The Sea

3 mins, orchestra

A short Encore for the Royal Northern Sinfonia, as part of their 60th anniversary season, for the orchestra and Lars Vogt.

Programme Note
I grew up on the Hartlepool coast, about 100m from the North Sea, and what I mainly remember about it is its ruthless sense of humour. I remember: the garage at the bottom of the road blown flat, seaweed chunks thrown 35m inland, parks becoming sand dunes, sand dunes eating walls, the Seaton Carew Seaside Christmas Tree stripped of lights and felled (about once a week), and genuinely struggling to get upwind in good enough time to make the school bus. But I do miss it, when I’m back in Hartlepool I don’t feel home until I hear it swelling in the background. This 3-minute piece for piano and orchestra is a tongue-in-cheek tribute to that brutal sea. Inspired by Handel’s joyfully simple organ concertos, surges of chords move between piano and orchestra, calmly, before overlapping, surging and breaking in sequence and repeat.

"a vivid musical portrayal ... a gem" -- Gavin Engelbrecht, The Northern Echo

"vividly portrayed" -- Jane Shuttleworth, Bachtrack

 

Past events

  1. Broadcast of the previous week's concert at Sage Gateshead, with Lars Vogt and the Royal Northern Sinfonia.

    bbc.co.uk

  2. A short Encore for the Royal Northern Sinfonia, as part of their 60th anniversary season, for the orchestra and Lars Vogt.

    sagegateshead.com
News

    Jan 2019

    ·

    New works for Apartment House and Royal Northern Sinfonia / Lars Vogt

    I've recently finished two new works: a string trio, '3 missed alarms' and 'The Sea' for orchestra and piano. They'll be performed 28 Jan at Listenpony and 15 Feb at The Sage Gateshead, respectively. Check out the details on the calendar page.

    May 2018

    ·

    New work for Royal Northern Sinfonia

    I'm excited to announce that I'll be writing a piece for the wonderful Newcastle-based Royal Northern Sinfonia. They have commissioned me as part of their 60th Anniversary season, and I will be writing for their core group plus Lars Vogt on piano. The premiere will be in February, check out the season announcement at sagegateshead.com.