I spent a couple of immensely inspiring days in the Department for Speech, Music and Hearing of the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm to play with Loeric, an AI music performance system developed by Marco Amerotti. Both Loeric and I learned a huge amount in a very short period of time – stay tuned for more: much might emerge from this collaboration… Loeric is affiliated with the Somabotics: Creatively Embodying AI programme, spearheaded by the University of Nottingham. 

It was an immense pleasure to perform as part of the After Hours series of the Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham. My programme included a performance of Observations of Fiery Sparks, co-written by myself and Tim Cooper, the premiere of Elizabeth Kelly’s Punctuation Paradiso (a playful and soulful suite reflecting on the intricacies of punctation marks), and finally my own work titled Hidden Paths, a contemporary electroacoustic re-imagination of Luca Marenzio’s iconic late sixteenth-century madrigal Solo e pensoso.  

Ensemble 1604 has rebranded, is now known as Haptic and this is our first patch of gigs under the new name! A really exciting tour ahead of us in Scotland with a programme that includes Stef Conner’s Ghost Weavers, Tim Cooper’s Labyrinth from our debut album, the premiere of an electroacoustic solo recorder piece, titled Observations of Fiery Sparks I co-wrote with Tim, from our new upcoming major project, Micrographia, and finally, Frederic Rzewski’s iconic Coming Together. The tour is funded by The Night With…: catch us in Aberdeen, Glasgow, and Edinburgh. 

I feel hugely honoured to be given the chance to take up the position of Lead for the University of Nottingham in the Universities for Nottingham & BBC Concert Orchestra Partnership. This partnership includes an incredibly rich and unique portfolio of activities, including orchestral and choral side-by-side performances, filmmaking and composition collaborations, student career development opportunities, research and knowledge exchange, and outreach projects.  

I look forward to perform an absolutely stunning programme with Dunedin Consort, focussing on celebrating St. Cecilia (the patron saint of music), Henry Purcell, and the whole musical ecosystem of London in the last decades of the seventeenth century. The programme will include Blow’s stunning Ode on the Death of Mr. Henry Purcell, the ensemble will be led by Nicholas Mulroy, and you can catch us in London’s Wigmore Hall and in Glasgow and Edinburgh. 

It was an enormous pleasure to premiere composer Elizabeth Kelly and poet Matt Walton’s collaborative works exploring themes of the  FOREST exhibition at Nottingham Castle, which presented various contemporary artist’s deep and enduring connection to British Forests, Sherwood Forest, and the legendary Major Oak. The ensemble involved the brilliant baritone Marcus Farnsworth, violinist Tamaki Higashi, violist Carmen Flores, and cellist Tim Smedley. You can listen to the new works HERE.   

Alongside fellow Ensemble 1604 (now known as Haptic) musicians Tim Cooper and Lucia Capellaro, it was really inspiring to be interviewed by Dr James Cook as part of the Artful Inquiry podcast of the Edinburgh College of Art, about how ‘early music’, live improvisation, and electroacoustic music collide in innovative new works. If you are keen to have a listen, click HERE.

Our new EP on NMC Recordings with Ensemble 1604 & Stef Conner, performing Stef’s piece, Ghost Weavers, and recorded live as part of the New Music Biennial ’25 is available on all major streaming platforms, or you can purchase it HERE. Take a listen, if you get a chance!

I am hugely honoured to be a recipient of the University of Nottingham’s prestigious Lord Dearing Award for outstanding contribution to the development of teaching and student learning. Click here to read more about the award.