Much of my creativity in the early months of this year has been focussed on The Music of John Tavener, the monograph on the composer which I am currently three chapters and 30,000 words into! But there are a few composition things happening - performances of Ave Regina Caelorum in Northumberland, Evening Service in London as well as Dialogue on the organ of Carlisle Cathedral. Further afield there are performances of The World on Fire in Alberta and Salve Regina in Florida. Looking slightly further ahead is the premiere of Transfiguration (2022) for two pianos in Aberdeen in May, which should be a great occasion. Whilst I’m here, a quick shout out to Alex, who always enjoys this blog.

2025 ended up being a very special year with many interesting opportunities, peformances and projects. I had a quiet year at my university job, with the second half of the year being a sabbatical which I took full advantage of. There were performances all across the globe, some of which I managed to attend, the most exciting being the premiere of Missa Omnimum Sanctorum in Toronto in November. There were broadcasts on national radio in the UK, Australia, Germany and the Netherlands. Wonderful recordings from the Svanholm Singers and Oriel College, Oxford and new pieces in London, Cambridge, Harvard, Carlisle and Glasgow.

And the year finished with another broadcast, this time on Dutch national radio with Al is Alles Stil (2022) being broadcast on Panorama Zondag on the 28 December. The programme featured an interview with poet Vrouwkje Tuinman (who wrote the text for the piece) and the recording used was of the University of Aberdeen Chamber Choir from their November 2024 concert. It was nice to hear of this by the pool in the Canary Islands!