To begin at the beginning...

I was born in 1960. At the age of ten I moved to a large farmhouse to live with my grandmother - the isolation and her support fostered a love of music and a passion for composing.

In 1980 I won a place at Clare College, Cambridge, studying composition with Robin Holloway, an inspirational figure. Though initially there was little stylistic common ground, some of my teacher's idiosyncratic single-mindedness was already reflected in the student pieces produced. Perhaps the gap has since narrowed (considerably)! Jabberwocky (1984) was the first success, given by Endymion at the Camden Festival in a Harrison Birtwistle 50th Birthday Concert.

Completing my degree in Music, I moved to York University and took a DPhil in Composition with David Blake. A great number of works were produced, but were varied in style and approach. Imber Song was a joint winner of the RVW Composition Prize (1985) and given two performances in London and at the York Festival. Nocturnes was awarded 2nd place in the Britten Prize in 1986. Performances followed on London's South Bank, with many more across the country in festivals. Five pieces were selected by the Society for the Promotion of New Music, and the last of these, Fragilitá, was given by Lontano under Odaline de la Martinez at the Institute for Contemporary Arts in London in 1993.

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