I studied composition with Alexander Goehr, Geoffrey Poole and Peter Paul Nash at the University of Leeds between 1975-8. I then studied for a DPhil in composition at the University of York, which was supervised by David Blake and awarded in 1983. I have composed music for many different sizes of ensembles from solo piano to large orchestra, opera and music theatre, and electronics.  

I joined the Department of Music at the University of Leeds as a lecturer in 1988 and established the study of music technology there, as well as teaching composition and a range of other musical skills. I am the auhor or editor of ten books (including a major biography of Béla Bartók, studies of two film scores by Bernard Herrmann and a monograph on the traditional music of Northern Ireland) as well as numerous book chapters, journal articles and conference papers. I retired from the University of Leeds in 2018. 

Wind Quintet No. 2 was commissioned by the Northern Sinfonia Wind Ensemble with the aid of the Arts Council (Dio Fund, 1978).

my love for soprano and seven instruments was shortlisted for the 1978 Yorkshire Arts Young Composers' Competition.

Contrasted Landscapes was joint prizewinner in the 1979 Yorkshire Arts Young Composers' Competition, and was performed by Gemini at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival that year.

Mes Instantanées was the first prizewinner in the 1980 Yorkshire Arts Competition and was given its premiere by the Aulos Ensemble at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival.

Piano Fantasy was commissioned by Benjamin Frith and premiered in the Wigmore Hall in 1984 with more than 30 subsequent performances.

Saxophone Quartet No 1 was composed for the Northern Saxophone Quartet in 1985. The first performance was at the World Saxophone Congress in Washington DC, 1986. The British premiere was at the Purcell Room in December, 1986. 

In Limine Sapientiae (Baritone Saxophone and Piano) was premiered by Nick Turner at the British Saxophone Congress on October 17th, 1992. 

Metamorphosis for live electronics with WX7 Wind Controller was premiered by Richard Ingham in Leeds (1993). 

Saxophone Quartet No. 2 was composed for the Northern Saxophone Quartet and was premiered at The Venue, Leeds, on 16 February 2005. It was performed at the World Saxophone Congress in July 2006, at Ljubliana, Slovenia.