
Biography
Born 1962.
Output: 29 Symphonies, 8 concertos, 2 String Quartets, String Serenade, Tone Poem "Francesca Da Rimini", Piano Quintet.
Influences: Sibelius, Shostakovich, Borodin, Bruckner, Tchaikovsky, Mahler, JS Bach, Carl Nielsen.
Musical character: 20th/21st Century semi-romantic
Have experimented with tonality, structure and harmony - including:
Symphony No 22 in 7 movements, integrating 3 concertos into the structure and dodecaphonic writing in some melodies and harmonies. At 2 hours and 5 minutes the longest symphony ever written. 1, 4 & 5 are 'the symphony', 2 & 5 a violin concerto, 3 a piano concerto and 6 a viola concerto. These can each be performed separately or together.
Symphony 9 where each movement is based on 2 'harmonic credos' (progressions of 20 chords not derived from a common key centre)
Several works based in dual key centres
Symphony 13 polyrhythms and polytonality
7 symphonies with only a single movement
I have also written 3 books about advanced music theory:
(2006) The Harmonic Universe {BA level} - algebraic analysis of tonality and harmony enabling understanding of even exotic chords whether you understand notation or not. Sets out a codified system for understanding 7ths and continental 6ths, triad versatility in minor keys and a wider extension of interconnected tonality.
(2024) It's Not Rocket Science Is It? {MA level) - Sets out my system for teaching Grade 5 music theory to students with no previous experience, within a year. The system emphasises pattern recognition, understanding and reconstruction. Results are proven with a 100% pass rate, 70% of students gaining a merit or distinction.
(2024) A New Harmonic Universe {PhD level} - Building on the scope and insights of its 2006 'cousin' triads and their extensions are presented within four DNA families. This 'genetic' analysis is so robust it even makes the analysis of "exotic" or "hybrid" chords such as the Tristan, Petrushka, Elektra or Prometheus easy and crystal clear. As a result of my chord analysis system a more panoramic understanding of tonality emerges where the cliched "core of 4" are shown to be a mere fragment of the truth; that the family of related keys contains 23 members!