Composing as a Negotiated Art-form

This collection of works represents output as a negotiated art-form. The collection is predominantly works for full brass band, soloist with brass band accompaniment or, in the case of Impromptu for Baritone, soloist with piano accompaniment. All works were composed between 2015 and 2018.

The collection is musically diverse, ranging from the cinematic approach of Escape the Kraken! or the funk-infused Maelstrom, to the impressionistic Montmartre Jardins sous la Pluie (Montmartre Gardens in the Rain) and the multiple style-shift technique, currently popular with the medium, in Fantasy on London Nursery Rhymes. Although the aesthetic approach of these works is varied, each is composed with a specific purpose or requirement requested by the commissioning body, negotiated as part of the collaborative process both in initial discussions and throughout the writing of each work.

To an extent this negotiated approach is a phenomenon unique to the genetic make-up of the brass band and its derivatives, particularly with compositions written for the elite level, as works need to demonstrate the technical excellence of both ensemble and the preferred soloists within it. It could be argued that providing an underlying aesthetic vision and rigorous musical argument is often of secondary importance to the demonstration of technical prowess and from the composers perspective this collection seeks to address this imbalance.