Music for Theatre
Veronika Decides to Die (2019)
A rock theme and piano variation I wrote for a potential theatre adaptation of Paulo Coelho's novel, Veronika Decides to Die. The adaptation did not end up going ahead, but I liked the tune so I'm including it in my portfolio!
D.R.A.M: The Dramatic Regional Association of Muchleymarsh (2019)
"D.R.A.M." is a comedy about amateur dramatics (and dramatic amateurs) set in a fictional village in Shropshire. I wanted music that evoked a sense of limelight and stagey-ness, while also suggesting the chaos of a badly-run organisation with a host of eccentric characters.
If I Were You (2017)
Created for a production of Alan Ayckbourn's comedic play about a married couple who swap bodies. I felt a cheeky Latin American style would suit the humour of the story - sometimes complementing the action and sometimes working against it. I recorded these cues live on an electronic keyboard, track by track.
Pygmalion (2014)
George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion is the basis for the classic musical, My Fair Lady. I wanted a score that was rich and orchestral, but without the funds to use a real orchestra I had to be creative! Using some talented volunteer musicians from my virtual orchestra project (the Doctor Who Fan Orchestra), I sent them their parts and a click-track. The volunteers recorded their parts live, and then sent them back to me. I was then able to mix them together with a bedding of samples to support the live instruments, to mock up the sound of an orchestra. I was very pleased with the results and to this day it is one of the scores of which I am most proud.
Originally created for my own production by Enigma Theatre, this score was later licensed to the European Arts Company for their tour of Pygmalion in Italy, 2016-2017.
Musicians: Heather Ackroyd (Clarinet), Ida Andersson (Viola), David Baldridge (Trumpet), William Baldridge (Trumpet),
Zoe Beaney (Clarinet), Lore Burns (Cello), Ian Jett (Violin), Damien Jones (Violin & Viola), Adrienne Killey (French Horn),
Allyn Lambert (Violin), Noah Littlejohn (Cello), Steve Luzader (French Horn and Trumpet), Isabella Mija Reyes (Violin),
Dawn Schram (Flute), Emily Sulka (Flute)
Comic Potential (2013, 2016)
Alan Ayckbourn's play set in a rundown TV studio of the not-too-distant future, featuring robots who perform the acting roles in daytime soap operas. One of the "actoids" develops self-awareness and a sense of humour, and finds herself falling in love with a young human. I originally wrote these cues in 2013, and then developed them further for a revived production in 2016. They were mostly created electronically.
Musician: Ida Andersson (Viola)
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (2012)
Tom Stoppard's famous absurdist tragi-comedy, set "in the wings" of Shakespeare's Hamlet. This was one of the earliest scores I composed. The main theme was designed to be repetitive and off-kilter, to suit the opening of the play in which the characters muse on why the coins they flip always land on heads... I used electronic samples as well as a small group of live instrumentalists for this score.
Musicians: William Baldridge (Trumpet), Robin LaPasha (Sandouri, Kanun), Rebecca Rodgers (Oboe),
Laura Testa Allured (French Horn), Stephen Willis (Clarinet, Alto Recorder, Guitar, Keyboards)