Just a bit about me

I was born in the far north of Scotland, in a small town called Thurso. We lived on the west coast for part of my childhood before moving back north. The county of Caithness is a place of windswept beaches and long sunsets. The winters are dark and wet rather than cold. It was a great place to grow up, not least because of a very lively music scene. At age 17 I went to Edinburgh to study and at 27 moved to Dresden in Germany.

Caithness beach

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Photo by Paulina Herpel on Unsplash
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Edinburgh skyline

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Photo by Adam Wilson on Unsplash

I got my first piano teacher at age 10, taking lessons for about eight years in Scotland and a further three years in Germany. Today I enjoy playing both classical music and jazz. I only started composing about four years ago. Now I’ve got a back catalogue of over 230 songs. All are settings of poems by a wide range of German and English-language poets, mostly for one voice with a handful of duets and trios.  

Dresden's Old Town

Captivating view of historic domed structures during a stunning sunset, highlighting urban architecture.
Photo by Felix Mittermeier on Unsplash

My musical influences:

I have a very eclectic taste in music. I’m not sure to what degree my compositions reflect my listening preferences, but here are some of the composers and artists I admire:

In classical music: Bach (the master!), Mozart, Chopin, Schubert, Haydn, Monteverdi, Purcell, Handel, Prokofiev. 

In Pop: Prince, Joni Mitchell, Rickie Lee Jones, Ani DiFranco, Patti Griffin, Kristina Olsen (love a good female singer-songwriter, as you can tell).

Musical: Stephen Sondheim (of course), Jerry Herman, David Yazbek, to name a few.

The work process:

I write very fast. Normally I have the bare bones of a song written in a day, then maybe need another day or two to refine the accompaniment and make a few changes to the vocal line. If the inspiration doesn’t come fast then that usually means the poem doesn’t speak to me. Currently, the main problem is to find good texts – especially ones that haven’t been done to death.  I like rhyming verse, which has an inherent pulse, and I like texts which aren’t too obscure. I need a strong atmosphere or a strong character or sentiment, and of course words that have “weight”. My main aim in setting the text is to heighten the meaning, which can be achieved in a variety of ways. Foremost for me is a memorable melody and a rhythmic structure that gives sufficient space to the words.

Collaborations:

I have the great fortune to work together with some wonderful singers. First and foremost I have to name the mezzo-soprano Hayden DeWitt (NYC), who has been a close collaborator in the creation of most of the songs. As I’m not a singer myself, I need the advice of someone who knows what makes sense in a vocal line. Hayden’s not just a great vocalist but also a wonderful interpretive artist, as you can see from the many videos on my YouTube channel. 

Also I’m lucky to know the countertenor and baritone Alan Dornak (NYC and Dresden), another brilliant performer, who has supported my work in diverse ways. As well as premiering many songs, he has also started assigning my compositions to his voice students in New York. It’s great to know that my music is reaching younger performers in this way!

Instrumental music?

Until now I’ve only composed vocal music: songs, duets a few trios. Although the piano often gets the spotlight (to the chagrin of my singers) I haven’t yet done any wholly instrumental pieces. Why not? Well, so far I’ve only found inspiration in “words” and the challenge of setting these in a way that heightens rather than obscures the meaning while also maintaining some musical interest. Not always an easy job! I haven’t yet felt particularly motivated to write anything purely instrumental. Who knows, maybe that will change sometime in the future…