philll 21/12/2019 philll 21/12/2019

On Morten Lauridsen's 'O Magnum Mysterium'...

Another year flies by and Christmas is upon us again with its gaudy mix of over-indulgence and introspection (with a cheery dose of political uncertainty added for extra measure).

philll 29/11/2019 philll 29/11/2019

The Month Ahead

There are a few performances (that I know about...) coming up in the Christmas period, some of which I will able to make. The first of which is the London premiere of my recent Salve Regina (2019) given by the City University Chamber Choir, conducted by Rory McCleery. This will take place at St Clement's Church, Finsbury, London, on the 04 December.

philll 01/10/2019 philll 01/10/2019

On Forgetting How to Write Music…

About a year ago I wrote a blog entry entitled ‘On Not Writing Music’ where I discussed how little music I had written that year and how strange it was for a ‘professional’ composer not to be composing. And I was left wondering how and when I would get back on the compositional horse. It was a classic.

philll 15/09/2019 philll 15/09/2019

The Month Ahead

Autumn is a busy time for performances and premieres across the world (and it isn't that often I can say that!). The 22 September sees the American premiere of my song cycle Lakesongs (2011) by Ellen Scholl, Matthew McBride-Daline and Kevin Bylsma in Toledo, Ohio with further performances in October.

philll 07/09/2019 philll 07/09/2019

'Fourth Service' in The Netherlands

It was really nice to hear that the Schola Liturgica Leeuwarden will be giving the Dutch premiere of my Fourth Service [St Pancras] this Sunday (08/09) at the Grote Of Jacobijner Kerk, Leeuwarden, conducted by Geke Bruining.

philll 12/08/2019 philll 12/08/2019

Book launches in Edinburgh, Cumnock and Aberdeen

This week I will be taking part in the first of three book launches for The Music of James MacMillan at Blackwell's Bookshop in Edinburgh - further book launches will take place at The Cumnock Tryst in October and at the SOUND festival in November.

philll 27/07/2019 philll 27/07/2019

'There is no rose' published by Music Sales

It was really nice to see my carol There is no rose (2013) available as a separate publication from Music Sales.

philll 09/06/2019 philll 09/06/2019

The Music of James MacMillan

I recently received my copies of The Music of James MacMillan and they look amazing! It was a strangely overwhelming experience leafing through the book, something that I had first imagined back in 2006 and had spent the past two years intensely working on.

philll 06/05/2019 philll 06/05/2019

On The London Festival of Contemporary Church Music...

I’m going to begin this with an admission: I’m not a very collaborative composer – some composers are, and I admire them for that – but I am not. As I approach my fortieth year I think I’ve collaborated with poets, librettists, directors or producers at maximum 10 times, and have never struck up a lasting collaboration that has resulted in multiple pieces or projects.

philll 28/04/2019 philll 28/04/2019

The Month Ahead

There are various performances of my work taking place in May and June, particularly as part of the London Festival of Contemporary Church Music. On the 11 May Il Suono will perform Invocation (2010) with the trumpeter from the work's first performance, Simon Desbruslais in Hampstead with a performance of my organ work Exsultet (2014) the following day at St Pancras Church.

philll 30/01/2019 philll 30/01/2019

The Month Ahead

There are a few performances of my music taking place in the next month, beginning with the Scottish premiere of Two de la Mare Songs (2012) in Aberdeen on the 30 January.