i breathe was commissioned by National Youth Choirs of Great Britain, in partnership with Steinberg Media’s Dorico. This legacy commission stemmed from my working relationship with NYCGB as one of their 2020 Young Composers.

This work will be rehearsed during the summer of 2021, with an informal sharing taking place at Framlingham College on 21 August 2021.

Initial thoughts

When approached to write this work by Ruth Evans (Director of Artistic Planning & Participation, NYCGB) and Greg Beardsell (Principal Conductor, NYTCGB), we wanted to ensure that the new work would blend the two core themes for their 2021 and 2022 seasons: cultural identity and the environment. No small task.

When thinking about what the National Youth Training Choir of Great Britain could sing about after such a long period of online meetings only, I turned my attention to the outdoors. And particularly the outdoors of my home country, Wales.

Working with Welsh haiku specialist, poet Paul Chambers, we amalgamated three gorgeous haiku written by Welsh poets that express human’s connectivity (or lack of) with their surrounding landscape. The prose directly influenced the music, and allowed me to breathe, reflect, and think about my own connection with the landscape I find myself in.

For full information about this new work, please visit this dedicated webpage.