from Webern to dance to Burton.

Commissioned by the Concorde Ensemble. Paul Roe gave the premiere performance at the RHA Gallery, Dublin, 23rd February 2014. The piece is informed by the choreography of Jiri Kylian, in particular two three minute sections of his work No More Play initially choreographed to a score by Webern (his Five Movements for String Quartet) hence the title.

Moon Palace I

Moon Palace I takes its title from the novel “Moon Palace” by Paul Auster and is loosely influenced by the following quotation from the novel: "I had jumped off the edge, and then, at the very last moment, something reached out and caught me in midair. That something is what I define as love. It is the one thing that can stop a man from falling, the one thing powerful enough to negate the laws of gravity." (Auster has authorised reproduction of the quotation) The opening pitches of moon palace I were composed while sitting at the piano exploring the sound of my tinnitus/inner ringing. From an initial rather delicate, graceful presentation of these pitches, the music intensifies rhythmically and dynamically, becoming more aggressive, emphasising the invasive quality inherent in tinnitus. A study at any one time of the pitches and rhythms present in my tinnitus can yield interesting results, the relationship between the sounds heard in each ear sometimes producing unison pitches or clashing dissonances. However, for all the fascination and intrigue, tinnitus can be relentless and disturbing, interrupting concentration and hindering sleep. Moon Palace I is an exploration of these two opposing elements. Laurina Sableviciute gave the first performance at St John's Church, Edinburgh, May 2006. It has also been performed by Tricia Dawn Williams at the Manoel Theatre, Valletta, Malta, November 2011.

Moon Palace II

Selected for performance at the New Music Weekend for Piano, Frederic Chopin Conservatoire, Paris. Premiered by Quentin Meurisse on 4th February 2012.

951912 for orchestra.

The work was premiered by the Orchestra of Scottish Opera, 30th September 2009. It was commissioned as part of the New Glasgow Harmonies Festival. Much of the composition focuses on sonority and an exploration of the lower register of certain instruments. This is informed by my profound high frequency hearing loss, which has gradually impacted on how I approach some of the standard orchestral instruments.

74 Front Street (for solo cello)

74 Front Street is intended as a musical response to the work of American sculptor Fred Sandback (1943-2003), in particular his string sculptures which are intentionally uncomplicated, minimal and strikingly beautiful. The relationship between these string works and music is rather distinct; indeed, before formally studying sculpture Sandback made a number of string instruments. He has said that his string works evolved from a desire to rid art of excessive decoration and, while there are instances of activity in 74 Front Street, much of the piece aims to reflect the simplicity of Sandback’s work.

Madlener House.

A work for violin and cello commissioned by Access Contemporary Music and the Chicago Architecture Foundation. The work explores the relationship between music and architecture, specifically that of Madlener House, Chicago, home to the Graham Foundation for the Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. The composition premiered in October 2014 at the Graham Foundation as part of Open House Chicago 2014. It was performed by William Jason Raynovich (cello) and Maria Storm (violin).

Making Connections.

The piece is written for an ensemble of alto/bass flute, alto saxophone, viola, vibraphone/bongos and piano. Written as part of a telematic research project connecting musicians and dancers in remote sites, the work involved a collaboration with musicians at Edinburgh Napier University and dancers at Liverpool John Moores University and Nova Southeastern University, Florida.

Dialogue for bass clarinet and bassoon

This work specifically focuses on the lower register of both instruments, an area I've been led to explore as a result of my profound high frequency hearing loss. It was selected for performance following an international competitive call for scores and premiered at the 16th London New Wind Festival, 22nd November 2013. It was performed by Phil Edwards (bass clarinet) and Glyn Williams (bassoon).

NY10128

This work for chamber orchestra explores the relationship between music and architecture, specifically that of the Guggenheim Museum, NYC. It was commissioned by the Edinburgh Contemporary Music Ensemble who gave the first performance in June 2008. Subsequent performances in 2011 by the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland have been accompanied by a film I created exploring the surfaces and profiles of the Guggenheim NYC.

Miniatures for Horn Trio.

This three movement work was first performed by members of the Research Ensemble at the Peninsula Arts Contemporary Music Festival, 26 February 2010. Material from the first movement reappears in the second and third in various guises. The second movement is dedicated to the choreographer, Merce Cunningham, and the constant piano part with pedal sustained throughout is a reference to the fluidity of dance. As a contrast to this there are passages of imitation between the horn and violin, some more audible than others, which are included as an acknowledgement of the intimate relationship which exists between co-dancers on stage. The third movement is dedicated to John Cage (Cunningham's partner) and, while the piano sustains chords (reworking content from the first movement), the gestures in the other parts loosely follow the outline of sections of one of Cage's watercolours, River Rocks and Smoke no.6. Much of my music is inspired by visual art and, having admired Cage's music and writings since by student days, it seemed appropriate after dedicating the second movement to Cunningham, to turn to Cage's art work in the final part of the composition.

Design thinking - a critical analysis.

The latest buzz phrase to enter the world of design research is “Design Thinking”. But is this anything new and does it really have any practical or theoretical relevance to the design world? Many sceptics believe the term has more to do with business strategy and little to do with the complex process of designing products, services and systems. Moreover, many view the term as misleading and a cheap attempt to piggyback the world of business management onto design. This paper seeks to ask is design thinking anything new? Several authors have explicitly or implicitly articulated the term “Design Thinking” before, such as Peter Rowe’s seminal book “Design Thinking” [1] first published in 1987 and Herbert Simon’s “The Sciences of the Artificial” [2] first published in 1969. In Tim Brown’s “Change by Design” [3], design thinking is thought of as a system of three overlapping spaces rather than a sequence of orderly steps namely inspiration – the problem or opportunity that motivates the search for solutions; ideation – the process of generating, developing and testing ideas; and implementation – the path that leads from the design studio, lab and factory to the market. This paper seeks to examine and critically analyse the tenets of this new design thinking manifesto set against three case studies of modern design practice. As such, the paper will compare design thinking theory with the reality of design in practice.