News

It's finished! And what a journey – two years of composing

Time to celebrate. We did it!

We’re nearly there!

Just 3 days left to help bring my debut albums to life.

One week left! My debut albums Crowdfunder is entering its final stretch, and I'd love for you to be part of it.

I have the first movement of the unfinished Sea Symphony in my head

Just 2 weeks to donate to my debut albums Crowdfunder and help me get my debut albums recorded.

I am walking for Dawn Of Civilisation, the first movement of the Sea Symphony.

I am walking for Wild Dance, the second movement of the Sea Symphony.

I am walking for Tide, the fourth movement of the Sea Symphony.

I am walking for Sunset At Sea, the third movement of the Sea Symphony.

Thanks to generous donations on the Crowdfunder, we have now booked the City Of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra to record the Cathedral Symphony and the Sea Symphony.

It starts with two ancient melodies, one from Ireland, the other from Byzantium.

This is the house where my grandfather (Harold McGonigal) was born

Composing for me is like composting.

When your poet collaborator gives you more than words.

Sunday, 22 nd of March 2026 #StPatricksDay #StGilesConsort #Taverner #DumTransisset #SeaSymphony #Dawn #DavidBevan # Yes. St Patrick’s Day lasts at least a week. My final celebration was a Guinness with the St Giles Consort after a wonderful concert featuring some lesser known masterpieces – Taverner Dum Transisset, Clemens Non Papa Fremuit Spiritu Jesus, Lassus Eripe Me. The Taverner is an old favourite of mine. I have happy memories of singing it with David Bevan at Holy

Tuesday, 17 th of March 2026 #composing #composernotebook #Tide #SeaSymphony Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona daoibh! Irish roots run deep, especially in Tide which opens with an ancient Irish melody, at once celebrating and fearing the sea. So it was appropriate to start our St Patrick’s Day celebrations at the Irish College in Leuven, created by the connections (by sea) between Ireland, Spain and Brabant in 1600. There we enjoyed performances by Les Fous de Bassan, Aindrias de S

Tuesday, 10 th of March 2026 #composing #composernotebook #Splash #SeaSymphony It’s a great moment, finishing a piece. But scary too. Is it OK? I don’t know. I need to pluck up the courage to listen to the MP3 playback. Ready? I’m listening now and really enjoying it! It’s full of expectation and surprises. Just like the splash from the sea. Regular irregularity. Or, irregular regularity. I’ll ask a couple of friends to do quality control. Then, I’ll get to work tidying

Monday, the 16 th of February 2026 #SeaSymphony #Splash #orchestra # I am composing. Without my notebook. Without my laptop. Just letting the sounds in my head gestate, fester, morph. Who knows where this will go. Most of the second movement, Splash (from Sea Symphony), is written. It's there, in notation, even orchestrated. But there's a big hole. In fact, two big holes. Right now, I don't know how to fill them. I have some ideas in my notebook. I have even worked up