Current Projects

Music of the Unseen – collaboration with Academy-Award nominated film maker and documentary maker B+ (Mochilla) to celebrate the music of composer-arrangers Charles Stepney and David Axelrod. It will culminate in an hour-long concert of interpretations of their music performed by a 17 piece ensemble including genre-liberated strings, horns and percussion with live visuals and experimental film in November 2022.

Flourish – (Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Festival), a short fanfare for Birmingham Music Services’ Brass ensemble.

Time Travel Tram (Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Festival) – soundtrack featuring stories from local Birmingham schools… “living history transforms into the 21st century by transforming the view from the tram windows into a 3D visual extravaganza of people and places from the region’s past.”

Arrangement of Hit or Miss by Odetta Holmes commissioned by Wild Plum Arts for Cheltenham Music Festival.

Past Projects

Twelve Tones (2018- 2019) Lead artist and shadow curator for a citywide participatory art project engaging communities across Birmingham and Solihull, exploring sound in relation to place and time in a series of artist-led workshops and sharing events. Twelve Tones is inspired by and contributing to the development of Susan Philipsz’s public artwork Station Clock.

for-Wards Practice-based research project that ran from 2014 to 2018, involving large-scale artistic collaborations with local residents to co-create and curate new music about Birmingham, UK.

Many Hands Make Light Work (2014) is a response to the Grubby Mitt’s The Politics of Friendship tour. Friendship, in my view, is an important facet of life; heart to heart bonds are what sustain human beings; when the chemistry is right it can uplift, when out of kilter it can cause suffering. This work reflects the notion of sharing the load; when shared, certain tasks may more enjoyable when done by oneself. The musicians not only perform together but also divide the preparation and cooking of a meal.

X – (2013) A collaborative performance between composer Bobbie Gardner, artist Matt Watkins and dub-griot Kokumo, revealing the various incarnations of Trinidad and Tobago-born self-styled black revolutionary and civil rights activist in 1960s London; how he transformed from Michael De Freitas into Michael X to Michael Abdul Malik.