I’m very pleased to report that last month’s premiere of Heronhenge was a great success. My utmost thanks to the tubists – Josh Allen, Sunny Anderson, Connor Gingell, Gavin Johnson, Nathan Mansell, Joseph McLennan-Parish, Tom Stone and Adam Zadi – who did an utterly fabulous job. I’m so glad to have worked once again with Michal Oren, under whose baton these brilliant performers thrived. Many thanks also to Amos Miller, without whose encouragement and niche enthusiasm for this extaordinary ensemble this composition would probably never have been penned.

Heronhenge is a piece that plays with space. Eight great monoliths surround the audience, enveloping listeners in the immense sound that they pass between one another. The groupings of tubas are in a continuous process of rearrangement, pushing and pulling the sonic gravity around. The spatial layout is more than just a gimmick: it gives the sound the space it needs. With such a plenitude of lower frequencies, the antiphonal format permits each instrument to speak without too much interference (although it has to be said that part of the joy of writing for this ensemble lies in relishing that same interference). The imagery of the piece is drawn both from a Stonehenge-type formation and from the experience of seeing an abundance of herons, stood perfectly still, in a park at dusk.

Listen to these wonderful musicians HERE!