Image: Ian Bostridge and Iestyn Davies in Britten's Canticles, Snape Maltings.

Music

Plane Song was the first music film I made (apart from music vids). For the BBC's Sound on Film, South African composer Kevin Volans and I had absolute freedom to come up with an idea in which music and film were in an mutually respectful and supportive relationship. We decided to create a piece, in South Africa and Namibia, using composed and choreographed sound and image with natural sound and everyday movement. The film was both Highly Commended and won an Audience Award at Riccione TTV Festival.

I directed two episodes of Simon Rattle's landmark series about 20th century music Leaving Home: Rhythm and America - for which we won a BAFTA. A stint at the BBC in the Classical Music Department offered wonderful opportunities at a time when the music and dance offering on the BBC was Interesting, inventive and innovative. Our bread and butter was producing short features and portraits for Proms intervals but there were also Composer Portraits and documentaries, and short pieces for a sadly short-lived Classical Music Magazine.

My passion for music continued long after I left the Beeb. Below are promos of Speechless, a recent development by Australian composer Cat Hope which became a highly acclaimed festival piece and which was remounted in Germany in 2023; Neil Bartlett's production of Britten's Canticles for the Britten centenary; and a music promo for Mark Anthony Turnage's Junior Addict, a poignant and personal short piece about his brother.