I started writing music in Teachers College (Kuring-gai CAE) in 1975. A friend convinced me that Music Composition & Arrangement would be a good course to enrol in. Little did that friend know that that would set me on a path to satisfy my creative side. After playing Clarinet and Alto Saxophone in several bands I met up with my friend from teacher’s college – Mike Edwards. He asked me to join a gospel band that he played in called “Sound Advice”, and I must admit I had more fun playing with them than with other bands. I have never forgotten the joy of that band.

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Unfortunately, life has a way of over-taking your personal wants and desires with needs, family commitments and career. So, music became a background interest for the next 30 or so years.

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Having recently retired I decided that it was time to re-acquaint myself with Music. I stumbled across Musescore and it has become my main instrument for both learning and re-learning music theory and for creating music. While there may be other programs out there, some cost more money than a self-funded retiree can afford, plus, I found that Musescore enabled me to use and review my Music theory self-education and to get immediate feedback on my creations while actually seeing the visual notation of what I had done. I have also been lucky enough to have a mentor who has tirelessly reviewed my creations and given me feedback for me to adhere to or discard, without any ego tripping. Monique Matthews has not only mentored/monitored my creations but has also assisted me in adding the altissimo range of notes to my Clarinet playing.

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Having been a teacher I became aware that my learning style is Kinaesthetic (I have to “do” to learn). With that and my strong belief in the Immersion Theory of learning I have listened to, and still listen to, copious amounts of music. Mostly Jazz and Classical but sometimes Rock or Reggae according to what I set as my next task. 

As a result of the immersion of music that I have undertaken, I also say that due to the amount of music, past, present, world and other cultures available in this technological age we live in “There is nothing new under the Sun.” The plethora of music quite often leads to unintentional mirroring of styles and techniques. Teachers in all disciplines should understand this, whether Music, Literature or even Science (some mysteries yet to be discovered and current thinking to be reviewed).

About 80-90% of my musical knowledge is self-taught which makes me think “anyone can do this’. So, I encourage everyone to have a go.

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Recently I decided to tackle the Ancient Greek mythological Olympian Gods. As a child I read Classics Illustrated comics about these legendary beings, and that led me to learn everything about gods of myth from the age of ten until the present day. So, I have attempted to write a suite that represents each god, goddess, and even some demi-gods, plus the Titans (the forebears of the Olympians) and their home, Olympus. It has been a steep learning curve and even I have to admit I have learned an enormous amount along the way. I have recently decided to write music with mythological places/cities as the subject matter. I have completed “Atlantis” (the city referred to by Plato, not the sunken city of popular modern literature) and “Avalon”, the last resting place of the legendary King Arthur. I am researching other places for further composition and they will be posted on completion.

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I sincerely hope that you enjoy the compositions represented so far and that if you wish to, they are available for very modest prices. None have ever been played “Live”, so if that ever happens, I will be deeply thrilled. For those who are not enamoured of my compositions my challenge is this … TRAVEL MY PATH BUT DO BETTER!