'IX/XI' is my latest composition for brass quintet. It was premiered on 17th March 2015 at the London Olympic Park at the unveiling of a piece of artwork to remember those that died in 9/11. This recording is of the Junior Guildhall Brass Quintet and is conducted by myself. The brief of the composition was to write a piece for a brass quintet that was around a minute in length and 'uplifting'.

IX/XI

My piece 'Shepherd no More Singing' that won 2nd place in the NCEM Young Composer Award 2015. Played by the Dunedin Consort on 14th May 2015. The competition brief was to create a new settings for a short scene from Orfeo Act 2 for three singers (soprano, tenor, bass-baritone) accompanied by a small ensemble (two recorders, two violins, viola da gamba and harpsichord or chamber organ). The work had to last between three and four minutes and must be performable without a conductor.  At the heart of the challenge was to recreate the confrontation between different characters and focus on the relationship between the music and the words.

Shepherd No More Singing

This is my piece 'Pictures of the Sky' which was played by a chamber ensemble at Junior Guildhall on 30th May 2015. The brief was to write a piece for a Pierrot Lunaire ensemble (plus percussion) and based the piece on a series of pictures of the sky taken throughout the day including, sunrise, blue sky, cloudy, stormy, clear sky and sunset.

Pictures Of The Sky - Chamber Ensemble

The title is taken from William Wordsworth’s ‘The Prelude’ and the piece aims to create an atmosphere which is both beautiful and unsettling. The title reflects Wordworth’s relationship with nature in which he finds things that are beautiful, such as: snow, woods, etc, but at the same time they create an ominous sense of mystery and fear.  The brief was to create technically demanding piece for a virtuoso pianist.

Fostered Alike By Beauty And By Fear

An SSAA vocal quartet and organist performing my piece 'Deus Dominus' at the Basilica of St. Maria Maggiore in Rome in February 2015. I was asked to write a piece based on David Bomberg’s 1945 artwork, ‘St Paul’s and River’ and so I used the choral voices to depict the religious traditions of St. Paul's Cathedral, with the Latin translation of Psalm 50 v.1-6 as the text heard in both the verse chant and melody. The constant movement in the organ part creates a flowing pulse to depict the river shown in the painting.

Deus Dominus

The brief was to write a piece using the text of the war poem ’In Flanders Fields’, by John McCrae to commemorate the centenary of the start of World War One. I wrote the piece for piano, cello and two soprano soloists and the piece was first heard in November 2014 at Christ Church, Spitalfields in London.

In Flanders Fields

Composed for solo piano, with the left hand figure depicting a wave-like motion.

Melody Of The Waves

"Composed and recorded at the Sound and Music Summer School 2015". Based on the news of the Pluto flyby, I wrote this piece focusing on the concept of using the voice many different ways not just for singing. For two vocalists, a narrator, electric guitar and piano.



Pluto Discoveries

Jazz piece for 3 saxophones and a rhythm section.

Île de la Cité

This is my piece 'Christ is Made the Sure Foundation' which was premiered by the chamber choir and organist of Queen Anne's School, Caversham at Westminster Abbey on 23rd October 2015. The brief of the composition was to write a piece that would be the Anthem for a service based on the Latin c.7th- 8th century text 'Christ is Made the Sure Foundation' translated by John Mason Neale (1818-66). The piece was performed again on November 11th 2015 at St. Peter's Eaton Square in London.


Christ Is Made The Sure Foundation

This is my piece 'She Came From a Long, Long Way' which was performed at Guildhall School of Music and Drama on 9th July 2016. The recording captures a performance for piano and mezzo soprano, however I also have a version written for lute and mezzo soprano. The brief was to compose a solo song for voice based on the text from Carol Ann Duffy's poem 'Demeter'.

She Came From A Long, Long Way

I am an 20 year old composer, who studied composition with Jeffery Wilson at the Junior Guildhall School of Music and Drama and is now studying music at the University of Oxford. Film music is my main focus, but I have also had some amazing opportunities to hear my pieces in venues such as the Basilica of St. Maria Maggiore (Rome), London Olympic Park, St. Peter's Eaton Square, St. Mark’s Church in Reading, the Royal College of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama and Westminster Abbey. Performers of my work has included Dockland Sinfonia, the Dunedin Consort, members of the BBC Concert orchestra, the Bergersen Quartet, the Junior Guildhall Symphony orchestra, an international brass quintet and virtuoso pianist Mateusz Borowiak. I was awarded 2nd place in the NCEM Young Composer Award 2015. Most recently Dockland Sinfonia orchestra performed my piece 'Jutland, Lest we Forget' at St.Anne's Limehouse to commemorate the centenary of the Battle of Jutland.

Gabby Woodward

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