'Voices of the Sands' is a semi-staged song cycle for three upper voices and harp by myself, words by Rebecca Hurst and directed by Lucy Bradley.

Voices of the Sands - Demos

Recorded by KANTOS Chamber Choir, musical director Ellie Slorach.

To accompany a film by Jez Dolan of the same name as part of Moving Classics by Curated Place.

More here: https://www.movingclassicssonicflux.com/noplacelikehome

No Place Like Home

Coventry Carol demo 13th Dec

From 'Passing Ships' a work in progress musical theatre song cycle based on The Shipping Forecast.

Voice: Jenny Carson
Piano: Michael Betteridge
Words: Jonathan Ainscough

The Longtime Listener (demo)

And I Who Was Widow Maker

And I Who Was

Seal Song

Oak, Cedar And Teak

Windy Old Weather

Blue Glass Lantern

'Biscuits, Beer & Bulbs' is a work commissioned by the Aldworth Philharmonic Orchestra after I won their annual Young Composers' Competition.  The 3Bs, as they are known locally, were the three industries that dominated Reading during the 19th and 20th centuries.  The work utilises fragments of speech obtained from oral histories made by employees and promotional videos from the companies as the starting point for the musical material.  The pitch and the rhythm of the motifs are derived from the contours of the speaker's phrases, or, in the case of the 'Bulbs' section respond musically to the narrated description.

This recording was made at the premiere performance at Reading Town Hall by the Aldworth Philharmonic Orchestra in January 2014.  It was conducted by Andrew Taylor.

Biscuits, Beer & Bulbs

Composed with members of the public at Macclesfield Bus Station on Sat 23rd July 2022 as part of #ceplayspiano.

Twenty minutes from the airport
Gateway to the world
Less than two hours from London
Five minutes from the shops
Five minutes from the countryside
Gateway to the hills

Your roots are here
Your roots are here
You’ve come back and forth
So many times
Your roots are here
Your roots are here
In this bread and silk made town

A song for Macclesfield demo

Recorded by KANTOS Chamber Choir, musical director Ellie Slorach.

To accompany a film by Jez Dolan of the same name as part of Moving Classics by Curated Place.

More here: https://www.movingclassicssonicflux.com/new-page-1

A place where I know every path and every corner

An excerpt from 'ode to urbanity' for chamber orchestra. World premiere live recording by Ensemble 10/10 at Tung Auditorium, Liverpool. Cond. Geoffrey Paterson.

ode to urbanity (excerpt)

Three Songs Mvt 1 TUTTI

Three Songs Mvt 1 Sop

'The Last Bit of the Moon' is a semi staged choral prologue to accompany Ralph Vaughan Williams' 'Riders to the Sea'. Read more about it here: https://www.operaupclose.com/riders-to-the-sea

The Last Bit of the Moon

After the war

Victor Ferrar

Conscientious objectors

Andrew Buck

'last dance' is a love letter to queer nightlife in Manchester. Back when I was out clubbing several times a week, you could quite easily arrive at a club alone, knowing there would be someone there you knew, or, if not, it was guaranteed you would be temporarily, though lovingly, swept up into somebody’s social circle.

Whilst composing this piece I can distinctly remember my last and penultimate club experiences. Both experiences featured a moment of solitary dancing - having lost the group I was with - and a succumbing to a growling bass, allowing the sheer density of sound to infiltrate every part of my body. Two memorable fleeting moments of carefree ecstasy.

However, this ecstasy is hard won in 'last dance'. There are glimpses where the groove settles, but mostly the pulse fluctuates creating a sense of momentum, yet without a fixed beat to latch on to. The piece doesn’t necessarily attempt to recreate the ecstasy of the club floor, but, instead, is a reflection on it. Whilst there is a very loose narrative, and outlines of characters, in this work, denoted by particular soundworlds and instruments, the listener is invited to find their own path through the piece, whether that is narrative driven or not.

Here are two excerpts from the piece as performed by the Britten Sinfonia at Milton Court, Barbican, London on Tue 25 Mar 2025.

last dance (excerpts)

These two pieces were co-created with individuals in two prisons in the West Midlands over a period of four workshops in May 2025. Pianist Clare Hammond and I worked with participants to generate musical and conceptual ideas for these pieces for a performance to family and friends in July of the same year. Clare later toured these works across the UK as part of her 2025-26 concert series. 

Shattered Freedom, Shards of Hope (2025)

Shattered Freedom, Shards of Hope depicts a prisoner's journey. Regardless of our situation, freedom is fragile. Once it is shattered, it takes work to rebuild a life from the shards.

This piece was co-created by participants at HMP Featherstone over four workshops with composer Michael Betteridge and pianist Clare Hammond in May 2025. The project was supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, as well as grants from The Gloucestershire Piano Trust, The Marchus Trust and Leigh Day Solicitors. We are grateful to Staffordshire Prison Libraries, Changing Tunes, and Theatre in Prisons and Probation for their support and encouragement.

Internal Victories (2025)

Co-created by participants at HMP Oakwood and Michael Betteridge

Internal Victories incorporates sounds from participants' experiences of prison which were then modelled using graphic scores and translated into sound at the keyboard. Participants created chords on glockenspiels that were woven into the fabric of the piece and collaborated to structure a musical narrative. To represent the interests of the group, we melded two distinct musical styles together in this piece – drill and a folk-inspired melody.

The men wished to show that, while there is a great deal of darkness in prisons, it can also be a place of resilience, transformation and hope. Music can be a tool to build community regardless of setting, and the group wanted to acknowledge how their diverse range of ages, ethnicities, and experiences influenced this work, helping them forge connections with other participants whom they might not have met otherwise.

This piece was co-created by participants at HMP Oakwood over four workshops with composer Michael Betteridge and pianist Clare Hammond in May 2025. The project was supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, as well as grants from The Gloucestershire Piano Trust, The Marchus Trust and Leigh Day Solicitors. We are grateful to Staffordshire Prison Libraries, Changing Tunes, and Theatre in Prisons and Probation for their support and encouragement.

1. Shattered Freedom, Shards of Hope

2. Internal Victories

'the body is a choir room' is a four movement work for male voices and piano with texts by Andrew McMillan.  Andrew's words were derived from workshops with member of 'The Sunday Boys' exploring choristers relationship to Manchester.  Each of the first three songs explore a particular theme: arrival, settling down and ageing, whilst the final movement 'the sunday boys' is an ode, and anthem, to the choir.

The Sunday Boys conducted by the composer
Piano: Josh Dawson

Recorded at The Stoller Hall on Sun 29th July 2018.

Shortlisted by the British jury for the ISCM World Music Days in 2019. https://www.soundandmusic.org/projects/iscm-world-music-days-shortlist-announcement

the body is a choir room

the sunday boys

II was commissioned to write a song for as part of the RNCM’s Gold Medal weekend in June 2012 and spent a long time trying to find a suitable text.  The vocalist I was working with, Hanna-Liisa Kirchin, had prepared a wonderful, yet eclectic programme, and my new work was to finish off the first half of the concert.  We had several discussions about the endless possibilities of what would suit this part of the recital which left me in a massive predicament.  I decided instead of trying to construct a mood or feel before finding the poem, I’d find a poem first and then, hopefully, gain inspiration from it.  I was introduced to Elizabeth Browning’s poetry and in particular ‘Songs from the Portuguese’ – I was immediately struck by the beauty, but also the sensuality and directness of the text.  I consider the poems exceptionally brave considering the era, especially number 38 – ‘first time he kissed me...’ – almost erotic in its intensity.  

I decided to play on this intensity within the piece.  The vocal lined is ‘trapped’ within the chords in the piano, only briefly allowing to escape and/or mingle with the counter melody in the piano part mimicking the burning desire left unattended by the first two kisses.  When we reach the third kiss the range of the piano is explored in its extremities imitating the passion described by Browning.

This song was first performed by Hanna-Liisa Kirchin (mezzo-soprano) and David Jones (piano) in June 2012.  


First time he kissed me

Why is Everyone a Tosser (apart from me)

A very rough demo of one of my favourite poems (the first verse at least) for equal voices.

Hope is the thing with feathers

Composer, musical director and animateur based in Manchester, UK.  Writes musical theatre, for the theatre and for the concert hall, as well as other spaces.  My profile is rather eclectic and features work with young people, amateurs, arrangements as well as much of my own music.  Enjoy!

Michael Betteridge

Pinned to spotlight

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