Photograph © H. Spenceley, Pirhuk – Greenland Mountain Guides (Greenland expedition 2016)
Bill composes music inspired by fieldwork, in collaboration with artists, scientists and outdoor specialists. He maintains a busy conducting career. He is passionate about eco sail travel and trade.
His latest composition is Carrownagappul, commissioned by the Harry Woolhouse Trust for the 25th anniversary of Imperial College Sinfonietta, and inspired by fieldwork on Carrownagappul raised bog, East Galway. He collaborated with renowned Irish photographer, Tina Claffey, whose photographs inform the work. The premiere was on 9 June at Imperial College Great Hall, London. In 2018/19 he won a Finzi Scholarship to compose a piece inspired by Mountain Hares. Disco Ball – Mountain Hare was premiered by Farnborough Symphony Orchestra in 2022. The research trips for this piece inspired the travel essay, Composing in the Cairngorms, and the project features in a Finzi Trust podcast. In 2016 Bill collaborated with the poet, Helen Mort, on an exploratory climbing expedition in East Greenland for a piece commissioned by The Little Baroque Company. The Singing Glacier includes original spoken poetry by Helen and film by Richard Jones. Helen’s poetry and the project were celebrated by Hercules Editions in a chapbook, The Singing Glacier, with paintings by Emma Stibbon RA. 2024 sees the launch of ‘The Sea of Trees’, a project inspired by the 6th century voyages of St Brendan. This will include sailing from Kerry to the Faroe Islands, and will highlight the plight of phytoplankton – the so-called ‘marine forest’.
Bill is Artistic Director of Farnborough Symphony Orchestra and St Albans Symphony Orchestra, and he guest conducts widely.
Bill is co-founder of Guild of Ships – a booking system and circular economy platform for eco sail travel and trade. He is continually inspired by this visionary and hard-working community.