Photograph © H. Spenceley, Pirhuk – Greenland Mountain Guides (Greenland expedition 2016)
Bill composes music and writes words inspired by immersive projects in outdoor places. He is interested in nature’s sonic structures and in how we interact with the natural world. He maintains a busy conducting career. He is also a passionate supporter of sustainable maritime shipping.
Bill’s current commission is from the Harry Woolhouse Charitable Trust, for the 25th anniversary of Imperial College Sinfonietta. Carrownagappul is inspired by raised bogs and will premiere in 2024 at Imperial College, London. In 2018/19 he won a Finzi Scholarship to compose a piece inspired by Mountain Hares. Disco Ball – Mountain Hare (DBMH) was premiered by Farnborough Symphony Orchestra in 2022. The research trips for DBMH 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. This inspired The Singing Glacier for The Little Baroque Company, and included original, spoken poetry by Helen, and film by Richard Jones. Helen’s poetry and the project were celebrated in a publication by Hercules Press.
2024 will see the launch of The Sea of Trees, a project inspired by the 6th century voyage of St Brendan. This will include a journey by sailing ship from Kerry to the Faroe Islands, and will highlight the plight of phytoplankton – the so-called ‘marine forest’.
Bill guest conducts widely. He is Artistic Director of Farnborough Symphony Orchestra, St Albans Symphony Orhestra and Imperial College Sinfonietta.
Bill is Founding Director of the business support agency, Clarity & Hart (C&H) which works exclusively with the sustainable maritime shipping sector. He is also a co-founder of Guild of Ships – a booking system and circular economy platform for the sustainable maritime shipping sector. He is continually inspired by this visionary and hard-working community.