Photograph © Paddy Ryan (white-necked raven above Mt Kilimanjaro)
In 2014 Bill walked up Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. Sitting beside his tent at basecamp, he watched white-necked ravens duetting, mid-air. This included flying in mirror formation – one upside down beneath the other – parting, then soaring directly towards each other and clasping talons. This aerial display in the oxygen-poor air at c. 5800m left a lasting impression and inspired the poem Circus which he set for SATB choir, solo soprano and solo piano for a commission from King’s School, Worcester. The piece is currently being revised.
More Fieldwork Pieces
Icicle
Part of the project, ‘The Singing Glacier’. For violin, viola and glockenspiel.
New orchestral work: ‘Carrownagappul’
A commission from the Harry Woolhouse Charitable Trust to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Imperial College Sinfonietta. Inspired by one of Europe’s major raised bogs, Carrownagappul, Co. Galway.
New choral work: ‘The Unstartled Bird’
Unaccompanied SATB. Written during Storm Darragh