As we move through public spaces our experience is often secondary to the endless monologue in our heads; re-examining the past or anticipating the future. Even if just for a moment, I want to draw people into a present moment experience of an environment they might pass through every day, and see its beauty.

The idea for my proposal stems from my interest in the development of the European choral tradition, the history of which is bound intimately to the architectural development of cathedrals, monasteries, churches and chapels. Music and architecture informed each other endeavouring to create experiences that brought the audience to a heightened, spiritual state of mind. Whilst my intention is not religious I want to progress the relationship between music and architecture into a modern urban setting, and still maintain that powerful, positive impact upon the listener.

I want to discreetly position musicians (probably woodwind, brass and other loud acoustic instruments!) on buildings around urban centres like Exchange Square in Manchester (see pictures). Through a combination of improvisation and composition the musicians would play into the space. The composition and the musicians would respond to the sound environment making use of the acoustic qualities of the space, but also reacting to sounds that occur within the space; a pedestrian crossing becomes a fluttering melody that dances around the space; a buses screeching brakes produces a rich sequence of chords. The music would not be like the city centre samba band that imposes itself upon the space, but more like a tune that emerges in the back of your brain opening up your senses and bringing your attention to everything around you. The result would be the realisation of an array of disparate sounds as melodies, rhythms and motifs within a lush and beautiful piece of music.

I am a multi-instrumentalist, musical director, composer and workshop facilitator. Over the past 5 years I have composed for film, theatre, dance and installation. Some of this work can be seen at www.myspace.com/3rdfloormusicproduction.

I have delivered composition and ensemble workshop to a wide range people, and have musically directed a number of large-scale young people’s concerts and theatre productions.