By the time I started writing my own music I had been a professional singer for over a decade, performing and recording a LOT of contemporary music, and so I knew, from a singer’s perspective, how it feels to sing new music.

Twenty years on, I still compose in a way that is mindful of the choirs who perform my music. It matters to me that everything I write feels comfortable in the voice. After I’ve completed a new piece I take it into my studio and record a demo of it; if anything proves awkward to sing, I adjust it.

I also care deeply that my settings enhance the meaning of the words. If they don’t, my opinion is that the text would be better left spoken. In the context of a church service, in particular, the purpose of the musical settings is to elevate the text in such a way that the congregation is drawn closer, not alienated.

When choral singers get in touch with me to tell me which pieces of mine they’re enjoying singing it’s most often my King’s College Service or my Preces and Responses, particularly my setting of The Lord’s Prayer. Another piece which has proven popular with choirs is the anthem I was commissioned to write for the coronation of King Charles III, The Mountains Shall Bring Peace. My largest commission to date has been A Season to Sing, my choral re-imagining of The Four Seasons which has been performed all over the world.

As well as church choral music, I have written lots of songs about in support of equal opportunities for women and girls, a cause close to my heart. The best known of these is probably Twenty-first-century Woman because the music video features a whole host of awesome, famous women! Check it out!

If I’m asked to describe my compositional style I say that I have always been a great believer in the power of a good tune and emotive harmonies. New music doesn’t have to be difficult to be effective.