Much. That’s the simple and frighteningly honest answer… although I don’t have much to prove for it, the next few months will (hopefully) be a lot simpler because of my judicious use of the traditionally useless month of February.
So, where to start?
I’ve managed to maintain an average of 2 and a bit (nearly 3) meetings [...]

I tweeted earlier today that I was starting to notice non-music friends going to more concerts… I got an odd response - one of disbelief! I sort of see your point, but come on guys, let’s show a little support!
I think this is a really exciting shift; I’m seeing a lot of technologists, designers, VCs, [...]

So, yesterday I got a bizarre series of DMs and emails from Ms Imogen Heap.
It turns out that she had no cellist lined up for the first night of her UK tour, and could I jump on a train and go and play?
Um…
Yes. What else was I going to do? Watch Scotland lose at rugby? [...]

I arrived in Boston last night and went straight to my favorite local curry house. I really love Boston, and always look forward to coming here.
This trip is no exception.
I spent this morning at the new, shiny MIT Media Lab. I have spent time in their old building (right next door), but this is just [...]

I’m heading off to LHR now; bags are packed, passport is ready and my noise-canceling headphones have been charged. I even have change for my en route coffee.
Next stop, Boston! The TEI conference should be really interesting, and also, I get to spend a week in one of my favorite cities… it’s a hard life.

If [...]

Today it was my birthday, and I’m now 23. Hurray!
I’ve been thinking about new beginnings recently; we’re at a really exciting time in the music industry where the old rules are being questioned for one reason or another, and nobody can say with any real clarity what’s happening.
Surely we should be making interesting stuff? Stuff [...]

As some of you know, last week I made a quick jaunt to Nottingham to do some preparatory work Sarah Kettley and Yann Seznec ahead of going to Boston next weekend for the TEI conference at MIT, Boston.
Basically, it’s a project involving stretch sensors weaved into a shirt that I wear to play; it maps [...]

How can an event, planned and set months, maybe years in advance, remain relevant at the time of performance?
What if concert programming matched audience buying trends?
Some audience members buy tickets when the programme is printed several months before it happens. Most, it has to be said, buy within the week of the concert. RIghtly or [...]

I’m currently programming 10 concerts for this coming year - some of these will be done more than once, but I have 10 concert programmes this season. (When I say it out loud, that seems like an awful lot…)
For those of you that don’t know what this means, it’s basically choosing pieces of repertoire that [...]

Happy New Year! Only 364 days left of this one, so let’s get cracking!
It’s well established now: business as we knew it is over. Get over it - the halcyon days are not coming back, and frankly, it’s for the best. As I sit and write this at 2.44am on January 1st, 2010, I’m genuinely [...]

8-bit. It’s amazing, and everyone knows it.

So, why not do a live 8-bit cello concert in London in early 2010?
Good question.
Fine. I will. I’ll do it.
Details soon…

You heard it here first: 2009 is so…2009. It’s all about 2010, and there’s a lot of really exciting stuff coming up that I’m looking forward to telling you about!
However, I just thought I’d round up 2009 as it draws to a close. It’s been a crazy year: I’ve made 52 trips in 49 weeks [...]

It’s a busy week: this afternoon, I’m filming with Howard Goodall and the Enchanted Voices for BBC Breakfast (being shown tomorrow morning from 6am) where we’re playing The Nation’s Favorite Carol. They are keeping the winning carol a tightly held secret, so much so that we’ve been sent the final few scores and will be [...]

I’ve just landed back in London, and my oh my is it cold..!
My stay in the metropolis is short lived -am here today and tomorrow for a few meetings and some “sleep”, then off to Edinburgh for the Spirit of Scotland Awards. I’m really looking forward to it, and it’s always nice to male a [...]

As I sit typing this on my sofa, I’m listening to a pre-release of Enchanted Carols, the latest CD from Howard Goodall with the same 8 soprano / organ / cello lineup as the Enchanted Voices (which held the #1 spot for 6 months!). We recorded it in early September (I talked about it very [...]

Sorry for being quiet - I’ve been away mixing my latest piece of work, ‘Terminal’. It was commissioned by Bowers & Wilkins and Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios for their Society of Sound project. It’s been a mind boggling few weeks, conceptualizing, writing, recording, producing and finally mixing the album. Total time spent in the [...]

I’m sitting in Bauhaus Coffee, Seattle, drinking what can only be described as a monster cappuccino - even by my standards, it’s seriously strong!
I arrived here on Thursday evening, and have had a really good few days: last night, I was at the Seattle Opera, half hoping to run into Drs Frasier and Nials Crane, [...]

…working here.

Located in the middle of many (many) fields, Real World is similar to when I was in Banff, Canada: complete immersion in the project with really great people. I’m very excited.
I’m going to be recording Steve Reich’s Cello Counterpoint alongside 6 new pieces by myself and Milton Mermikides for the B&W Society of Sound, [...]

Just a quick news update on Enchanted Voices - it’s still riding high at 27 weeks at #1, and has just won a Special Gramophone Award in recognition of this!
The Christmas follow-up album, Enchanted Carols, will be released in November. We recorded at the start of September, so it’ll be nice to hear it so [...]

My cello strings break very infrequently. This is a good thing, as the cellists out there will know, because cello strings are very, very expensive.
The exception to this is my electric cello with it’s controversial 5th string. It’s an Ernie Ball custom gauge E string, and is incredibly tricky to put on.
Imagine my frustration when [...]

I’m back in London from a fabulously inspiring trip to the US (San Francisco and New York). I met with musicians, designers, developers, writers, lecturers, investors, venues, baristas, CEOs and old friends.
A few things became very clear, I think.
Not only am I going to change the design of my site, but I’m going to [...]

I will, I will, I will I will, I promise, write a suitable blog post about the #cellotweetup that happened on Wednesday in San Francisco - it was such a lot of fun, but I don’t have time to do it justice just yet!
Early next week, I promise!

I’m on my way to LHR to catch a flight to San Francisco (quickly becoming one of my favorite cities..)
I’m there for 4 days then going to NYC for another 4! I’ve got some great meetings and the exciting #cellotweetup coming up on this trip, as well as some restaurants and coffee shops to try [...]

In the next few weeks, probably after my upcoming trip to the US, I will be completely changing my website.
I’m almost settled on the design, but the power behind it is all in place and will be far better at integrating my variously hosted streams of content on these here internets.
I’ve got some new [...]

Early tomorrow, I leave for Manchester - I’m playing at another Classic FM Live at the Bridgewater Hall with the Enchanted Voices, Nicola Benedetti, Hayley Westenra and the Philharmonia.

I then rush back to London to record the second Enchanted Voices album, whilst concurrently doing the Kings Place Festival and the Proms…! As soon as the Proms [...]