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Shortly after I began work in earnest
on Reflections, my second
serenade for wind dectet, the great English bassoonist, William
Waterhouse, died. We attended the same school (Whitgift in South
Croydon), and I followed his remarkable career as he climbed to the top
of the profession both as a performer and a teacher. He was loved by
all for his wit, wisdom and scholarship.
The second movement begins and ends
with a bassoon solo in Bill’s
memory. The outer movements which frame this ‘In memoriam’ are
reflections on the witty, humorous side of Bill and my own memories of
a happy childhood with musical parents - my father led a dance band and
my mother was the daughter of a church organist and sang rather well.
Reflections
was commissioned by Simon Payne and the Oxford Sinfonia, to
whom the work is dedicated with affection. The first performance took
place at St Mary’s Church, High Street, Oxford on 26th April 2008.
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