This site is a field guide to my life as a composer, but also a guide to the many ways in which my works are shaped and made. It contains some of my drawings that form such an important part of my process and research, which in turn lead to performances and recordings. It is a series of sonic and visual portraits , a natural biography that illustrates my ongoing contact with nature. News and reviews completes this home guide!
NEWS
Earth Music Bristol
Earth Music Bristol was launched on November 18th, the beginning of 8 days of concerts, exhibitions, talks, essays and short stories. Most of the concerts were broadcast live on BBC Radio 3, alongside ‘The Essay’, also on Radio 3, and ‘The Story’ recorded for broadcast on BBC Radio 4 during December.

Audience and radio-listener’s responses were magnificent and everyone who took part felt it to be a great success. BBC Radio 3 are already discussing plans with Edward (Founder and Artistic director), for the next festival planned for early 2013.
Edward-Jack-Brian
photo2 Work in Progress
back to Work in Progress

String Quartet No. 4, and

Leonardo for classic orchestra.

As part of an ongoing project between Cowie and Schott, London, many of his earlier works are being revised or re-written to form an integral part of a major Schott promotion and publication of their Cowie Catalogue. The 4th String Quartet has just been released, and Leonardo will follow in early 2012.

Particle Partita

The score is now complete and violinists, Jack Leibeck and Brian Foster  are in rehearsal stage. The initial ‘talk-and-look’ meeting in Oxford was filmed by the Institute of Physics’ film-team, as part of an on-going IOP project to film the entire project from start to finish. Performances are being planned in 2012 for Hamburg, CERN, Oxford University and later in the USA.

Edward with Peter Hill and Laurence Rose, in discussion with BBC’s Petroc Trelawney during an interval talk, Earth Music Bristol

photo1

Cowie Portrait CD

Signum Classics are to release a new CD featuring 4 Cowie works for voices and instruments, and voices a capella. The works featured are Gesangbuch for 24 voices and 13 instruments (1975-7); The Soft Complaining Flute (6 sopranos and baroque flute)(2002);Lyre Bird Motet for 24 voices (2003); and Bell Bird Motet for  24 voices (2011).