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Some good news. London is meeting legal limits for toxic NO2 pollution for the first time – almost 200 years earlier than predicted – following the Mayor’s "world leading air pollution policies," City Hall announces. The Ultra Low Emissions Zone - and similar policies - really do work.

New blog post! Sharing my recent liner notes for an upcoming disc of Howells's secular choral music from IKON and David Hill. 'A Blend of Agony and Ecstasy': Discovering Howells's secular choral music open.substack.com/pub/tomedney...

Premiered #OTD in 1912, the orchestral suite, The Sea, by English composer, conductor & violist, Frank Bridge (1879–1941). It was launched at the Proms with The New Queen's Hall Orchestra under Henry Wood. open.spotify.com/track/2xBYf7... #britsymphyear

Bring on 21st November! This is a fantastic disc, and I’m so excited to see it go out into the world! Big congrats to the team: BBC Philharmonic, @jkaconductor.bsky.social , Samantha Ege, @leahbroad.bsky.social and Resonus.

For some reason, Koechlin's music has jsut suddenly clicked with me and I'm HOOKED. Mainly thanks to this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuQO...

@royalmusical.bsky.social Day one! Talking about Avril Coleridge-Taylor and her tone poems from the 1930s. Also on the company of the brilliant Lizzie Bowes and Gayle Murchison.

Absolutely sick of seeing 'this is why we're all doomed' instead of 'this is how we doom Reform'

If you need two mins of something beautiful in your day today look no further than this nocturne by Avril Coleridge-Taylor. Exquisitely played by @aoyarzabal.bsky.social

This is a huge story. Don't let him get away with it. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

There are worse places to do archival research… spent this afternoon looking for Avril Coleridge-Taylor!

Fantastic article by Samatha Ege and @leahbroad.bsky.social in this month’s @prospectmagazine.co.uk on the life, career and legacy of Avril Coleridge-Taylor (usually ££ but free for a limited period). @arusbridger.bsky.social

A composer *So popular* that the Performing Rights Society was formed specifically to redress the issue of how little £ he received for performances.

Malvern Hills being a bit dramatic

Happy birthday John Ireland! English composer John Ireland was born on this day in 1879, a significant figure in 20th-century British music known for his many piano pieces and distinctly English musical style. Here’s a snippet of The Island Spell from Decorations.

August marks the birth of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, and to celebrate this, I'm going to share a piece by him every day leading up to his birthday on the 15th. There is a huge amount of music to choose from, so I've selected pieces that demonstrate the variety and breadth of his career. #SCT150

Come listen to me talk about Avril Coleridge-Taylor and her music!! Also thrilled that my editions of her orchestral work, To April, and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Meg Blane are getting outings in the Autumn season. Performance 🤝 Research

A brilliant day for Howells yesterday. First, an exceptional and thought-provoking talk from Dr @jonathanclinch.bsky.social on Howells and Paradise. Then, a brilliant performance of Paradise Rondel and Hymnus Paradisi under Adrian Partington. @threechoirs.bsky.social

I'm just a boy, deleting my em dashes in Word in case people think I used AI to write the thing

"writing a book is a marathon not a sprint" but what if it's somehow both at the same time

Always feel in awe of academics who manage to read for pleasure. How do you find the time?! Sincerely, Someone who just wasted the first week off getting through 100 pages of a novel but wrote lots of words for the thesis

Last night's Prom, featuring the UK premiere of Charlotte Sohy's 'Danse Mystique'! Hopefully the start of her music being heard much more in the UK. Excellent playing from Randall Goosby and the Orchestre National de France under Cristian Măcelaru. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Today in the library… what’s RVW listening to?

Last night’s BBC Prom with the Samara Joy octet and BBC Concert Orchestra was one of the most extraordinary concerts I’ve ever been to. Such a high standard of musicianship and outpouring of love in the RAH last night. Won’t be forgetting it for a long time to come!

Lovely team, lovely music, lovely day.

Quiet before the storm… recording upper voices repertoire today! Watch this space

Very excited to present today at the NABMSA symposium 'Rethinking Landscape: Environment, Place, and Heritage in British Music Studies'. Discussing AC-T's orchestral works from the 1930s and her evolving relationship with landscape and place.

Lovely article in @rcmlondon.bsky.social's Upbeat magazine on Samuel Coleridge-Taylor at 150 and some of the work going on in the college that is celebrating his music. In the company of some excellent colleagues, too!

#NowSpinning Howells’s Elegy for Solo Viola, String Quartet and String Orchestra. This is deeply introspective music, often played low on most of the strings giving it a very soulful feel, particularly in the Viola part. It’s a beautifully searching moment in a great programme.

Nearly 900 bars later… thrilled to have finished a new edition of one of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s cantatas for performance later this year as part of celebrations marking his 150th birthday!

Bloody…

Using your platform for good. Exhibit A:

There is no devastation quite like leaving your headphones at home before a train journey and a day of work 🙃

Saturday listening

Looking forward to delving into this over the weekend!

Hey everybody! If you fancy some gorgeous, happy music, the full CD of Madeline Dring (1923-77) chamber music for oboe is now out! Featuring the exquisite musicianship of @ndanielmusic.bsky.social, Antonio Oyarzabal, Adam Walker and Amy Harman. open.spotify.com/album/4MVZwP... Enjoy!

Clegg: ‘Art may have been central to human existence since the first cave paintings or campfire stories. But artists have never actually paid me to say anything on their behalf.’

I just trash picked this book and it is amazing

Excellent Saturday train reading

Today's lunch break reading comes from @sarahinthepark.bsky.social about Avril Coleridge-Taylor and her connection to the Royal Albert Hall. sarahwhitfield.com/2025/05/12/a...

Best bluebell wood ever?

We're pleased to be able to publish the provisional conference schedule! More information on registration will be availble next week. www.medren2025.co.uk/conference-p...

April’s discovery was French composer Charlotte Sohy. What little is recorded is brilliant; hopefully much more to come soon!

Me after finishing my write up…

1. Because this issue is critical, but has received remarkably little coverage, here's a thread pulling out the key themes from my article yesterday, on the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which puts decades of environmental protections to the torch. 🧵 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Oh it’s GOOD! If only more books on music could be written like this…

I got on my soapbox for the I Paper about the current trend for marathon classical music: performance as endurance sport.(With bonus Pauline Oliveros for those who stick around) inews.co.uk/culture/arts...

It shouldn't have to be like this. An entire minority shouldn't be sitting, terrified, that the UK Supreme Court is going to remove their rights off the back of a decade-long hate campaign. It shouldn't have to be like this.