As a composer Adrian Sutcliffe is able to write in a variety of styles from descriptive music for plays and musical theatre to jazz to orchestral and chamber music. His works have been broadcast on Classic FM and BBC Radio, whilst they have also seen many performances in theatres, festivals and music societies throughout the UK.
He has been commissioned to write pieces for both the ABRSM music exam syllabus and the ISTD dance exam syllabus and he has written extensively in the field of ballet in particular, being the founder of DanceInspire, a company specialising in original music for all types of dance (see www.danceinspire.co.uk). His works for ballet have been performed at Sadlers Wells, Her Majesty’s Theatre, London and at a great many theatres countrywide.
His instrumental works include pieces for various unusual combinations such as flute, percussion and piano, as well as more traditional combinations and pieces for solo piano. He has written the music for three children’s productions which have toured schools throughout the UK with funding from the National Lottery: ‘The Prince and the Four Servants’, ‘Siege!’ and ‘The Magic Box’. Meanwhile he is engaged in launching his own new series for beginner instrumentalists entitled ’11 Little Pieces’.
As an arranger he is often called upon to transcribe large orchestral pieces for smaller forces. His work with the trio ‘Classic Rhythm’ has resulted in him creating much acclaimed arrangements of ‘West Side Story’, Tchaikovsky’s ‘Nutcracker Suite’, Grieg’s ‘Peer Gynt Suite’, Mussorgsky’s ‘Night on the Bare Mountain’, Ravel’s ‘Bolero’, Haydn’s ‘Clock’ Symphony and many more large-scale works.
He has written several jazz-based compositions, including ‘Sunshine Island’ and his own Jazz Suite for flute, piano and drumkit. Meanwhile his experience with sequencing and contemporary electronic music has led him to provide a wealth of backing tracks for musical theatre productions including ‘Fame’, ‘Mary Poppins’, ‘Oliver’, ‘Little Shop of Horrors’, West Side Story’, ‘The Wiz’, ’42nd Street’, ‘Les Miserables’, ‘Miss Saigon’ and many more, covering a vast range of mainstream West End and Broadway shows. In 2015 he arranged the string quartet and piano parts for Classical Reflection’s new album ‘The Vow’ and was MD for the recording. In March 2017 he created the full orchestral arrangements for the same group’s 2nd album, ‘ECHO’, recorded at Peterborough Cathedral.
Recent compositions include ‘Soldier of a Forgotten War’ for solo piano, ‘Nakers Capers’ for solo percussion and ‘Boil The Kettle’ a jazz piece for solo timpani, which has been included in the new ABRSM percussion syllabus.
MUSICAL SAMPLES
Below are some samples of Adrian Sutcliffe’s highly varied compositions and arrangements.