Soho in Trinity Piano Syllabus

Look what arrived today! And who’s that on the front cover? Oh yeah, it’s me! The 2021-23 Trinity College London Grade 7 Piano Pieces and Exercises book features my winning composition ‘Soho’.

I composed ‘Soho’ specifically for the Trinity Young Composers’ Competition. The competition invited composers aged 30 years and under to submit up to three pieces for the 2021-2023 piano syllabus.

‘Soho’ is a melting pot of popular contemporary styles, with elements of modal jazz, smooth jazz and RnB. The title Soho came to me as I composed the main bass riff and groove, and I centred the rest of the composition around this theme. The piece serves as a musical snapshot of my interpretation of the Soho district in London, documenting it’s varied nightlife and diverse social cultures; bars, pubs, clubs, live music venues, late night coffee houses and gelateria, and of course the famous Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club.

As with many contemporary styles, ‘Soho’ is a very rhythmic piece. It offers the opportunity for teachers to cover an array of rhythmic elements such as changing time signatures, cross rhythms, changing from swung to straight quavers, and lots of syncopation. It also requires a high level of dexterity from the left hand as this part contains many bass riffs!

I was delighted last year to find out that ‘Soho’ had won the grade 7 category. It’s amazing to finally see it in print! The Trinity syllabus can be purchased from all major sheet music retailers. Click here to purchase through Music Room.

You can find out more about the Trinity College London Young Composers’ Competition here.