Double BASCA Joy

Double BASCA Joy

Two works by John McCabe appear in the shortlist for BASCA’s Classical British Composer Awards, and amazingly both of them were written while the composer was suffering from the worst and most aggressive form of brain tumour. In the Orchestral section is Joybox, a BBC commission for the Proms in 2013, for the BBCPO conducted by Juanjo Mena. Within the Solo (or Duo) Instrumental section is McCabe’s large-scale work for trumpet and piano, composed especially for Simon Desbruslais (tpt) and Clare Hammond (piano), which is entitled Sonata After William Byrd's Haec Dies. The premiere of this work took place in Deal in February 2014, but McCabe was unfortunately not able to attend as a result of sickness brought about by further medical treatment.