In recent years I've begun dipping my toe into composing for choirs and various instrumental ensembles, and it is truly the most fun ever! It is always an electrifying experience seeing it performed, and I love getting to watch how other people choose to speak their truth through the notes that I may have written months or years previous. If you'd be interested in commissioning some work, please feel free to get in touch at petermcmahonmusic@gmail.com!
"I See His Blood Upon The Rose" - ESAF Composers Competition
This was my entry into the Edinburgh Sacred Arts Foundation Young Composer's Competition, An SATB setting of Joseph Mary Plunkett's poem of the same name. In a wonderful turn of events it ended up receiving Highly Commended from judge Cecilia McDowall, and was perfomed in Canongate Kirk during the Edinburg Sacred Arts Festival 2026. Hearing all of our pieces performed by the Festival singers was an absolute delight, and will stay with me forever!!!Â
3 poems by Norman MacCaig
I discovered Norman MacCaig through the recommendation of a friend, and I can confess I am now deeply in love with the man's work. This is a reading of three of his poems, namely:
Praise of a collie, Drinking Fountain, and Sounds of the day
Huge thank you to Thomas Kerr and Gracie Davie for contributing their voices and perspective on these poems!
The Last Day - solo piano
Performed here by David Bremner, I wrote this one as one of the last assignments for my time at university, trying to capture my feelings on the thrill of moving on to new worlds while still being surrounded by things I wouldn't want to leave behind. It's always a proud and gratifying moment to see notes I'd written being performed by another, and David did an absolutely stellar job with it!
For the curious, here's the score!