'A Leeds Songbook', Showcase and Exhibition at Broderick Hall, Leeds City Museum

 I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in the Leeds Songbook project, involving a collaboration between Composers and Poets, and new for 2026, Visual artists. 

The project was led by Martin Iddon (Composers' Convenor) and Hannah Stone (Poet's Convenor).

In total ten groups were formed, each comprising a Poet, a composer, a pianist, a singer and an artist.

I was allocated into a group with poet Hannah stone, composer Florence Lloyd, pianist Alexander Karl Koschka and soprano Martina Neubauer. 

Hannah's poem:

Omar/Apus Apus - 

'Swifts are my fable of community' (Helen Macdonald)

(Lines in italics are from her Vesper Flights or Collins Book of Birds)

...................

I am cleaning the kitchen when Omar invites me to share his food

(may be residents, partial or passage migrants, summer visitors)

slices of bread pop up from the toaster; two boiled eggs are peeled and broken open

(in outbreaks of bad weather, often survive for days without food)

there is no honey for the yogurt; he spoons the last of the jam into a dish

(nest in obscure places, in dark or cramped spaces)

with a flat blade, he prises open a handful of walnuts

(spend most of their lives in flight)

sweet steam rises from rose-petal tea

(frequently make weather-evading flights)

the sharing blesses both of us

Hannah Stone

After reading Hannah's poem I created a mixed media sculpture that attempted to address the poetic meeting of certain elements that appear in the poem.

The Tale of the Martlet

The Tale of the Martlet comprises four elements housed in glass jars and stored within a dark-stained wooden box that isolates the elements from the everyday world, allowing and encouraging us to perceive them in a new way. The four elements are preserved s if they are precious, worth of preservation and protection for their symbolic value rather than an inherent monetary value. During times of stress, trauma and emotional upheaval it is often simple things that leave the greatest impression upon us.

Half in and half out of the wooden box is crinkled, well used map of the region that leads to the city of Leeds, found within the wooden box. A small pocket compass lies upon the map and is tethered to a small metal effigy of a bird, perhaps a swift, that seeks to effect or enhance the functioning of the compass in some favourable way.

I was pleased with the final state of the model and felt that it embodied the spirit of the poem Hannah had written. It was also well received during the rehearsals and during the final performance/exhibition that was held at Brodrick Hall, Leeds City Museum on Wednesday 15 April 2026.

On exhibition in the Brodrick Hall, Leeds City Museum

Brodrick Hall just before doors opened

The full event performance on the Leeds Song YouTube Channel

Credits to Leeds Song & Biscuit Recordings (@appleandbiscuit)

The full list of groups was as follows:

Poem: Careful by Rachel Curzon, music composed by Eléna Rosemary Adams, Artist: Louie de Silva

Counter-tenor: Zheng Jiang, Pianist: Yihan Zhao

Poem: Catch by Nicky Kippax, music composed by Nate Chadwick, Artist: Jessica Cooper

Soprano: Carleigh Ross, Pianist: Curtis Vetter

Poem: Alive by Zelick Mendelovich, music composed by Ella Cookson, Artist: Michael king

Baritone: Bruno Meichsner, Pianist: Wan-yen Li

Poem: Queue Theory by Vanessa Napolitano, music composed by Rob Crehan, Artist: Maria Radulescu

Baritone: Daniel Sauer, Pianist: Honoka Komoda

Poem: Margaret by Charlotte Oliver, music composed by Julien Durand, Artist: Seohee Lee

Mezzo-soprano: Klara Solén, Pianist: George Herbert

Poem: Omar/Apus Apus by Hannah Stone, music composed by Florence Lloyd, Artist: Patrick S. Ford

Soprano: Martina Neubauer, Pianist: Alexander Karl Koschka

Poem: The Language of Flowers by Lydia Kennaway, music composed by Maxwell Nelson, Artist: Skyla West, Soprano: Mariana Rodrigues, Pianist: Andrew Cowie

Poem: A Train of a Hundred Thousand Cancer Survivor Stars by Karen Elizabeth Bucknall, music composed by Elliot Park, Artist: Saranna Watkins, Mezzo-soprano: Naomi Boot, Pianist: Viviana Țaga-Radu

Poem: The Valley by Mike O'Brien, music composed by Joanna Ward, Artist: Hannah Guy

Soprano: Kelsey Thomas, Pianist: Edward Lloyd

Poem: Fruits of Knowledge by Tim Boardman, music composed by Sean Whytock, Artist: Johanna Sayama, Soprano: Lisa-Marie Lebitschnig, Pianist: Amelie Warner

The event programme can be found here.

The final running order for the performance can be found here.

More information about my work can be found on my website here.