[2] Born in London, England, Powers took private tuition from Elisabeth Lutyens and Harrison Birtwistle between 1969 and 1971, and also with Nadia Boulanger in Paris from 1972 to 1973.
[3] Stone, Water, Stars (1987), commissioned for the BBC Symphony Orchestra,[5] is the third part of a trilogy inspired by the ambiance and architecture of Venice.
As it was appearing to become a full orchestral work, Powers received assistance from the David James Music Trust to complete it.
[1][10] It was dedicated to his parents while Andrew Burn noted how it demonstrated 'mastery of extended large-scale structures',[4] and Nicholas Jones commented on the 'evident assuredness of Powers's handling of the symphonic genre'.
[11] A Picture of the World (2001) was commissioned by the BBC and is a setting of Ludwig Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, following in the footsteps of his mentor Elisabeth Lutyens.
[16] At the West Cork Music Festival in Ireland in June 2005, the work received its Irish premiere and the male speaker role was performed by Seamus Heaney himself.
Another Part of the Island (1980, revised in 1994) is a chamber work in four movements that as premiered at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London in May 1982 and conducted by John Carewe.
However, the best known of his piano works is The Memory Room (1990/1) written for and dedicated to William Howard, who premiered the piece at the Lichfield Festival on 10 July 1992.