Patrick Larley

He has given recitals in cathedrals and churches throughout Britain and has toured France, Germany, Czech Republic, Belgium, Italy and Ireland as a conductor and organist.

Much of Larley's output has been sacred choral music, ranging from short unaccompanied gems such as the well-known A Girl for the Blue through to full-scale works for choir, soloists and orchestra such as his Mass of a Thousand Ages written for the new millennium and first performed in April 2000.

His musical style is fresh, tonal and approachable, with soft dissonances, soaring melodies and lilting syncopation, blending seamlessly his strong ecclesiastical roots in plainchant and monastic liturgy with the simplicity of a Celtic folk-like idiom.

Reviewers and commentators have likened his musical style at various times to those of Gerald Finzi, William Mathias, John Rutter, Frederick Delius and Leonard Bernstein.

A number of his choral works have been recorded on CD, broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and performed widely in the UK and in America.