This April, the National Ballet of Japan presented the Japanese premiere of my ballet, Faster, choreographed by David Bintley, with the music performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic, conducted by Paul Murphy.

The ballet explores the topic of sport: from the heroics and achievements of competition, to the agony of injury, to the limits of human endurance.

I have often said that when the curtain rises on a new ballet work, I understand the complete honour to be a composer.  This was certainly the case with Faster.  David Bintley is an incredible choreographer.  What he manages to achieve with a complement of human bodies is simply astounding.  Add the superb lighting by Peter Mumford and costumes by Becs Andrews – it was a stunning experience.

And not least of all, the magnificent Tokyo Philharmonic, with conductor Paul Murphy who managed to be one of the most energetic of all: a definite highlight of my career.

This March marked the premiere performance of my Symphony No. 3: The Returned Soldier, by the Phoenix Symphony, under the baton of the incredible conductor Michael Christie.

This 25 minute piece deals with the subject of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) experienced by veterans returning from combat, such as Iraq and Afghanistan in recent times.

My starting points in this piece were images and scenarios faced by these veterans in war, and their effects on families and loved ones.

It was a real honour to have several war veterans come to me and express how moving they found the piece, and how true to life it seemed as compared to their experiences.  My contribution pales into insignificance compared to the sacrifices they have made.

Kalkadungu, on which the title track is the piece written by William Barton and myself, won this year’s ARIA award for Best Classical album.

The disc also includes pieces by William and by Peter Sculthorpe.

Congratulations William!