Message to the Future (2025) was conceived as a high-end education and outreach project exploring how contemporary music might speak across generations and technological change.
During development it became clear that there was no viable institutional context in which the project could be articulated or heard. In the absence of such a context, the composer chose not to proceed further.
The materials below are shared as documentation of the idea at its conceptual stage.
Watch the 90-second intro:
Message to the Future
What will we say to those who come after us?
Our world feels fragile. Conflicts persist, democracy wavers, and climate change looms. Yet these moments demand more than despair—they demand witnessing, voice, dialogue.
Message to the Future is conceived as a large-scale work for choir, orchestra, and video; a sonic and visual tribute to our shared hopes, fears and dreams, spoken across generations.
The Idea
I will ask young people across the globe a simple question:
“What message would you like to send to the future?”
Their words will form the heart of the piece — spoken, sung, and projected — interwoven with John Donne’s Meditation XVII (‘No man is an island’).
The result will be a powerful tapestry of sound and image: a concert experience that is part time capsule, part call to action.
Why it matters
Music has always been more than entertainment — it carries the voices of one age into the ears of another. Message to the Future will be just that: a work that connects generations, cultures, and communities.
It is youth-centred — giving today’s young people a platform to speak directly to tomorrow.
It is geopolitically and temporally universal — the future belongs to all of us.
It is rooted in timeless poetry — John Donne’s reminder that “any man’s death diminishes me” resonates as strongly today as in 1624.
How it will take shape
Gathering voices — Using social media and school outreach, I will collect messages from young people worldwide.
Composing the music — Their words will be set chorally, spoken, or woven into instrumental textures.
Creating the visuals — Collaborating with film artist Gideon Gold, we will craft a video element of faces, voices, and imagery projected during the performance.
Performance — Choir, orchestra, and video come together in an immersive premiere.
Recording — The work will be professionally filmed and recorded, ensuring the “message” can be shared with future generations.
My journey
As an Anglo-Irish composer, I’m shaped by histories of struggle, memory, and hope — the tension that gives Message to the Future its pulse.
Be part of the future
This project cannot happen without the support of people who believe in it. By backing this work, you will:
Help young people’s voices be heard on a global stage.
Make possible a large-scale work of music and film that speaks across generations.
Leave behind a cultural time capsule — a message that will echo long after us.
Support the project
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Closing thought
We cannot know the future. But together, we can leave it a message. If this speaks to you, please share it.