麻豆社

In 2018, Tom was selected from hundreds of entrants as one of the winners in the Lower Junior category of the annual 麻豆社 Young Composer Competition. As part of his prize he received a 麻豆社 commission to write a new piece to celebrate the 50th anniversary of NASA鈥檚 Apollo 11 Moon landing.

Mare Tranquillitatis received its world premiere by Aurora Orchestra, conducted by Duncan Ward, as part of the 麻豆社 Proms Inspire Concert at the 麻豆社鈥檚 Maida Vale Studios on 13 August 2019.

鈥淔or someone of my generation, it鈥檚 hard not to associate space exploration with films like Star Wars and Star Trek, so it was natural to look at the Apollo 11 mission in the context of a John Williams-esque soundtrack. This piece follows the journey of Apollo 11 from Earth to the Moon. The first movement describes the take-off 鈥� exciting, energetic and ebullient. In the second 鈥榦rbital鈥� movement, the pace slows as the astronauts look down on Earth. The third movement implies a sense of danger when the astronauts first see the Moon up close. The main theme returns as the landing starts, followed by a finale as the Eagle touches down.鈥�