Deus Ex Machina ("God from the Machine") was composed for the Black Dyke Band and their musical director Professor Nicholas J. Childs. The work was the first composed as part of the Black Dye Band’s Young Composer Residency and received its world premiere at the Royal Northern College of Music Festival of Brass 2020.


The piece served as a my musical introduction to the members of the band and includes multiple references to some of my favourite brass band concert works and test-pieces. I also wanted the music to reflect my own popular musical tastes, particularly that of modern electronic music, in which I have a great personal interest. Whilst the music references electronic machinery and its music, the theme and title of the work, however, are inspired by ancient machinery.

The title of the work comes from the literal translation of ‘Deus ex Machina’; a plot device found in many ancient greek plays. The device particularly features in, and is attributed to, the works of the classical tragedian playwright Euripides. This name originates from a mechanical crane of the same name, which would lift the actors playing the gods above the stage during the main crisis-point. During the conclusion of the theatrical performance the actors and actresses portraying the gods would descend using the crane. The impossible problem faced would be solved and, from this ancient period onward, the term was used to describe a point in the plot where a crisis is suddenly and abruptly resolved in an unexpected, and often contrived, fashion.

My work loosely follows the same episodic ternary structure of a Euripidean drama. The chaos and tension of our ‘play’ gradually unfolds in the first episode before a second reflective section (all the while hinting at the still unfolding drama). The subject material returns in our final act before the Deus ex Machina is finally utilised; our gods triumphantly coming into view with a final fanfare resolving our seemingly impossible crisis.