Page 179 - Guildhall Coverage Book 2020-21

Orchestra of Scotland, he doesn’t think he was ever a good enough player to do that
professionally.

“Thank goodness I prefer composition. I’m a pretty mediocre piano player and I do want to
get better at that. I know that will be helpful in composition.”

Kit’s mother is a doctor and his father has lived a creative life, working as a lecturer in
creative writing and art history, and an author.

“My dad was a semi-professional musician. He did some opera singing and had an early
music chamber group for a while. My parents are both musical and even if they didn’t teach
me, I could play them things I had composed and they could tell me what they did and didn’t
like about it.”

Pop music didn’t play much of a part in his early life. “I think it was because my parents
didn’t listen to it and being an only child I didn’t have the influence of siblings.
“In fact pop music felt slightly shameful for a while. I would go through to breakfast and
Radio 3 would be playing – it would be Monteverdi or Schumann or something similar.

“I started to listen to pop music at school, quite furtively, on an MP3 player. Now I like a bit
of everything – jazz, Scottish music, world music – all genres, all eras.”

Kit found out his pitch for Waterloo Bridge was successful during his Christmas break and
had to hurriedly finish it. “I am happy with it and hearing the Guildhall musicians recording it
was pretty thrilling.

“There are so many paths you can follow in composition,” he adds. “Concert music, film and
TV music, education, music for theatre, dance, opera…

“Mind you it’s always been hard to earn a living as a musician or a composer and I think it’s
even harder now.

“That’s why it’s been so great to have this opportunity so early in my musical career.”