Beautiful, memorable melodies plucked out of thin air
Roger has fond memories of his family watching silent Laurel & Hardy films on the family Super 8 projector.
He began using musical improvisation as a tool at 16, accompanying ballet, modern and tap dance classes in a busy Norwich dance school.
“It was actually born out of laziness! The teacher, Janet Russen, gave me a pile of music books for my first classes.
I noticed she was clear enough in her choreography that I found it simpler to improvise. By the time I had cycled home after my first day, she had already called my mother to express how thrilled she was with all the fresh new music.”
Upon arriving in Canada, Roger began working on film and television scores with several established Montreal composers. He subsequently contributed to the scores of several award-winning productions.
A master at following onstage action, Roger’s experience with Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Corteo’ presented opportunities for improvisation on a daily basis. He became very much at ease creating music on the fly before audiences of several thousand, making him a valuable asset to the production.
