‘Threadlands’ had its premiere by the RIAS Kammerchor and Ensemble Resonanz, conducted by Justin Doyle, first on 29 May in Berlin at the Boulez Saal and then at the stunning Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg the next day.

I conceived the text and developed it alongside the brilliant poet Mark Fiddes. The idea came out of my years living and working in the Middle East, where questions of land, identity and belonging are woven into everyday life. Mark, also based in Dubai, felt that same pull, and our collaboration grew from a shared fascination with how identity gets tangled up with place, history and what we inherit across generations.

I was deeply touched by the warm response the work received in both the Boulez Saal in Berlin and the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. These were my first performances in both venues, making the experience especially memorable.

(Photo credit: Peter Adamik)