I can't write music unless I'm deeply connected to it and that connection almost always comes from some experience that I have had or am having.

I write music that sounds complex but isn't. I frankly never think in terms of theory.

Many composers use software to write music - programs like Finale or Sibelius. There are also recording programs. I should say I'm still very old-fashioned, I still use pencil and paper. But almost every composer I know does it the 'new way.'

A really good poem is full of music.

As a composer, I know that all sorts of sounds I hear are making their way into my brain and soul and later sneak into my music.

I'm a self-confessed geek, and my whole concept of music at first was entirely electronic. In many ways, it turned out to be an advantage. I was so green, so utterly naive about the nature of classical music, that I did things that made me look totally, deliberately unorthodox.