Geoffrey Cox Balladeer for solo guitar duration: 7 minutes Balladeer Cast in five continuous movements, taking the form A, B, C, B2, A2, Balladeer is partly inspired by the complex, dense and yet relaxed ballad style of the solo jazz guitarist. The notation of the score is aiming at a flexible, free sounding music rhythmically, and with exception of section III, the realisation of this aim is more important than total accuracy of interpretation. Geoffrey Cox (b1963) began his musical career in London as a guitarist in a post-punk, new wave band in 1979. Rejecting all forms of structured musical learning, he submerged himself in various rock groups before finally embarking on a foundation course of musical theory in Liverpool in 1989 which led to the formation of a jazz-influenced quintet playing mostly his own music. This, in turn, led to an exploration of classical and contemporary music through an HND. Having completed a degree in composition at Huddersfield in 1999 (where he now teaches music technology) he has embarked on a PhD. Back to shortlist.