Enter Sandman (Metallica) – Metallica were the first band that I listened to because I chose to and not because other people told me to. I used to listen to them all the time when I was about 12-14. I recently wrote a wind quintet using the structure from Enter Sandman, making bassoons and oboes play metal riffs is great fun.

Nagoya Marimbas (Steve Reich) – This was the first 20th century classical music that I ever listened to, I’m not sure I even knew it existed before I was shown this piece when I was 16. I’d never heard anything like it and it made me want to try to find out what else was out there.

Early Birds from Carbon Copy Building (Bang on a Can) – This was on a cd I got for christmas and I think it’s great. Bang on a Can do a sort of cross between classical and popular music. I’m really interested in doing this in the music I write because I like music that’s fun to listen to and not too serious. Bang on a Can