This piece for full orchestra grew out of my 2001 stage musical. It is similar to the Symphonic Dances from West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein, in that it represents a serious attempt to symphonise some of the main thematic ideas from my musical through a radical engagement with the material, without simply producing a "hits from the show"-type work.

The score was completed in April 2004, and fully revised in December of the same year. The work was successfully premiered in the Queen's Hall, Edinburgh on 1st April 2006 by the Edinburgh Philharmonic Orchestra at a memorable concert conducted by Robert Dick.

The Symphonic Overture should not be confused with my Orchestral Medley from John Paul Jones, which is an entirely separate work. The latter piece is a straightforward medley of songs from the musical arranged for symphony orchestra. It was commissioned by the Falkirk Tryst Orchestra and written specifically with youth and community orchestras in mind. It premiered in 2004 in Falkirk, and has since been performed in Stirling, Edinburgh and most recently at the Lochgelly Centre in Fife, at a most memorable concert given by Fife Youth Orchestra conducted by Graeme Wilson.