He studied music at the University of Strathclyde, and composition with Gordon McPherson at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama. He has composed music for a number of ensembles, including Icebreaker, the Hebrides Ensemble, Red Note Ensemble, the Tyrolean Ensemble for Contemporary Music and the South Bank Gamelan. He has had music broadcast on Radio Magnetic, BBC Radio Scotland and BBC Radio 3. In addition, he composed several pieces of music for the controversial comedy show The Franz Kafka Big Band, broadcast on Radio Scotland. He teaches composition at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama and Edinburgh Napier University.