He has spent ten years working in Turkey and absorbing the musical and cultural heritage of the area. His music integrates classical, contemporary and Turkish influences seamlessly into a unique idiom, described by American Record Guide as ’beautifully crafted, robust and absorbing’. This opera is based on the legend and poetry of the mystic Rumi (Mevlana) commission by the Istanbul Music Festival and Rotterdam Operadagen; while structured in western classical form it incorporates several Turkish instruments in the orchestra and is fascinatingly exotic.