My name is Perseus Morgan. I am raising funds to perform a new Harmonica Concerto by composer William Lovelady. The funding will cover both the writing and the premiere performance.

Harmonica concertos emerged in the late 1940s, with Ralph Vaughan Williams's Romance in D-flat being a significant early example. Since then, notable composers such as Heitor Villa-Lobos, Malcolm Arnold, Michael Spivakovsky, Arthur Benjamin, and Henry Cowell have contributed to the repertoire This new Concerto will be a great contribution to the repertoire, giving harmonica soloists another major composer to perform.

Celebrated classical guitarist, composer and renowned teacher William Lovelady first hit the charts in the late 1970's with two Top-Ten reggae hits, his talents have led him to compose and play with musicians such as Julian Lloyd Webber, Art Garfunkel and Hugh Masekela. Bill's Choral music is most deeply moving. His Cantata to the words of Psalm 104 was commissioned for the 75th Birthday of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh It became a Family treasure, an arrangement, for 4 voices being performed at Prince Philip’s Funeral in Windsor and then in St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh, to mark the Coronation of King Charles III. He has also written a Mass which was performed first at Westminster Cathedral and a Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis commissioned and first sung to celebrate the 900th anniversary in 2023 of St Bartholomew the Great.

The haunting Isolation Songs were premiered in July 2023 as part of Music in Country Churches, in Norfolk, as was his Guitar Concerto, Serenade for Strings. Commissioned by The English Chamber Orchestra, the Serenade’s London premiere took place at the Cadogan Hall in November 2023, played by the Orchestra with Craig Ogden as soloist.

His Concerto for Guitar Violin and String Orchestra was first performed by Stratford-upon-Avon's Orchestra of the Swan with soloist Craig Ogden and Tamsin Waley-Cohen.

Today Bill writes for top guitarists Slava and Leonard Grigoryan, Xuefei Yang, Craig Ogden and Amanda Cook - and countless others. He has written both chamber pieces and commissions for solo guitar.

Perseus Morgan is a London-based classical harmonicist. He was a featured soloist in William Lovelady’s 80th birthday concert, performing music specially arranged for harmonica by Lovelady himself, in 2024 he was awarded the Youth Scholarship from the Society for the Preservation and Advancement of the Harmonica, which included a performance in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. He has performed many Baroque/Classical concerts and is excited to collaborate in this project.

Performance by Ollie Clarke, Perseus Morgan and Konstantin Tumanov

from the Tribute concert to William Lovelady on his 80th Birthday 24th April 2025 at St Pancras New Church, London.

All donations will be greatly appreciated and will help pay for musicians and a venue.

Thank you for helping bring this Concerto to life.