A LECTURER and musician has spent his time in lockdown composing music for families around the world who share his passion for music.

Dr Matthew Shlomowitz, who teaches his craft at University of Southampton, has been writing compositions following requests that he receives on social media.

People tell him how many people are involved, which instruments they have at home - from recorders to pianos - and their musical abilities.

Originally, Matthew began writing for his own family when it occurred to him that other cohabiters might appreciate a piece of their own to rehearse and perform.

Matthew, Associate Professor of Composition in Music, said: "We see all over the place that the lockdown is leading both to social kindness and new forms of projects that make sense at this time.

"People have time and are looking to keep busy in a nice and meaningful way. I'm thinking a lot about how the pieces can be challenging for musicians in a way that can be realistically achieved."

Amongst the 19 pieces he has composed so far, Matthew said he has found what he describes as “fun and touching requests”.

He added: “I’ve been contacted by a mother who wanted a very hard duo for her sons, playing bassoon and trombone, to keep them busy.

"I’ve done a piece for violin, viola, cello, piano and actor, and a piece for a professional cellist and her boyfriend - a beginner pianist she's teaching – so the compositions are different and varied.

“I have been delighted with all the requests, getting more than I expected. Getting the video performances is the best part."

One of his more thought-provoking requests came from two professional recorder players in Amsterdam and their daughter Bodil, who had just turned two years old.

“The challenge was how to find a way for Bodil to be part of the performance given her lack of conventional musical ability and the unlikely hood that she would stick to the script,” said Matthew.

Whilst Matthew’s larger-scale professional compositions take longer, he’s averaging one composition per day for his lockdown creations with some pieces taking a few hours to complete.

In the coming weeks, he will turn to teaching composition online when the university’s summer term begins.

He said: “It’s actually not that different than the Twitter exercise I’m doing as the students send me their work and I give them comments by email or verbally on a video chat.

"The one essay module I teach, on music and subculture, with 30 students, is going to be a bigger challenge when we get back into the term.”

Matthew’s compositions can be experienced at shloms.wixsite.com/musicforcohabiters.