I am a long-time enthusiast of Acorn computer technology, dating back to the days of the BBC micro. I have been a keen musician since the age of 6, when I started to learn the piano, culminating in an (unsuccessful) attempt at Grade 8 at the age of 17. I also play clarinet (poorly), sing Baritone (badly), and play violin (horribly!). My personal 'likes' include musical shows, particularly Gilbert and Sullivan Operettas, and 'dislikes' include heavy-metal! Musical credits include Musical Director ('The Wizard of Oz', 1998), Assistant Musical Director ('The Gondoliers', 1989), 2nd Clarinet ('Carousel', 1986), Tenor Chorus ('The Gondoliers', 1984), leader of the school orchestra (unusually, as a clarinet player!) and, for my sins, I had the unenviable task of playing the hymns in school assemblies twice a week for two years. I tried learning the Grieg piano concerto, with more than a little help from Sibelius, but eventually had to admit defeat!
These two hobbies have been combined by my taking on the rôle of coordinating the OPUS User Group. I first became fascinated with computerised music during my school days, and wrote my own programs for the school BBC micros to play (by current standards) primative multi-part music. It was only during 1995 that I 'saw the light' and purchased Sibelius for my RiscPC, and felt immediately comfortable using the software. So much so, that shortly afterwards I offered to write a detailed technical review of Sibelius for the Acorn Archive Magazine, a later wrote a regular(ish) column. It was during the process of writing this review that I got to know Ben and Jonathan Finn, and was invited to take over the running of OPUS in November 1995.
I started my professional career as a Software Engineer, working mainly on airport & aircraft computer systems for two of the largest electronics companies in the country. This has meant much of my time has been spent programming UNIX and PC systems. However, as a result of being exposed to Acorn computers at school, I use a somewhat upgraded RiscPC as well as a more 'standard' Pentium PCs running both Windows and UNIX. I become self-employed in 1996, trading as scrIBe, providing a range of services for both Acorn and PC users, including bespoke software, consultancy, training and technical support.
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