The Essay

Composer, jazz musician and session pianist Neil Cowley revisits his year as musician in residence for Derry / Londonderry, the inaugural UK City of Culture in 2013. Neil arrived in a city he knew little about, full of trepidation thanks to years of headlines about terrorism and violence in Northern Ireland. What he found among the city's young musicians challenged and changed not only his long-held preconceptions, but also his view of music as a tool to bring about change.