Written shortly after graduation, Giant marked a conscious move away from academic complexity towards a more immediate and audience-focused musical language. Delicate jazz-influenced rhythms are woven into broad, evolving orchestral textures, gradually suggesting the imagery that gave the work its title.

The three sections trace contrasting visions of giants: the sweeping stride of a fairy-tale figure across open landscapes; the restless energy of Gulliver’s Travels as Gulliver is overwhelmed by tiny captors; and finally the slow, resonant breathing of a sleeping giant.

Scored for the De Montfort University Orchestra with SATB saxophone quartet, Giant was premiered on 9 June 1998 at the Church of St Mary de Castro, Leicester, under the direction of David Lawrence.