High Flight is a choral setting of the poem by John Magee Jr., the young poet and Royal Canadian Air Force pilot who wrote the text shortly before his death in 1941, aged 19. Its vivid imagery captures the exhilaration, freedom and transcendence of flight, culminating in the celebrated line describing the sensation of ‘touching the face of God.’

Light, expressive and rhythmically energetic, the work seeks to reflect the soaring spirit and wonder of the poem through fluid textures and shifting harmonies.

Premiered by the Chesterfield Philharmonic Choir in June 2018, directed by Steven Roberts, the work has since received further performances in Bridlington and at the Royal Northern College of Music.