The clangourous sound of a peal of bells always fills me with a sense of great joy. The skill of bell-ringing seems to require such a fine balance between physical strength and perfect timing and yet when the sounds do collide with each other these imperfections seem just as endearing.

I wrote Bells in the Air, a fanfare for trumpet and horn duo, thinking of that characteristically uneven fall of sound and how each pitch can set rich overtones a-jangling.

The musical direction 'bells in the air' or 'bells up' is an exhortation to the brass player to bring the sound forward by raising the bell of the instrument. But in this fanfare there is also a suggestion that bells of a different kind may be heard, peals of bells, both near and far. The UK premiere performance was given by Paul Archibald and Stephen Stirling on 11 September, 1999 at the Summer Music Society of Dorset, Minterne.

The British Composer Awards 2005 were presented by the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters in association with BBC Radio 3 and sponsored by the Performing Right Society. Cecilia McDowall was shortlisted in two categories, her motet Regina Caeli in the Liturgical section, which was performed by the BBC Singers, and the large-scale setting of Stabat Mater for the 'Making Music' Award. Making Music is the body which represents hundreds of amateur choirs, orchestras and music clubs throughout the United Kingdom.