Summer Nights was commissioned by the Hertfordshire County Youth Wind Orchestra and their conductor Phil Ellis, for the young Hertfordshire horn player Tim Thorpe. These artists gave the world premiere at the Duke's Hall, Royal Academy of Music, London, on 28 July 2002.

It is based on the song cycle Les Nuits d'Été (Op. 7) by the French composer Hector Berlioz (1803- 69) and, more significantly, the poems selected by Berlioz from the work of Théophile Gautier. Although there are some hi...