"I really am. And I'm delighted to have been the first composer the group has commissioned.

"They are all sensational players. I only hope they will enjoy playing it!"

Indications are that the ensemble is equally delighted with the piece and will not find it a chore playing it on next season's Around the Country tour in whatever permutation of instruments.

An important remit for the work was that it could be adapted for fewer instruments if a venue could not accommodate 11 musicians, making it something of a logistical nightmare to write.

The composer says: "It was difficult planning it certainly but, once I came up with an overall plan, it was a satisfying challenge to write the music."

Just into his early 30s, Welsh-born Huw is much in demand as a composer. He works for such noted groups as the Nash Ensemble and Belcea Quartet and is equally sought-after as a pianist.

He was at Chetham's at the same time as Ensemble 360 pianist Tim Horton and has known clarinetist Matt Hunt for a while, although he can't remember when they first met.

So what can we expect with his new work of around 20 minutes duration?

"There are four movements: Lament for piano and all the strings; Study for wind quintet; Sicilienne for oboe and string trio; and Finale for everyone. Each movement is linked to its predecessor by a brief interlude using all the instruments.

"I wanted the interludes to bind together what could well have been a very disconnected piece. So there is a lively fanfare-like theme, heard first in unison flute, clarinet and oboe, that is in all the interludes and creeps into the movements, sometimes obviously, sometimes under the surface."

It sounds tonal?

"I wouldn't describe it as atonal! It ends quite unambiguously in E major but there is room along the way for dissonance, as well as triads (three-note chords)."