"Through the story of one exceptional, wheelchair-bound, young Kurdish refugee from Aleppo, Nujeen Mustafa, I feel I can begin to understand some of the terror, the distress and helplessness experienced by those driven from their homes by the horror of war. As composer I felt it important for the music not to obscure the text in any way, but to allow the words to tell the story, from despair, through hope and ultimately (and surprisingly) joy." (Cecilia McDowall, composer) Born in London, 1951, Cecilia McDowall has won many awards and been eight times short-listed for the British Composer Awards. In 2014 she won the British Composer Award for Choral Music. Much of McDowall's choral music is performed worldwide, as well as her orchestral music.