AN UP-AND-COMING composer is flying back to York from Dubai this weekend to hear a world premiere of her latest work at the Barbican.

Joanna Marsh, who once played violin with York’s Guildhall Orchestra, as well as being a teacher and organist at St Peter’s School, has been living in Dubai since 2007.

Now the orchestra, performing its second concert at the Barbican since it re-opened last year, will play a piece she has composed, called Kuhayla, which is inspired by the tallest building in the world – the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

Orchestra conductor Simon Wright said the work would be performed twice, once before the interval and again just afterwards.

He said Joanna’s experience of the Middle East had informed many of her recent compositions, including the fanfare The Falcon And The Lion, commissioned for the Queen’s visit to Abu Dhabi in November 2010.

Previous premieres of her work had included Toccata for the Lisbon Bach Festival, The Lament Of Giles Coren for soprano and quintet in London and a set of organ pieces, Four Musical Clocks, at Winchester Cathedral.

Joanna, who studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London and was an organ scholar at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, prior to moving to York to work at St Peter’s, has also composed the music for a short film called The Morse Collectors, which won prizes at seven international film festivals.

Mr Wright said Saturday evening’s concert would be a mixture of the Orient and the European.

“Mozart’s witty evocation of a Turkish Harem is followed by Grieg’s incidental music to Ibsen’s play Peer Gynt and Dvorák’s Scherzo Capriccioso, which take us to Norwegian fjords and to Czech Bohemia,” he said.

“Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite includes the famous tunes of Morning and In The Hall Of The Mountain King. The second half features Brahms’ wonderful 1st Symphony.”

He said tickets were available from the Barbican box office by phoning 0844 854 2757 or going to yorkbarbican.co.uk

Tickets would also be on sale at the Barbican on the night.