Local composer Malcolm McCaffery's musical tribute to the late Jonathan "Jono" Neilson is now available across all streaming platforms.
Born out of an emotional reaction to tragic news, "Jono's Theme" is a celebration of Jono's life and captures the emotional journey of grieving a loved one.
Having a strong connection to Jono, his wife Jayne and the Fiddlesticks Performing Arts family, Malcolm said he began composing the piece almost immediately after hearing the news that Jono had died.

"This piece poured out of me the moment I heard the news, it was a way of honouring someone who meant so much to our community," Malcolm said.
"I remember when I got the message. Our family was just about to perform in our first professional-level concert, Jayne was meant to be playing violin with us. Then I got a message from her, 'sorry I can't make it. Jono has suddenly passed'."
"It felt unreal. This family had brought us so much joy and inspiration and contributed so much to our community. I went straight to the piano, and the first draft of "Jono's Theme" came within hours. It just poured out. I sent a demo to Jayne, she said she loved it, and asked me to play it at the memorial service."
Channelling his emotions into something beautiful, Malcolm focused on central musical themes to capture Jono's personality and the journey of grief.
"Part of my composition lessons was learning how composers take a tiny idea, expand it and make so much out of it," Malcolm explained. "That's why there's some very small ideas (in this piece) that are repeated and just changed slightly to make the full piece."
"The first theme, I call it a "love theme", it's representing what Jono loves and the love we have for him. Then we go into a reflective theme, I call it the "we miss you theme", it's very slow and somber."
From there, the piece then moves into a joyful, up-tempo variation of the initial "love theme", which Malcolm described as a "celebration of Jono's vibrant life". The final theme in the piece is a repeat of the "we miss you" theme, serving as a farewell.
At Jono's memorial service, "Jono's Theme" was performed by internationally acclaimed pianist Timofei Kazantsev. Malcolm said Timofei brought an "extraordinary depth and sensitivity to the work".
"I gave him a brief on what it was about and how to interpret it, and he just did it so perfectly," he said.
For Malcolm, the release of "Jono's Theme" was a significant moment in his musical career.
"I've actually been writing music for more than 30 years but (I've) never finished anything," he said.
"It's sort of sad that it's taken a tragedy, (to release my first piece) but Jayne has always been so encouraging of my composition."
"Jono's Theme" is available to stream across all music streaming platforms under the artist name "Malcolm McCaffery".