A KILWINNING composer has been knighted as part of the Queen’s Birthday Honours.

James MacMillan received the honour for his services to music.

The 55-year-old’s music is performed across the globe not only by major orchestras but church and community choirs.

After studying music at Edinburgh and Durham Universities, James worked as a music lecturer at Manchester University before returning to Scotland to settle in Glasgow.

It was in 1990 that he kicked off his composing career and his 1992 percussion concerto Veni, Veni, Emmanuel has been performed almost 500 times.

James’ Scottish roots are at the forefront of his music while the festival he curates - The Cumnock Tryst - aims to bring active music-making back to Ayrshire. In a statement released after the announcement, James revealed his joy at receiving the honour.

He said: “I am totally delighted to receive this honour. I am especially pleased that the world of music, and contemporary composition in particular, will receive greater focus and recognition as a result.

“I feel encouraged and re-energised in my commitments in these fields and especially in my work with the new festival in Ayrshire, The Cumnock Tryst.” One of James’ compositions included a choral piece which was sung at a mass conducted by Pope Benedict XVI at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow in 2010.

In the last decade, James has completed commisions for a number of major orchestras and productions including the New York City Ballet, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, BBC Proms and the London Symphony Orchestra.

Plans for the next Cumnock Tryst festival, which takes place in October, are due to be revealed this week.