A poet, librettist and composer from Dorset says he was 'gobsmacked' by news that one of his compositions will feature at a commemoration of the Boston Marathon bombings.

Ben Kaye's musical and lyric works tend to focus on themes of violence, persecution and war - but also the human qualities of courage and resilience that shine through the darkness.

His work 'Hope' was featured at a special concert last weekend (Saturday, April 14), entitled 'Five Years Later: Songs of Hope and Resilience'. The concert marked five years since the bombings at the Boston Marathon of 2013, when two explosions killed three people and maimed dozens of others.

'Hope', a collaboration with US composer the Reverend CG 'Sonny' Walden, is based on a painting of the same name by painter GF Watts, a Symbolist of the Victorian era; the painting was once named by former US President Barack Obama as his favourite work of art.

Mr Kaye, who was born in Swanage and now lives in North Dorset, said: “The news came completely out of the blue and I was both shocked and deeply honoured.

"Sonny and I created this piece in 2016 and it was premiered in 2017 at the G.F. Watts Gallery in Compton, Surrey, as part of the 200th anniversary of Watts’ birth. It was a wonderful experience, but to be honest since then I have moved on to a new opera, so had pretty much forgotten about it. To hear that it would be featured in Boston left me utterly gobsmacked.”

Mr Kaye has previously broached demanding subjects in his works. For his oratorio 'Eternal Voices', a piece commissioned by the Royal Marines, he spent six months with the families of Marines killed or mutilated by roadside bombs in Afghanistan. The oratorio premiered at Exeter Cathedral before further performances at other major UK cathedrals.

His following work, 'The Farthest Shore', explored the terrible plight of refugees fleeing war, violence and persecution, and received a live international BBC broadcast before further performances in the UK, Canada and the US.

He then wrote the libretto for the opera Anya17, with music by Professor Adam Gorb. The opera was credited with being the first written to expose human trafficking, and received praised from both Houses of Parliament as well as the prime minister's officer.

Mr Kaye's next work is 'The Path to Heaven', an opera concerning the Holocaust; the piece will see its premiere this June at opera houses in Leeds and Manchester.