Yes, I remember Adlestrop – The name, because one afternoon Of heat the express-train drew up there Unwontedly. It was late June.

These are the opening lines of one of the most evocative poems about rural Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire at the early years of the last century, in which Edward Thomas captures the essence of tiny corner of England, apparently untouched by the horrors of the war raging across the Channel.

Now the poem is being given a new lease of life by composer Phillip Cooke, a junior research fellow at The Queen’s College, who wanted to create what he calls “a rhapsody on a theme of quaint English country life, the kind of life men went to war to preserve”. The result was Invocation, a ten-minute piece scored for choir and solo trumpet, which will be given its world premiere next week by the Choir of The Queen’s College as part of its annual summer concert.

“The whole piece is like an English elegy,” he says. “I wanted to do something that was to do with the mythical ‘middle-England’ — cricket on the green, warm beer, all these kinds of things. The idea of birds singing, and the fact that this train is pulling up in the middle of nowhere, just to see a sultry warm day, is very evocative.

“I came across this poem a while ago and thought it was perfect, not least because it was themed around the summer, but also because I live in Oxford and have lived in Gloucestershire, so the mixture of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire seemed just right for the occasion.”

Poignantly, Thomas was killed in action in 1917, shortly after writing the poem, and Phillip has reflected this in his use of the solo trumpet. “I thought the trumpet seemed an appropriate instrument, with all the resonances of the military world.

“It’s through-composed, with the choir singing sections of the poem and then the trumpet doing solo commentaries. The two don’t actually play together until the final verse of the poem, which is: And for that minute a blackbird sang Close by, and round him, mistier, Farther and farther, all the birds Of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.

“There’s also a solo soprano singing offstage, which adds another voice to the mix. To have another, ethereal voice, perhaps as a replication of a bird or something, seemed like a good idea.”

How long, I wondered, does it take Phillip to write a piece like Invocation? “Well, it took a long time for the idea to gestate. I’ve known I was doing the piece since June last year, but I only started it in March, and I finished it in six weeks. But there had been a lot of planning and long walks, trying to get inspiration. We had our first daughter in July last year, so time is at a premium!”

Since coming to Queen’s three years ago, Phillip – who is originally from Penrith in the Lake District – has expanded his repertoire of chamber and orchestral pieces to include choral works. “Before coming here I hadn’t written a single piece of choral music. I had written academic articles about choral composers, but when I got here, there was a suggestion that I should write something for the choir.

“It’s been really nice working with the choir, and it’s been good for my composing career, because I’ve started to have pieces played throughout the country, in cathedrals and churches and other colleges. That all stems from my work here.”

When I met Phillip, he had just had a new motet performed at the Temple Church in London, as part of the London Festival of Contemporary Church Music, and he has also written for the Lake District Summer Festival, the choirs of Gloucester Cathedral and St Paul’s Cathedral, and the Galliard Ensemble.

Not bad for someone who, by his own admission, didn’t do particularly well at his piano lessons as a five-year-old, and gave it all up to play football. But, aged 16, music once more beckoned, and he went on to study at Durham, Manchester and Cardiff universities, collecting a BA, Masters and PhD along the way. “I don’t come from a family of classical music enthusiasts,” he says. “It was really something I came to myself.”

His family are supportive, though, and will be coming to hear his premiere at Queen’s. “It’s always a nice occasion to bring them here, so it’ll be a nice day, and hopefully it’ll be a good performance, and something to remember.”

Music for a Summer’s Evening is on June 12 and will include the premiere of Invocation alongside works by Eric Whitacre and James Macmillan. Tickets include two glasses of wine. Booking and enquiries: 01865 279125 or email anne.bevan@queens.ox.ac.uk