www.scottishmusiccentre.com
Composers’ Digest Spring 2011
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CONTENTS
WELCOME
Welcome
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Sibelius Workshops and Richard Craig: Inward
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ecat: Myth & Ritual
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PLUG Festival
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Cryptic Nights: Inducer
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Red Note Ensemble: Infinito Nero
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Kronos in Glasgow
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Musical Bites
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Performance Details
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Calls for Scores
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Celebrations
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In the News
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Next Issue
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Welcome to the Spring 2011 edition of our Composers’ Digest. I hope you find it an interesting and enlightening read! I would like to take the opportunity of this introduction to extend my thanks on behalf of all at the Centre for your numerous contributions over the past two months. We have had encouraging responses from some heads of the national companies, Chamber Music Forum Ensembles and even soloists with regards future performances of your work, and I am delighted to announce that we received in excess of 200 suggested recordings for the EMI Library, sample copies of which will be sent on Friday 8th April. As always, we would urge you to be pro-active in this respect and would particularly like to highlight the current volume of composition competitions, a selection of which are included in this issue, with a record breaking 32 listed on our website. If you have any enquiries regarding the opportunities we frequently sign post, please do not hesitate to get in touch – all of the staff are more than happy to advise. Finally, we would like to wish you the best of luck with any approaching submissions and do keep us up to date with the results! Christopher Glasgow Digest Administrator
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SIBELIUS WORKSHOPS
ECAT: MYTH & RITUAL
The Scottish Music Centre presents a summer course led by composer Timothy Cooper. The course will deal with many aspects of composition utilising Sibelius software, covering the very basics of note input through to more advanced tools for laying out scores and parts in a professional manner. Through the sessions Tim will work with the students to make short compositional 'postcards' that can either stand alone or become the germ for longer pieces developed through their standard grade & higher classes.
Edinburgh Contemporary Arts Trust (ecat) will be highlighting the work of composer member John McLeod in the final concert of its season.
Following this, we plan to host similar workshops for our composer members. Please contact keith@scottishmusiccentre.com or call 0141 552 5222 to reserve a free space.
RICHARD CRAIG: INWARD Richard Craig performs a solo programme to release his new disc, INWARD. Defying the limitations of the flute and extending the boundaries, this concert will feature the legendary Unity Capsule by Brian Ferneyhough, as well as works by Sciarrino, Karski, Croft and Bång on flute, bass flute and alto flute. Tuesday 5th April; CCA, Glasgow http://www.cca-glasgow.com
The concert will feature the Scottish première of McLeod’s Thrashing the Sea God – a little Chinese opera for solo percussion in which the player, dressed as a principal soprano of the Imperial Chinese Opera of Canton, sings and plays his/her way through the colourful story. Star percussionist Joby Burgess will be the soloist in this unusual work which will fill the stage with an array of exotic instruments. Also featured in the programme is the world première of McLeod’s The Song of Leda played by Robin Michael (cello) and Peter Evans (piano). This is the fourth work in an ongoing series of pieces reflecting the composer’s life-long interest in classical mythology. Investment from Creative Scotland and the Hope Scott Trust has allowed McLeod to explore and develop new technical possibilities for this instrumental duo. This fascinating concert entitled Myth & Ritual will also feature music by Claude Vivier and Walter Zimmermann. Wednesday 27th April; Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh http://www.ecat.org.uk
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PLUG FESTIVAL
CRYPTIC NIGHTS: INDUCER
PLUG I - Tuesday 3rd May, 1pm: New Music for Clarinets including Reed Talk by Rory Boyle.
Cryptic’s multi-disciplinary platform for emerging artists ventures into new, larger, more ambitious, site specific and bi-monthly territories in 2011, providing artists with a supportive and nurturing environment to realise some of their most ambitious artistic visions yet.
PLUG II - Tuesday 3rd May: Liderbuch I. PLUG III - Tuesday 3rd May, 7.30pm: Music Lab play new works for ensemble and dancers, including the winning work in the Craig Armstrong competition. th
PLUG IV - Wednesday 4 May: Liderbuch II . PLUG V - Wednesday 4th May, 1pm: Style in Performance: new works for ensemble, performed by the 3rd year students at the RSAMD. th
PLUG VI - Wednesday 4 May, 7.30pm: Music Lab perform new works for ensemble and big band. PLUG VII - Thursday 5th May, 7.30pm: New music for instruments and live electronics. PLUG VIII - Friday 6th May, 1pm: Performances of the winning works from the Dinah Wolfe competition, alongside some works by John Maxwell Geddes.
Inducer unleashes this new direction… Taking inspiration from the psychological anomaly Folie à deux (shared delusional psychosis), Inducer is an immersive, animated environment where musicians and sound sculptures merge into the unsettling realms of the unreal. Creating sonic shivers, pelvic quivers and suffocating skittish shadows, Inducer is a new work for Cryptic Nights by Glasgow-based artist Robbie Thomson. Joined by Sarah Milne and Jack Wrigley, Thomson’s Inducer fuses kinetic sculpture, musical instrument design and costume to create an off-kilter, curious and peculiar world which promises to delight, disarm and disorientate in equal measure. Thursday 5th – Saturday 7th May; CCA, Glasgow http://www.crypticnights.org.uk
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PLUG IX - Friday 6 May, 7.30pm: Red Note and Music Lab perform new works for large ensemble. PLUG X - Saturday 7th May, 7.30pm, PLUG at the BBC: Music Lab perform new works, conducted by Ilan Volkov, in the Old Fruitmarket. http://www.rsamd.ac.uk Featured Work: Inducer
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RED NOTE ENSEMBLE: INFINITO NERO
KRONOS IN GLASGOW
Red Note continues on its bold path, presenting rarelyheard classics of international new music alongside new work by UK composers on its regular Scottish tours. Here, Italian composer Salvatore Sciarrino’s extraordinary and disturbing Infinito Nero, an “ecstasy in one act” based on the evocative visions of the early seventeenth-century mystic St Maria Maddalena de’ Pazzi, rides alongside a new Red Note commission by composer member and viola player Carolyn Sparey, in concert with other classic works by Sciarrino and fellow Italian Luciano Berio.
Over the last 30 years, the Kronos Quartet has constantly challenged the boundaries and conventions of classical music. The quartet line-up Haydn and Mozart knew is constantly put to the service of new work, drawing on the passions and encyclopaedic knowledge of Artistic Director, David Harrington.
The players of the Red Note Ensemble will be directed on this tour by international Scottish conducting star Garry Walker, and joined by mezzo-soprano Angela Tunstall, world-class contemporary performer and long-time artistic collaborator of Karlheinz Stockhausen. th
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Wednesday 11 – Saturday 14 May; Woodend Barn, Banchory; Greyfriars Kirk, Edinburgh; RSAMD, Glasgow; Tolbooth, Stirling
From collaborations in their American homeland with composers such as Adams, Reich, Crumb and Glass, they have ventured far to work with musicians of many traditions and nations. In May 2011, Glasgow’s Concert Halls welcome them for a long weekend of music featuring new work by Steve Reich, one or two of those international collaborations, one of their famous family concerts and more... Thursday 12th – Sunday 15th May; Various Venues http://www.glasgowconcerthalls.com/kronos-quartet
http://www.rednoteensemble.com
Featured Ensemble: Kronos Quartet
Featured Work: Infinito Nero
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MUSICAL BITES
PERFORMANCE DETAILS
Gareth Clemson: The composer’s Helicon Roundelay received its first performance on Saturday 26th February at the Edinburgh Society of Musicians, performed by Salvatore Tomasino (clarinet), Beverly Gray (cello) and John Willmett (piano). Robert Crawford: Métier’s latest release (February 2011) features the work of Robert Crawford alongside that of John Veale (1922 – 2006). Crawford’s Clarinet Quintet (1992) is beautifully played by Linda Merrick with the Adderbury Ensemble who are then joined by John Turner for the Elegiac Quintet in memory of Robin Orr. Orr returned to Scotland in 1956 as Gardiner Professor of Music at The University of Glasgow and commissioned Crawford’s String Quartet No.2 the following year under the terms of the McEwen Bequest. This quartet is included with No.1 (1949) and No.3 (2008) on Delphian’s forthcoming release with The Edinburgh Quartet and, in celebration of the 60 year span covered by these works, the composer’s fourth quartet was completed on 10th December 2010, his 86th year. Also included on the above Métier release is the piece originally written for Recorder and Viola, but now adapted for Recorder and Clarinet, Three Two-part Inventions, which are played, by John Turner and Linda Merrick.
Whilst our main site details the vast majority of up and coming concerts within Scotland across all musical genres, we would particularly like to highlight those featuring Scottish Composers over the next two months. Since the launch of our first issue, the number of forthcoming events catalogued has tripled, so please continue to keep us updated. Numerous listings have also been contributed from Chamber Music Forum and Enterprise Music Scotland. Tuesday 5th – Saturday 10th April; Perth Concert Hall; Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh; Eden Court, Inverness; Marryat Hall, Dundee; Queen’s Cross Church, Aberdeen; The City Halls, Glasgow Scottish Ensemble with Guest Director Anthony Marwood Featured Composer: Janetta Gould Work: Stringmusic Saturday 10th April; Synagogue Ermreuth, Neunkirchen: Radek Szarek and Stefan Grasse Featured Composer: John Maxwell Geddes Work: Before Winter Winds Saturday 16th April; Linlithgow Primary School: Linlithgow Arts Guild and Enterprise Music Scotland present: The Scottish Reed Trio Featured Composer: Oliver Searle Work: Dalriada
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Saturday 16th – Monday 18th April; Perth Concert Hall; Greyfriars Kirk, Edinburgh; City Halls, Glasgow:
Thursday 28th and Saturday 30th April, Sunday 1st, Monday 2nd, Saturday 7th and Saturday 28th May; 13th Note, Glasgow; Thornhill Blues Festival, by Dumfries; The Puzzle Hall Festival, Sowerby Bridge; Yorkshire Blues Festival, Rotherham; Moulin Blues Festival, Ospel, Holland; Kintyre Songwriters’ Festival, Cambeltown:
NYOS Camerata, David Hubbard and Tecwyn Evans Featured Composer: Rory Boyle Work: That Blessed Wood * Sunday 17th April; Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh: The Artisan Trio with Peter Furniss and Alec Frank-Gemmill Featured Composers: Kenneth Leighton and Nigel Osborne Work: Clarinet Trio and Clarinet Quintet ‘Ulysses’ * Tuesday 19th April; eScience Institute, Edinburgh: Music in KB presents: The Edinburgh Quartet Featured Composer: Julian Wagstaff Work: Music at Extreme Conditions Wednesday 20th April; Café Mono, Glasgow: The Expedition Featured Composer: Richard Greer Work: Orion’s Belt Wednesday 20th – 21st April; Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh: Mr McFall’s Chamber present: The Okavango MacBeth Featured Composer: Tom Cunningham Monday 25th April; Perth Concert Hall: Hebrides Ensemble Featured Composer: Helen Grime Work: Into the Faded Air
Buzz Records present: Devil’s Left Hand Tour Featured Composer: Dave Arcari Saturday 7th May; St Bride’s Church, Glasgow: Daniel’s Beard Featured Composer: John Maxwell Geddes Friday 13th May; St Giles Church, Cambridge: Deborah Fink, Emily White and Steve Bingham Featured Composer: David Ward Work: e-mails from Palestine (1) Saturday 14th May; Freies Musikzentrum München, Munich Stefan Grasse Trio Featured Composer: John Maxwell Geddes Work: Three Bavarian Dances Tuesday 24th May; Tage de neue Musik, Nuremberg Quintet Vierplussein Featured Composer: John Maxwell Geddes * Premières
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CALLS FOR SCORES We continually endeavour to feature the majority of worldwide music competitions and calls for scores on our website. Although these frequently apply to music students and/or recent graduates, many of our posts cater for our entire composing membership: International Composer Pyramid Deadline: 15th April 2011 This three-year project presents applicants with the opportunity to be mentored in composition and rehearse with ensembles, as well as have their works performed in both France and the UK in leading contemporary music events. Franz Schubert and Modern Music Deadline: 30th April 2011
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West End Festival Deadline: 12th May 2011 Following last year’s highly successful inaugural competition, which saw Daniel’s Beard première winning works by Michael Shearer and David Thomas Duncan, submissions are now invited for the 2011 festival. The winning piece will be performed by Scotland’s pioneering contemporary music ensemble, Red Note, in The Cottier Theatre at 8pm on Saturday 4th June, alongside works by Ligeti, composer member William Sweeney and others. Polyphonos Deadline: 15th May 2011 The Esoterics’ International call for a cappella choral scores is set to encourage composers to broaden the medium with poetry, philosophy and spiritual writings from around the world.
Presented by the University of Music and Performing Arts, Graz, this chamber music competition calls for scores in the discipline of Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano. Saltire Society Deadline: 6th May 2011 This Composition Award aims to encourage young composers to produce a two or more part setting of a Scottish song in traditional style, or a new setting of a Scottish song or poem.
Featured Venue: The Cottier Theatre
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BBC Proms
Música Viva
Deadline: 27th May 2011
Deadline: 31st May 2011
The BBC Proms Inspire scheme, provides young people, aged 12 – 18, with a unique opportunity to have their music performed by professional musicians, heard at the BBC Proms and broadcast on Radio 3.
Miso Music Portugal and the Música Viva Festival 2011 invites composers to send electroacoustic miniatures to be diffused at the Sound Walk installation during the Música Viva Festival 2011 from the 9th - 17th of September 2011 at the Belem Arts Centre in Lisbon.
The University of Aberdeen Deadline: 27th May 2011 The University of Aberdeen Music Prize, a collaboration between the University of Aberdeen and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, has earned a reputation as one of the most prestigious contemporary composition prizes across the globe.
Settimane Muscali di Stresa Deadline: 1st June 2011 This 5th International competition calls for unpublished orchestral scores lasting between 8 and 12 minutes. http://www.scottishmusiccentre.com/competitions
Shipley Arts Festival Deadline: 30th May 2011 The 2011 Shipley Arts Festival Composition Competition is open to composers of any age or nationality and works written in any style or idiom are acceptable. Featured Event: BBC Proms
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CELEBRATIONS The Scottish Music Centre would like to acknowledge the following Composer Anniversaries for Spring 2011: Craig Armstrong, Ronald Center, John Maxwell Geddes, Thea Musgrave and Judith Weir In celebration of John McLeod’s approaching première, we thought it was only fitting that he should feature as our third guest for the Composer Podcast, available on the Scottish Music Centre homepage from 4th April. Composer Profile: For over 30 years John McLeod has been at the forefront of contemporary Scottish music and is still one of the UK’s busiest and most prolific composers. Born and educated in Aberdeen, he has been resident in Edinburgh since 1970. He first studied clarinet at the Royal Academy of Music, London with Jack Brymer, Reginald Kell and Gervase de Peyer, but later changed direction and became a composition pupil of Sir Lennox Berkeley. Subsequently he came under the influence of Polish composer Witold Lutoslawski whom he knew and admired. Conducting studies were undertaken with Sir Adrian Boult. John has won important awards for his work including the prestigious Guinness Prize for British composers. In 1989 he was elected a Fellow of the RAM and in 2005 and 2010 was nominated for a British Composer Award. Renowned also as a teacher, he was Director of Music at Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh for eleven years before holding Lectureships at the RSAMD, RAM and Edinburgh Napier.
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Latterly he was Head of Composing for Film and TV at the London College of Music (Thames Valley University) and the Ida Carroll Research Fellow at the Royal Northern College of Music where he specialised in the works of Messiaen, Boulez and Birtwistle. His brilliantly coloured orchestral and vocal music has been commissioned, performed and recorded in many countries by leading orchestras including the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Hallé, the RSNO, the SCO (who made McLeod their Associate Composer from 1980-82), the Orchestra of the Staatstheater, Saarbrücken and the Nashville Symphony (USA). The BBC SSO has broadcast 12 of his major orchestral works over the years and in 2010 the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland achieved the 20th performance of a McLeod work by featuring The Gokstad Ship in their Edinburgh and Glasgow concerts. In 1994 he travelled to Poland to conduct the Polish Radio and TV Symphony Orchestra of Krakow in a CD of his orchestral music entitled Visions from the North. Soloists such as Evelyn Glennie, Colin Currie, Jane Manning, Benjamin Luxon, Raimund Gilvan, Peter Donohoe, Murray McLachlan, Sam Haywood and Mark Tanner have all performed his music and conductors including Sir Charles Groves, Sir Alexander Gibson, Neeme Jarvi, Janos Furst, Takuo Yuasa, Rumon Gamba, Gary Walker and a host of younger conductors have all included McLeod’s works in their programmes. His music has also been featured at international festivals including the London Proms, Edinburgh, Canterbury, Aberdeen’s ‘Sound’ Festival and St Magnus (Orkney). Most of his works have also
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been heard on BBC Radio 3, Classic FM, BBC TV and Channel 4. His compositions cover most musical genres – orchestral (including concertos for piano, percussion, clarinet, guitar and symphonic song-cycles), choral works, church music, songs, instrumental and chamber music as well as scores for film and TV. Described by The Scotsman as “a major force in contemporary Scottish music”, McLeod is the subject of a new article by Francis Morris in the latest Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. To hear about John’s most recent and forthcoming highlights, be sure to tune into our podcast!
IN THE NEWS Below is a selection of key articles encompassing contemporary and classical music which have been published over the last two months. Full cuttings are located in the News section of our website. Distinguished conductor to receive honorary doctorate at the RSAMD Leading violinist gets top role at RSNO Iain hits 'write' notes for composing award Paragon Ensemble mark 30th anniversary by showcasing recent collaborations Faust screened with new score by Alex Smoke Anna Meredith centre stage for orchestral manoeuvres Five years, 137 shows… one masterpiece. What next for the National Theatre of Scotland?
Featured Composer: John McLeod
Glasgow Games in 'legacy' youth opera Cultural venues awarded £1m funding boost Behind the scenes of Let's Get Lyrical Dame Evelyn Glennie, the deaf percussionist who listens with her whole body
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NEXT ISSUE A new Scottish concerto, dressed up and dreamy Glasgow second only to London for culture in UK
June 2011
Tea and Symphony: Bringing classical music to Easterhouse Science and music collide in new piece by Scottish Composer http://www.scottishmusiccentre.com/news
Featured Performer: Dame Evelyn Glennie
Composer Members: David Dorward, Robert Crawford, William Wordsworth, Shaun Dillon, Thomas Wilson and John Maxwell Geddes
If you would like any material published on our website or in our next edition, please contact our Digest Administrator: chris.glasgow@scottishmusiccentre.com
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