Christmas Concert 2022

Christmas Concert

19th December 2022 7:30pm The Parish Church of St Cuthbert, Edinburgh

Welcome

Welcome to the St Mary’s Music School Christmas Concert, here at the Parish Church of St Cuthbert, in our 50th Anniversary Year.

This session, our Acting Director of Music, John Cameron, has been working with our pupils to encourage ‘self-direction’; planning activities so that more responsibility is given to our pupils in shaping the collaborative work they do in school.

You will experience some of that leadership this evening: the orchestra will self-direct their performance of movements from Haydn’s Symphony No.56 and Depute Head of School, Daisy Richards will lead the Senior String Ensemble from the solo viola role in Paul Hindemith’s Trauermusik. Elsewhere there is a wide variety of music making from our pupils, choristers and instrumentalists alike, and we trust you will enjoy their performances tonight.

Our Seven Hills Project, under the stewardship of Head of Strings Valerie Pearson, has gone from strength to strength and is now focused on the sixth of the seven hills of Edinburgh. Tonight, you will hear Simon David Smith’s A Shared Mystery which is inspired by Corstorphine Hill and the associated poem by Alexander McCall Smith.

Our Chorister Pupils have been even busier than usual this term. In association with the Traverse Theatre, they gave two performances of The Covid Requiem, have recorded a Christmas Broadcast and have staged both a ‘Come and Sing’ Messiah and a ‘Come and Sing’ Carols Event for children We are looking forward to their programme of Christmas Services in the days ahead

Looking further forward, our 50th Anniversary Concert will be staged at The Queen’s Hall on 26th June 2023 Pupils past and present will be joining forces to present an exciting programme of orchestral and choral music. This will include a new commission for flute, chorus and orchestra from our VicePresident Sir James MacMillan.

From everyone at St Mary’s Music School, we wish you a happy Christmas holiday and we very much hope you enjoy your evening with us.

Tonight's Performers

S6Ext

Karyna Avalian

Joshua Gill

Anias Kroeger

S6

Kirsty Grant John Hall

Robert Johnston

Yonina Liss Carlo Massimo Liam Meunier Leo McDonald Daisy Richards Merryn Stephenson Beau Taneus-Miller

S5

Victor Dutor Davidson Joel Gutierrez Oliver Hagmann Finn Hart-Brown Alexander Kwon Calum Landon Hester Parkin India Reilly

S4

Olivia Massimo Beata McGhee

Viktor Seifert Benjamin Thomas

S3

Kristina Avalian

Freddy Beeston

Alasdair Cottee William Guo Michelle Huang

S2

Noa Arranz Diya Eddleston Nicholas Howard Connie Huang Lara Iona Johnston Katie McLeod Ethan Reilly Harper Reilly Klara Seifert Jake Thomson

S1 Beatrice Elliot Shionka Kamikaji-Inkster

Elizabeth Levins Carina Mackie Paul Oggier Summer Xie

P7

Daniel Cairney Joseph Cao Rose Duffy Zusanna Dul Sylvester Maschi Mateo McWilliams Gomez Sophie Guo Kirsty Olu-Audu Mike Sun Suri Tang Emily Yang

P6

Lily Grabsztunowicz

P5

Renata Dalla Costa Cynthia Huang Connie Kong Staff Christian Elliott Valerie Pearson Fraser Kelman

St Mary's Music School Christmas Concert 2022 Programme

The Choristers of St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedr

Conducted by Duncan Ferguson, Master of the Music at St Mary's Cat Imogen Morgan, Organ

The Blessed Virgin’s Cradle Song

Slumber in thy manger, Jesu, child divine, Slumbe Lord of heaven, with the lowly kine, while th love shall be thy cradle, love shall hush thy cry, Poor th love, the love of mother, love thy lullaby love, th

Slumber in thy manger, thoug and the darkness hide thee, h though thy God forsake thee, love, the love of mother, love t

Junior Strings

Orchestra preparation - Anne Giles Christmas Concerto i - Vivace – Grave - Allegro

String Ensemble

Directed by Daisy Richards (S6), viola Trauermusik for Viola & Strings i - Langsam ii - Ruhig bewegt iii- Lebhaft iv- Choral :"Für deinen Thron tret ich hiermit"

Early Music Group

Directed by Hilary Michael, violin Trio Sonata in B Minor, HWV 386b i - Andante - ii - Allegro

Alasdair Cottee, oboe, Beau Taneus-Miller, cello Beata McGhee, violin, India Reilly, violin

Junior & Senior Choirs

Choir preparation - Kate Aitken, Carlo Massimo & John Cameron The Road Home Stephen Paulus Earth Song Frank Ticheli Sanctus (London) Ola Gjeilo

The Seven Hills Project - Corstorphine Hill Commission A Shared Mystery

John Hall, soprano saxophone, Robert Johnston, horn, Carlo Massimo, organ, Joel Gutierrez, piano, Kirsty Grant, accordion, Daisy Richards, viola, Beau Tanneus-Miller, cello.

Corstorphine Hill

(Corstorphine Hill is thought to have inspired Kidnapped

Mull, Glencoe, Rannoch Moor, Were the earlier stages Of a walk ending here With a simple handshake, As Alan Breck Stewart Left David Balfour; Stevenson is so real We might almost believe That it happened.

Corstorphine Hill surveys

A city rich in all The things that he admired; From his bed of sickness Young RLS looked out,

Saw Leerie light his lamp, Saw shadows in the night, Dreamed of adventurous Escape, of flight.

Drawn to this hill, he let His imagination People it with heroes, Saw David Balfour off On his perilous way, Even now, so many Years from that narrative, The tree-girt hill invites Shared mystery.

Senior Orchestra

Leader: India Reilly (S5)

Symphony no 56 i – Allegro di molto ii – Adagio

For augmented programme content click here.

F. J. Haydn

Simon David Smith

by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Alexander McCall Smith

Programme Notes

Corelli–ConcertoGrossoop.6,no.8“ChristmasConcerto”

NoaArranzS2

Developedinthelateseventeenthcentury,theconcertogrosso,aforminwhichtwogroups of different sizes are combined, came to prominence through the compositions of ArcangeloCorelli(1653–1713)

TheConcertoGrossoop6,no8waspublishedin1714aspartofhisTwelveConcertiGrossi op6 commissioned by Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni The concerto bears the inscription “Made forthenightofChristmas”(hencethenickname).Unfortunately,Corellipassedawayonthe 8thofJanuary1713,soheneversawthedebut.

Hindemith–Trauermusik

DaisyRichardsS6

Paul Hindemith, the German violist, composer and conductor, wrote Trauermusik in memory of King George 5th on the 21st January 1936. King George had died the previous nightfollowingalongperiodoffailinghealth.

Hindemith was due to perform a concert with the BBC Symphony Orchestra of his own concerto,“DerSchwanendreher”but,followingthenewsofKingGeorge’sdeath,theconcert was cancelled. The following day Hindemith composed Trauermusik, scored for solo viola andstringsinapproximatelysixhoursandwastransmittedlaterthatsameeveninginalive broadcastfromaBBCradiostudiowithSirAdrianBoultconductingandHindemithhimself asthesoloist

The piece translates to “Mourning Music” or “Funeral Music” and contains quotations from Hindemith's previous compositions “Symphony: Mathis der Maler” and his viola concerto “DerSchwanendreher”

Handel - Trio Sonata in B minor, HWV 386b

Hilary Michael

First written between 1717 and 1719, Handel’s six Trio Sonatas (HWV 386-391) were only available to those in the know until they were officially published in 1733. These sonatas are composed in the ‘slow/fast/slow/fast’ mode of the Italian Sonata da Chiesa (church sonata) and strongly reflect a style of composition made very popular in the 1680s by Arcangelo Corelli, and are originally scored for two violins (or two oboes or two flutes) and basso continuo. They are particularly fun to play, with many unexpected twists, turns and splashy dissonances that characterise so much of Handel’s vivid music.

Haydn Symphony No.56

Olivia Massimo S4

This piece was written in 1774, during Franz Joseph Haydn’s employment as ‘Royal Conductor’ to Prince Nikolaus Esterházy I. Therefore, this work was heavily influenced by the needs and wants of his employer and guests, for although Haydn was given relative creative freedom, he was also required to make his music pleasant and palatable for court settings. In addition, he had to make do with the instruments and players supplied to him: his court orchestra at first being comprised of 14 musicians; first and second violins, viola, cello, bass, two oboes, two horns and a bassoon (these were the standard instruments of 1750-1800). As for the other instrumentsclarinets and flutes would only appear in Esterháza later, whereas trumpets and kettle drums were only used on festive occasions.

The Road Home –Stephen Paulus

Tell me, where is the road I can call my own That I left, that I lost So long ago

All these years I have wandered Oh, when will I know There's a way, there's a road That will lead me home

After wind, after rain When the dark is done As I wake from a dream In the gold of day

Earth Song – Frank Ticheli

Sing, Be, Live, See This dark stormy hour, The wind, it stirs The scorched earth Cries out in vain: O war and power, You blind and blur, The torn heart Cries out in pain. But music and singing Have been my refuge, And music and singing Shall be my light A light of song Shining Strong: Allelulia! Through darkness, pain, and strife, I'll Sing, Be, Live, See Peace

Through the air there's a calling

From far away

There's a voice I can hear That will lead me home Rise up, follow me Come away, is the call With the love in your heart As the only song There is no such beauty As where you belong Rise up, follow me I will lead you home

Sanctus (London) - Ola Gjeilo

Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth Pleni sunt cæli et terra gloria tua Hosanna in excelsis Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini Hosanna in excelsis.

(Holy, holy, holy Lord God of Hosts Hosanna in the highest Full are heaven and earth of glory thy Hosanna in the highest)

The Seven Hills Project

A Shared Mystery - Simon David Smith Corstorphine Hill

Interview with the Composer

Valerie Pearson: What was your relationship to Corstorphine Hill before you were commissioned to write a piece about it?

Simon David Smith: None whatsoever before and still none whatsoever now When I was told I would be writing about Corstorphine Hill, I asked everyone I knew what they thought about the hill, and all of them said “there's a zoo there” I thought about the zoo’s various cages of different animals around the hill and imagined different calls emanating from each one Garry Walker, the conductor, who lives near, or used to live near, the hill told me he heard the lions roaring at night That was quite interesting The one idea that survived into the piece from any of my initial thoughts was this; of hearing sounds from a distance Thinking about sound more generally, if you go up any hill in Edinburgh you hear all of the sounds from around the city from a distance; there are interesting soundscapes on the tops of hills These ideas planted the seed of the spatialisation idea I wanted to write a piece where anyone listening from a fixed spot would hear sounds moving around them.

VP: Can you describe the piece?

SDS: It has this background layer of music and over the top are a series of solos The organ is always in the background - it is the bedrock upon which the others sit The instruments which cannot move; the piano, accordion and the cello, mostly, are also part of the background, and then we have three solos played by horn, viola and cello. The instruments’ definitions and positions are a little bit flexible because players change roles throughout.

There are five continuous sections: I: Introduction, II: horn solo, III: viola solo, IV: cello solo, V: Chorale

The start of each section is signalled by the soprano saxophone, which, like the soloists, is in a remote position somewhere in the space By the final section all of the performers have moved to the central ensemble so that everyone is together for the short chorale that ends the piece There is no conductor, so everything is done by the players taking cues from each other, but there are almost no points of strict synchronisation The nonsoloists choose which musical material they wish to play at any given moment, from a choice of examples; so the piece is never likely to be the same twice. The title is taken from the last line of McCall Smith’s poem and hints at the mysterious operations the performers carry out. This aspect of the music – the secret theatre or the ritual of movement - if you're naturally not really given to abstract music; it gives you something else to engage with rather than just thinking: that's not a very nice tune.

It is a way to take your mind off the pressure to understand what the sounds mean It's got another front which can kind of seduce you. It’s no longer purely what it sounds like The two should work together

The Seven Hills Project

The Seven Hills Project is an initiative of St Mary's Music School to promote new music in Scotland, to celebrate music and creativity and, ultimately, to use creativity as a way of engaging young people with music In the lead up to St Mary’s Music School’s celebratory 50th anniversary concert at The Queen’s Hall in June 2023, the project was inspired by the School’s desire to celebrate the home of its musicmaking, Edinburgh, using the topography of its seven hills and the way they connect culture, community and heritage as its theme.

Alexander McCall Smith has written a collection of seven poems to reflect the characters of the seven hills of Edinburgh. Seven composers, all with links to the School, have each been commissioned to write a musical response to one of the hills and its corresponding poem. The project began in 2021 and five of the new ‘hill’ works have been premiered as part of the school’s end of term concerts, performed by pupils and professional musicians who teach at the school For more information please visit the St Mary's Music School website.

Biography

Simon David Smith was born in Northumberland, England in 1983 At St Mary's Music School in Edinburgh he studied piano with Richard Beauchampand composition withTom David Wilson. In Cambridge he studied composition with Jeremy ThurlowandGiles Swayne

As a pianist, he has performed many of the landmarks of the 20th-century repertoire and was described as “a phenomenon – nothing daunts him, technically or musically” (The Scotsman) after his performance of the completeEtudesof György Ligeti He has recorded many times for Delphian Records A two-disc set of the complete piano music ofAlfred Schnittke, released in 2013, was acclaimed as “compelling and utterly persuasive” (BBC Music Magazine) and praised for its “extraordinary sensitivity, detail and emotional commitment” (The Independent)

Simon also works professionally as an editor and music engraver, having produced scores for Boosey & Hawkes. For the Stockhausen-Verlag he has produced new editions ofMantrafor two pianos and the ten-player Soloists' Version ofMichaels Reise He was invited to take part as synthesizer player in the first performances of this version ofMichaels Reisein 25 years at the 2015 Stockhausen Courses Kürten, where he was also awarded first prize for hisinterpretation of Klavierstück XII. At the 2019 Courses he received the first prize for a performance ofKlavierstück XIII (Luzifers Traum)

Dr Valerie Pearson, Head of Strings

Photo credit K.K. Dundas

Forthcoming Events

For details and to book visit www.stmarysmusicschool.co.uk/Events For Cathedral services visit www.cathedral.net

St Andrew's & St George's West

Rush Hour Concert

January 16th 2023

St Mary's Music School

Be a Chorister Afternoon

February 3rd 2023

Stockbridge Parish Church

Lord Clyde Concerto Competition

February 10th 2023

St Mary's Music School

Instrumental Taster Day

February 26th 2023

Usher Hall, Edinburgh RSNO Showcase

March 3rd 2023

St Mary's Cathedral, Ednburgh

Spring Concert, Featuring the seventh & final instalment of the Seven Hills Project: The Castle Rock by David Horne. March 29th 2023

St Mary's Cathedral, Ednburgh

Directors' Recital Prize

June 13th 2023

Queen's Hall, Edinburgh

50th Anniversary Concert

June 26th 2023 www.stmarysmusicschool.co.uk/ENews

If you would like to receive regular updates and news of forthcoming events, register at

Celebrating 50 Years of Generosity

This academic year, St Mary's Music School celebrates its 50th year as an instrumental music school – that is half a century of nurturing, inspiring, coaching and empowering musically gifted children to be the musicians, composers, conductors and teachers of tomorrow.

It is thanks to the generosity of our supporters that we have reached this remarkable milestone and that we continue to thrive and grow and look with ambition to the future. We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported us over the last 50 years and for helping the School on our journey so far. We hope that you will continue to be part of the St Mary's Music School family and help to sustain our next 50 years of music-making.

To find out how you can play your part in the future of the School, or to discuss your support, please contact: Caroline Libberton, Fundraising Manager

Tel: 0131 538 7766

Email: clibberton@st-marys-music-school.co.uk Or visit our website at: www stmarysmusicschool co uk/support-us/

Facebook: @stmarysmusicschool Twitter: @stmarys music Instagram: @stmarys music LinkedIn: St Marys Music School

Join the conversation: St Mary's Music School Coates Hall. 25 Grosvenor Crescent Edinburgh, EH12 5EL T: 0131 538 7766

E: info@st-marys-music-school.co.uk W: www.stmarysmusicschool.co.uk

St Mary's Music School is a charity, number SC014611