Mix of blossoming talent and experience at castle venue

The Glamis Castle Musicale is an occasion which is quite unique. A black tie event in the castle that combines good food and marvellous music in sumptuous surroundings.

Apart from the food and venue – the castle’s magnificent drawing room – it’s the music that is the real purpose of the evening, provided by a mix of experience and raw blossoming talent.

It gives one the opportunity to witness performers either well on the road to a fine career or those with the potential to make music a prime concern in their lives.

You can always tell which is which from both their delivery and choice of music. Violinists Alison and Danny Miller fall firmly into the first category. Both graduates of the Royal Scottish Conservatoire, their credentials shone from the first down-bow of a Telemann duet which was delivered with razor-sharp precision. There is undoubted flair in this pairing, exemplified with another canonic work by McGibbon and some highly-charged Sarasate.

Following them was Liam Dyker, a young bass baritone from Aberdeen University. I suspect the “bass” will arrive e’er long as his voice matures, but he does have a lyricism and talent for putting over a song that bodes well for the future.

Every singer needs a repertoire that encapsulates every genre, and I think that Liam has this but maybe needs to concentrate on one or two composers in particular.

His show songs, by Sondheim and Schonberg, stood out and I would have loved songs by Quilter and Butterworth to have had the same impact. Just as any singer needs a good repertoire, he or she needs a good accompanist. On Friday night, Liam had the very person, the experienced fingers of Nancy Crook.

Almost creeping in unnoticed into the proceedings were the McLeod siblings, Orla and Morven, on violin and cello respectively. There’s burgeoning talent there for sure. That allied with a relaxed stage presence and more audience connection, both which come only with experience, could see these two young ladies take giant strides in the world of music.