The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Scottish Ensemble Residency
Venues across Dundee and Angus, September 4-7
Scottish Ensemble (SE), the UK’s leading string orchestra, brings four days of musical events to Dundee and Angus this month.
It will be the group’s fifth residency in the area and events range from meditation sessions to a concert on board the HM Frigate Unicorn.
By taking classical music out of the concert hall and putting it directly in the community the aim is to bring it to a wider group of people.
Since 2012, Scottish Ensemble (SE) residency events in Dundee have included performances in museums, care homes, hospitals and people’s front rooms; pop-up performances in shopping centres and supermarkets; bespoke workshops for beginners and amateur orchestras and much more.
This year’s series kicks off on September 4 with a workshop for 80 secondary school pupils in partnership with Dundee and Angus Instrumental Services.The string musicians, aged 12 to 18, will work on an exciting new piece, Tempest, by modern composer James Redwood, culminating in a performance for family and friends at Brechin High School.
On September 5, SE will provide a live soundtrack on board Dundee’s HM Frigate Unicorn for two school groups on guided tours. The group will then be joined by award-winning folk duo and SE collaborators Chris Stout (fiddle) and Catriona McKay (harp) for an evening of music inspired by the sea.
The following day, SE will bring music to patients and service users at Maggie’s Dundee and Ninewells Hospital. At Maggie’s, a group of musicians will add a live music element to sessions run by the centre, which is used by cancer patients and survivors as well as their friends and family. One of these will be a guided meditation session.
Meanwhile, another group of players will set up at Ninewells to perform music across the hospital, including the children’s ward and haematology and chemotherapy outpatients clinic, providing therapeutic relief for patients.
The residency comes to a close with a concert of Northern American music at Dundee’s Caird Hall on September 7. The programme, which includes 20th Century masterpieces by the likes of Philip Glass, John Adams and Aaron Copland, has been chosen to provide a rich and varied selection of works.
SE artistic director Jonathan Morton says the ensemble is excited to be returning to the area.
“For us to be able to provide events which are not only meaningful and beneficial but also greatly enjoyable to perform is a real pleasure for us, and we hope people can join us along the way for one of the public concerts and experience some of that enjoyment for themselves.”