SUPPORTING & CHAMPIONING VOLUNTARY MUSIC

IN THIS ISSUE

Volume 26 Issue 1 October 2011

SCOTLANDNEWSLETTER

Page

2 MMS Conference Aberdeen – Chairman’s Report

3 A Report from the MMS Conference

4 Scottish Choirs in New York for 9/11 Anniversary

5 Meadows Chamber Orchestra’s40th Anniversary;

Solway Sinfonia

6 MM Conference Report –Music & Wellbeing

7 MM Conference Reportfrom a First Timer

8 Dunkeld Ringers’ Tour;Is this a UK First?

9 Glasgow Wind Band’s40th Anniversary;

St Monan’s Community Choir

10 Edinburgh Singers’ Workshop;Peebles Orchestra

11 How are our Groups doing?;New Members

12 What does the Future Hold?;Aria Alba Charity Concert Advert

13 Advert for an Assistant Director;Cupar Choral Society –

Vocal Workshop AdvertCome & Sing;

Stirling City Choir – Come & Sing

14 Contacts; Next Date for COPY;Financial Aid Claim Reminder

Three choirs travelled to New York to representScotland at the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

InChorus from the Scottish Borders,Lothian & Borders Police Choir

andTayside Police Choir

demonstrated Scotland's compassion for thelives lost and support for the rebuilding of those

communities affected by the atrocities.

To read about the visit please go to page 4

Scottish Choirs in New Yorkfor

10th Anniversary of 9/11

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Making Music Scotland Annnual Meetingand Conference

Saturday 21 May, 2011 Town House, Aberdeen

MM Scotland CommitteeThe Key Responsibility Groups continued to function,and would form the basis of our new structure when thetime comes. The Committee had met three times sincethe last AGM and much of the discussion had inevitablyfocussed on change management and what were themost important aspects of our work. Every Committeemember had had his/her list of member groups tosupport and all had also worked hard on various workinggroups and projects.Thanks in particular to Sandra Johnson, ORCALadministrator, Richard Chester both for his managementof ORCAL and also his invaluable support as Vice Chair,Jean Renno and her team for continued work with ourcluster groups, Janet Darling, Newsletter editor, JulieMurray, Treasurer, Hilary Stokes, Secretary and inparticular Margaret Macaulay who had organised theAberdeen aspects of today's Conference.Richard Shaw, Scotland's Development Officer, wasthanked in his absence. He had, as always, put in manymore than his contracted hours, working both with themembership and with Committee members on variousprojects and applications.Although changes to Making Music structure would seethe demise of the Committee in name, we hoped thatall of our volunteers would continue to play their part inthe ongoing work of Making Music Scotland.MembershipMembership currently stood at just over 230 groups, justunder a quarter of which could be classified as non-traditional - in other words not choral societies, classicalorchestras or music clubs. Hopefully, as the membershipgrew we would be able to encourage different genresto work together and encourage audiences to cross thedivide and experience more than one type of music.Congratulations to the University of Strathclyde ChamberChoir, who had applied successfully for the 2010 Adopta Composer Scheme, and a consortium of groups inPaisley which had applied successfully for funding underMusic Nation!, the cultural Olympiad programme.Members were advised not to ignore Breaking News,the ebulletin, and to circulate it at least to their committees.Often the items would cover issues which would havean impact on groups and the publication also highlightedexternal funding opportunities and advertised events andworkshops.The new Making Music Scotland website was also therefor members to use and the onus was now on themembers to upload a profile for their group and detailsof their concerts.FundingFirst of all, Making Music's position - Arts Council Englandhad halved the amount of the grant for which MakingMusic had applied for 2012 onwards. What did this

mean for members? From the point of view of the servicesthey received for their subscription - absolutely nothing- it will be business as usual. There might be an increasein the subs at the end of the year but weigh that upagainst the very reasonable insurance and the PRSreduction, not to mention all the other free membershipbenefits and it's a drop in the ocean. Some of MakingMusic's planned programmes would have to be prunedor put on hold, but on the plus side it has encouragedthe organisation to be much more pro-active in seekingfunding from other sources. Also, there were still lots ofopportunities for those members who want to go theextra mile.Here in Scotland we hoped to access some externalfunding to run Learn to Sing courses next season andalso put together a new Young People's Programme,and other plans had been unveiled in the DevelopmentOfficer's report.Making Music Scotland was still in negotiation withCreative Scotland. Our initial application last year hadfailed, principally because at the time all of the availablefunding seemed to be targeted towards support of theprofessional sector. We had had a continuing dialogueever since and a number of new funding streams hadjust, or would shortly, come on tap. The one certainthing was that the 2010-11 season would be the last inwhich there would be guarantees against loss for concerts.Some might say, “If there's no money, why are we payingour subscription?” Groups should remember that yoursubscription does not buy you into funding, but ratherinto Making Music's ever increasing range of services.The funding was a matter of geography - Scotland wasfortunate where other parts of the UK were not that extramoney was provided by SAC for that purpose. Whendelegated funding was withdrawn in England a numberof years ago, no group went to the wall and doubtlessour groups in Scotland would be equally resourcefuland resilient.Where do we go from here?There were big changes afoot within Making Music whichwould have an effect on the way things were managedin Scotland. In England, a number of the regions wouldbe paired into larger areas, while Wales would remainas a single unit as would Scotland, though we wouldalso have responsibility for Northern Ireland. Each ofthese enlarged areas would have a paid Manager anda team of volunteers (former Committee members plus,hopefully, a large number of new recruits), with collectiveresponsibility for supporting the membership anddelivering Making Music's programme of activity. Awhole new process was being developed for therecruitment and support of volunteers to bring MakingMusic into line with other charities which were largelydependent on volunteers in order to function effectively.Some Volunteer posts would be long-term, others might

Main points from the Chairman's report

Cont’d on p3

PhotographsTop R - Chairman & Secretary with Lord ProvostBottom L - The orchestra performs

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The third week in May was a busy one for me, working the length ofthe Outer Isles from Monday to Thursday, and a concert on Fridayevening, so I had to travel to Aberdeen by train early on Saturdaymorning, 21st May, for the annual Making Music Scotland bashbeing held in the Town House, knowing that any delay would meanI would miss the start of the event. There were, however, no delaysand I was taken up in a classic lift to the orchestral rehearsal. PeterStark conducted 24 of us in Mozart's Symphony No 40, with BrianDargie leading the orchestra and Lesley Wilson coaching the wind

be 'as and when' for specific events or projectsand others might be one-off e.g. carrying out apiece of research.Here in Scotland, of course, we await the newsof funding from Creative Scotland to enable ournew manager to be appointed following Richard'sretiral, but in the meantime he and I continuedin partnership to keep things running. The newvolunteer programme would be launched at theUK Conference in Glasgow on 10-11 September.Mindful that the membership should still haveaccess to the Board and input into future planningfor the organisation (previously achieved mainlyvia the Committees), Making Music planned toestablish a new, 50-strong Council, representativeof all parts of the UK and all types of MM member.The first meeting was planned for the UKConference weekend.The 2011 UK Conference would be held in theRSAMD in Glasgow on 10 - 11 September. Thetheme would be Music and Wellbeing and a largenumber of interesting sessions had been planned.There was inevitably some regret about the demiseof the Committee, but then it was just a name. Itwas the people that were important and what theydid - and in fact a lot of folk who would like to'do' things were completely turned off by the ideaof having to be on a Committee and sit through

Main Points from Chairman’s Report cont’d

and What Happened during the Rest of the Day

and brass. There was a large number of bassoonplayers, but I was the only horn player, so Lesleyplayed the 2nd horn part on her bassoon, copingbrilliantly with a range of transpositions.Meanwhile, in another hall, around 48 singershad a session on vocal technique and breathingtaken by Edward Caswell who then went on torehearse the singers in Brahms' Schicksalslied,with David Findlay at the piano.The morning session ended with what was, asa result of the re-organisation of Making Music,the last AGM of Making Music Scotland followedby a Civic Reception and Welcome from the LordProvost of Aberdeen. There was an excellentbuffet lunch provided by Aberdeen Council andthe opportunity to do some 'networking' withfellow delegates.The day ended, as most of these one dayworkshop events do, with informal performances'as is'. The orchestra played for the choir andthe choir sang for the orchestra. It is quiteremarkable just how good performances can beon so little rehearsal.I returned home on the train, happy after anenjoyable day of music making organised byMaking Music Scotland, wondering what delightswe can all take part in next year!

Tom Ferguson, St James Orchestra.

meetings. We shouldlook at this positively, asan opportunity for thosethat were involved tocontinue and for thosethat wanted to beinvolved to becomeactive volunteers.there would certainly bea members' gathering ofsome description in thespring of 2012, with theattraction of a whole daywithout an AnnualGeneral Meeting!! Whywouldn't you be there?(The full text of theChairman's report andthe DevelopmentOfficer's report can befound on the MakingMusic Scotland websitewww.makingmusic.org.uk/inyourarea/scotland/about-us/annual-conference)

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The choirs InChorus, Lothian & Borders Police Choir andTayside Police Choir spent a year fundraising for thespecial trip. As well as singing in anumber of well-known locations, theypresented their Gift in the form of abrand new arrangement by MusicalDirector, Andrew Russel, that combinesThe Star Spangled Banner with AmazingGrace.Andrew said, “It was a genuine privilegeto contribute to such an important andsensitive anniversary, and the messagewe took from Scotland was one of trueempathy.”The choirs performed at a number ofofficial events including The SeptemberConcerts in Central Park, New YorkPublic Library and Union Square, aCommemorative Service at the BritishGarden at Hanover Square and an NYPolice Department CommemorationConcert. In addition they gave freeoutdoor and indoor ‘flash’ performances in variouslocations across Manhattan.“We were incredibly well received wherever we went,”says Andrew. “The British Garden at Hanover Squarewas set up to commemorate the 67 British people whodied in 9/11, and we were singing for those families.We'd prepared well, and from our street performancesto the theatres where we performed for the NYPD, andthe British Garden where we sang to the families of theBritish victims, we were always approached by members

of the public who were visibly movedby our singing. And the choir membersfelt the emotion themselves, whichinjected passion into the singing.”oldest of these choirs was only formedthree years ago,” explained Andrew.“Everyone understood fully why we werethere, and the passion in their singingwas almost visible. At the end of the tripwe decided to follow a romantic notionand record our Gift Song at a well-known New York recording studio, andthe result can be viewed on YouTube

at www.youtube.com/watch?v=YimrX3hxwhY.”As well as their Gift Song, the choir sang Lean on me,Nella Fantasia and other numbers that were appropriate

and selected for the occasion.Information about the choirs can be found at:

www.facebook.com/andrew.russelwww.inchorus.org.uk, and www.lbp.police.uk/choir

InChorus, Peebles

Scottish Choirs in New Yorkfor

10th Anniversary of 9/11

Photographs:Top L - The British GardenBottom R - Central Park

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The Solway Sinfonia is basedin Dumfries and draws itsplayers from a 100-mile radiusaround the Solway Firth. Itsmain concerts are given twicea year, in November in theEasterbrook Hall, Dumfries,with a professional soloist, and

in the Spring elsewhere in the region, to take orchestralmusic to places in Dumfries and Galloway that rarely,if ever, have orchestral concerts. This summer a smallgroup of players from the orchestra gave a concert insupport of the newly launched Peter Pan Moat Brae Trust(Patron Joanna Lumley) which has bought the house J.M. Barrie played in as a child and on which garden he

Edinburgh's MeadowsChamber Orchestra will becelebrating its 40th Anniversarythis season. Its fifty or somembers come from manywalks of life, includingprofessional musicians, musicteachers and students.Professional conductors andsoloists are usually employedbut the orchestra is amateurand no member receives a fee.Peter Evans has been, andremains the Orchestra'sprincipal conductor and musicaladviser since its foundation andas a result of the many concertspresented in Edinburgh andthroughout Scotland, the MCO has been described (inthe words of Conrad Wilson in The Herald) as “Edinburgh'smuch loved chamber orchestra”.Programmes normally combine contemporary andclassical music and new work is commissioned regularly.Since 1972 it has performed over forty contemporarycompositions including seventeen world premières. TheOrchestra has received several 'Awards for Enterprise'from the Performing Right Society in recognition of itsnumerous performances of new music and, recently, itparticipated in the PRS/Making Music/SPNM 'Adopt aComposer' scheme with Ian Mathieson. The Orchestrawas among the first to recognise the talent of HelenGrime, commissioning an oboe concerto that won a'British Composer Award'; a recording of the premièrewas broadcast on BBC Radio 3. Since 2005, the MCOhas performed five world premières, including Mesh byJonathan Pitkin which also received a broadcast on BBCRadio 3.During the 2011-2012 season, three world premièreswill be performed: Les Soldes du Printemps by GregorForbes, Tomnaverie by James Clapperton and Jazz BigBand Suite by Richard Michael.

40th Anniversary of Meadows Chamber Orchestrawww.meadowsorchestra.org.uk

As an incentive to young musicians, the MCO promotesan annual Composers' Competition. Edinburgh childrenof secondary school age are invited to compose a newwork for the Orchestra and the winning submission,chosen by a panel of distinguished musicians (previouslyincluding James MacMillan, Sally Beamish and LyellCresswell) receives a public performance. (This enterprisewas helped recently by a Making Music ScotlandDevelopment Grant.)Four concerts will be presented in Edinburgh during theAnniversary season, two of them with guest conductorsDavid Watkin and Robin Page. Peter Evans conducts theremainder and is also conductor/soloist in Mozart's Dminor Piano Concerto (K 466) a work he first performedwith the Orchestra in its inaugural season.Michael Tumelty writes in The Herald:

“It is the sheer quality of playing they produce,exemplified again on Sunday night throughout theirimaginative programme.”“Concerts by The Meadows Chamber Orchestra areevents to be anticipated eagerly.”

David Rimer, ChairmanCONGRATULATIONS!

based 'Neverland'. The house, when restored, will becomea centre for children's literature and for children'sgatherings, with the garden replanted appropriately.The orchestra's 'SInfonietta' has given such concerts forseveral years, to raise money for good causes and, atthe same time, to give the players the opportunity ofperforming smaller scale works not possible in theorchestra's normal programme. This November's concert(on the 20th) will be an exciting one, with Walton's SpitfirePrelude and Fugue and his Henry V Suite beginning andending the programme, with Grieg's Piano Concerto andGershwin's Rhapsody in Blue in which the orchestra willbe joined by one of the region’s favourite performers,Murray McLachlan.

Helen Keating (Librarian and bass player)www.solwaysinfonia.org.uk

Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh

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Making Music Annual Conferences are always exiting,exhilarating and exhausting and to report on one, atany level, is no facile task, so this, relatively speaking,is very brief.A rushed review of the given statistics shows that around105 music-making or music-related organisations wererepresented. Some 150 members, delegates andspeakers participated: that is from amateur choirs,orchestras, bands, opera companies, ensembles andindividual musicians from all over the UK, Europeanand World Federations of amateur orchestras - fromBelgium to Japan, Singapore, Taiwan. Also representedwere Trusts, instrument suppliers, medical organisationsand Local Authorities - educationalists and therapistsamateur and professional.What a Programme! Music and Wellbeing proved tobe well-explored with statistics of projects and casestudies providing evidence that music, and in particular,live participation in music, does, in fact, create well-being in all areas. (Is being well not being ill?)Interestingly it was stated that although sales of recordedmusic are going down the attendance at live musicfestivals is going up! Live Music Rules OK!Music in Healing - restorative/creative: Examples weregiven showing how symptoms of depression, chronicillness were lessened when music was introduced intotreatment programmes with accident recovery speededup. This should provide motivation for more musiciansto become involved in the provision of live andparticipatory music in hospitals, day centres and homesfor the elderly.Whether involving singing or 'hands-on' instruments(e.g. small percussion) the participation raises spiritsof patients and families and even creates a generallybetter working environment for staff. In this area wemust be mindful of the sensitivity of 'patient care'remembering that there must be consultation andagreement between the medical professionals and theparticipating amateur musicians in bringing music intothe treatment or palliative care environment.Music in Education It was noted, with sadness, thateconomic cuts are still curtailing teaching of music inmany state schools - music often the first casualty. Yet,it has been demonstrated that children who learn toplay a musical instrument fare better in their academicwork. There is strong evidence (some anecdotal) thatmathematicians and scientists are frequently verycompetent musicians with children playing instrumentsusually doing well in these subjects.Social Change In the equally important area of socialills, participation in music making has a place in aidingthe repair and recovery of offenders of all ages andtypes.

Evidence and Funding Anecdotal evidence has a partto play, but where serious funding of treatmentprogrammes in long-term illness was to be established,only scientific, statistical evidence would make the point.However, this did appear to be gradually happening.We do need to do whatever we can to highlight andpromote the evidence there is, particularly whenorganisations are experiencing difficulty in raising fundsresulting in projects having to be stopped. An interestingstatistic quoted was that the annual NHS budget forthe care of one chronically ill patient in a careprogramme is in the region of £30,000, but whereactive music is introduced to the care package, thetotal was reduced to £14,000. How hard does evidencehave to be to convince the authorities of the value offunding of music therapy projects?There was more in the conference than can be writteninto a few paragraphs ... a reunion of previous contactsand the making of new friends, a buzz of camaraderie,thanks given to our out-going Chairman - AndrewPotter, a welcome to his successor - Peter Lawson andLinda Young Vice-ChairThe conference was well rounded up by Professor LordRobert Winston. In his presentation he illustrated brainchanges in reaction to sounds and smells! He illustrated,by film clips, the obvious effect music had on the masses- old footage of a Nazi rally, but with close-ups of facesin the crowd, swayed by the music. By complete contrast,one man, Glenn Gould, playing his piano with theright and conducting himself with the left hand - totallyimmersed in the music. The pictures shown replaceda thousand words.A special note to end on is perhaps Professor Winston'sown experience when participating in a therapy project.At the end of his saxophone piece, one grumpy elderlygentleman mumbled to him, “Don't give up your dayjob”! - so don't be disheartened.

Liz Wight, Secretary,NoStringsAttached Community Wind Band

(formerly Phoenix Wind Band)

Music and Wellbeing

Making Music Annual Conference10 -11 September 2011

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow

Professor Winston with Peter Lawsonspeaking to Delegates

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I recently attended my first Making Music Conferencein the Royal Conservatoire in Glasgow.As a member of the Edinburgh Royal Choral Union,my interest in the subject matter of the conference wassparked as soon as our representative in the choir,Janet Darling, publicised the event.The programme certainly stimulated my desire to knowmore about the individual topics on offer. I thereforemade a booking and found that this was refreshinglysimple.On arrival at the Conservatoire, my first trip so I foundthe directions supplied useful, I was met with a verypleasant welcome and the efficiency of the retrieval ofmy booking allowed for a swift registration.I soon started to realise how little I knew concerningMusic's contribution to human wellbeing as I met a fewother delegates who had varying degrees of functionwithin this field. Voluntary choir, band etc. leaders fromgrant aided government sponsored organisations topeople who had simply asked the question “Why don'twe get together and ?…” The degree to which voluntaryorganisations/people actually do work in the communityand the health sector was beginning to unfold. Thiswas before I had attended any of the presentations orworkshops.

I feel I need to highlight certain aspects of the Conferencecontent which, for me, quintessentially justified the titleadopted. I was interested in finding out more aboutSistema Scotland so I had to forgo Health and Wellbeingthrough Song. (If I had a criticism about my two days itwould have to be I couldn't attend everything.)Nevertheless I couldn't help but feel warmth inside onleaving this presentation to see the transformation musichad made in the lives of people.I adjourned to a song workshop eagerly awaiting myIntroduction to Music Therapy. It is perhaps thispresentation that will endure the longest as the two casestudies presented left no doubt in my mind as to thetherapeutic effects music can have. My impressions thatthe various moods found within music would be usedfrom the vastness that is music were soon replaced bymarvelling at “on the spot” improvisation as the therapistmet with the patients. As with any therapy the resultsspeak for themselves and the results certainly wereimpressive.In more general terms I would like to thank all thoseinvolved in organising such an interesting and stimulatingconference from the house keeping to the ‘music keeping.’I feel the conference did exactly what was ‘on the label’.

William DavidsonEdinburgh Royal Choral Union.

Music and Wellbeingfrom a Conference First Timer’s Perspective

Polyphony Percussion Workshop

The names and details of speakers and their particular disciplines are available atwww.makingmusic.org.uk/events/conference/speakersSome of the presentations can be found atwww.makingmusic.org.uk/events/conference/conference-presentations.htm

Photgraphs courtesy of Nick McGowan-Lowe

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Exactly two years aftervisiting Orkneymembers of The Parishof Dunkeld HandbellRingers set off on theirtravels again, this timeto the west. They wereto enjoy a week oflovely weather,beautiful scenery, goodcompany and fourhighly successful concerts in fantastic locations.First stop was Kilmore & Oban Church where, not havingexperienced a handbell concert before, mouths wereagape at the number of handbells (2 + 3 octaves) andthe amount of equipment involved.Early next morning we sailed to Mull and, on approachingthe island, passed Duart Castle where our nextperformance was to take place and which is the ancestralhome of the Chief of Clan McLean. Sir Lachlan McLeanwas there to welcome us who, having helped us to carryall our equipment into the Great Hall, swept a mass ofbeautiful, and no doubt invaluable, silverware off thelong table at which we were to ring. We rang twice throughour concert programme with visitors continually enteringthe Hall. Some listened for a while with others staying allafternoon!Day three we were in Iona Abbey where we had rungfour years ago. The start of our performance, aprocessional round the cloisters and then down the aisle,was a surprise to the audience packed into the nave andwe were greeted with much enthusiasm. At the end, wewere surprised by the mass of people who came to havea closer look at the bells and to ask questions.Our final concert, was in Tobermory Church. As well asbeing famous for its colourful houses along the sea front,its beautiful bay where, supposedly, a sunken galleonwith a hold full of gold still lies at the sea bottom, Tobermory

is famous for its LesRoutier accredited Fishand Chip van. Nodebate about where toeat before the concert.It had to be sitting inthe sunshine on thesteps around the ClockTower eating fish andchips - definitely thebest meal of the tour!

At this last concert we were delighted to find fans (yesfans!) who had heard us ringing in other locations andhad come along to hear us again.Generous contributions were made to the collectionstaken for various charities at some of our performances.The total amounted to £1,028, including a generousdonation from Sir Lachlan to the group. The charitieswhich benefited were Kilmore & Oban Church OrganFund, Macmillan Cancer Support and The Royal NationalLifeboat Institution.Few in any of our audiences had seen handbell ringersin action before and all our performances were receivedwith much enthusiasm. Tours such as this and theencouraging sales of our 3 CDs and 2 DVDs (15% ofsales benefiting Cornhill Macmillan Centre in Perth) helpto promote the art of handbell ringing which is one ofthe aims in our Constitution. Members of the public, whothought handbells were a bit of a novelty only to bebrought out at Christmas, suddenly realised they are amusical instrument requiring skill to produce music whichis enjoyable to listen to, with the added bonus of anintriguing visual performance.At each venue we were asked to return but this is unlikelyas tours are costly to organise, especially to the islands,and we also feel that each tour should introduce handbellsto new audiences.

Heather I. McLean,Photograph: Ringers in Oban

Reverberations from Dunkeld Ringers’ Tour

The Parish of Dunkeld Handbell Ringers have a routineof going on tour every other year.To raise funds for transporting all our equipment on the2011 tour (the ringers pay all their own expenses) it wasdecided that I would do a Sponsored Solo Marathon inDunkeld Cathedral. People could sponsor the event itself,the number of pieces actually rung or could choose, froma list provided, a piece of music which I would ring forthem when they came to the Cathedral.My target was 35 pieces of music, perhaps more if I wasn'ttoo exhausted! I was surprised at the size of the audience- some stayed all the way through, others for about halfan hour before wandering off for a walk but returninglater to hear more music and see how I was getting on.Large cards displayed the mounting total as I worked myway through the list.I managed 38 pieces and it took me 2h 35 min. I wondered

if I should have carried onlonger in case peoplearrived late expecting amarathon to go on for along, long time but I wastired and decided that themarathon aspect was reallythe number of pieces I rang

rather than the length of time.The total amount raised was just over £800 – amazing!This was more than needed for transporting the equipmentand so the surplus was shared between the three charitiesbenefiting from the tour and listed above.

What we would like to know – Was this the firstsponsored solo handbell ringing marathon in the UK?

Heather McLeanwww.dunkeld-handbells.co.uk

Was this a First for the UK?

B

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The award winning GlasgowWind Band plans to celebrate its40th anniversary in style nextyear, by commissioning a majoraddition to the Wind Bandrepertoire from leading Britishcomposer Philip Sparke.The Glasgow Wind Band wasformed in 1972 to provide anopportunity for senior schoolpupils, students and adultmembers of the public toparticipate in a symphonic windband of the very highest calibre.The current membership numberssome 60 or so instrumentalistsfrom varied backgrounds and professions. The membersof the band range in age from 16 to mid-40s, with themajority in their 30s.The band is entirely self-supporting:financed through membership subscriptions, fundraisingand concert ticket revenue.The Glasgow Wind Band regularly takes part in musicfestivals organised by the British Association of SymphonicBands and Wind Ensembles and the National ConcertBand Festival and has enjoyed an unparalleled level ofsuccess in both, having amassed an impressive haul of11 Gold Awards and one Platinum at the NCBF Scottishfestival and two Platinum Awards at national festivals.The band is rightly regarded as one of the UK's finestsymphonic wind ensembles.The GWB performs a regular programme of concertseach year, including a formal concert at the RoyalConservatoire of Scotland and performed for Her MajestyThe Queen during her Golden Jubilee celebrations in2002.The band is no stranger to Philip Sparke's music, havingplayed many of his works in both concert and festival

settings across the UK. Indeed the composer was presentwhen the band played his impressive Music of the Spheresto great acclaim at the Birmingham Conservatoire in2010. Recalling that performance and others, thecomposer said, “Having heard the brilliant performancesof the Glasgow Wind Band, I am delighted to have beenapproached by them with the brief to add a major workto the wind band repertoire.” The band is equally delightedthat Mr. Sparke has accepted the brief and looks forwardto giving the world première of the new piece at the RoyalConservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow, on 9 June 2012.If you would like to hear the band perform before then,its Christmas Concert is at Hyndland Parish Church,Glasgow on Monday 19 December 2011 and their albumGlasgow Wind Band at the Movies, along with Music ofthe Spheres can be downloaded from Napster and iTunes.For more information on the Glasgow Wind Band, visitwww.gwb.org.uk and for more information on PhilipSparke, visit www.philipsparke.com.

Hugh Levey, Bass ClarinetCONGRATULATIONS!

To Celebrate40th Anniversarywith a Commission

From a small start of some 10 members in October 2009when the idea of a Community Choir for the East Neukvillage of St Monans was introduced by local musiciansRuth and Brian Craib, the choir has more than tripled itsmembership and, as well as meeting weekly for rehearsalsthroughout the year, has performed around 20 concertsaround the east of Fife and beyond.A highlight in April 2011 was a trip for 25 members ofthe choir to Belgium where, as well as performing in achurch in Ghent and a residential home in Brugges, wevisited WW1 battlefields and laid a wreath on behalf of

St Monans Community Choirgoes from strength to strength!

St Monans at the daily Menin Gate ceremony.A tour to Krakow in Poland is now in the planning forApril 2012.St Monans' third Community Arts Festival took place inSeptember, and the community choir performed A FifeCantata, a piece especially written for the occasion. Itis a setting of five poems in Scots dialect by local poetJohn Brewster set to music by Brian Craib, one of thechoir's musical directors. The piece formed the first halfof our festival concert on Sunday 18th September in StMonans Church with the second half being devoted toa selection of popular songs.

Ruth Craibwww.stmonanschoir.net

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Even in our 34th season Peebles Orchestra still comesup with new programming ideas and this spring,conductor Robert Dick's new concert format of the'Beethoven Sandwich' was most successful. An overtureby Beethoven opened the concert which ended with hisfourth symphony. Between them the orchestra divided,the strings playing Lennox Berkeley's Serenade while thewind section performed a Serenade by Strauss. Thewinds rehearsed under Lis Dooner from the SCO in therural setting of Manor Village Hall, which they enjoyedso much that they met again in September to play theDvorak Serenade, again under Lis Dooner's direction,the day ending with an informal performance to a smallbut very appreciative audience.

Claire Garnet

Peebles Orchestra Goes Windy

The Edinburgh Singersis a medium sized choirof about 60 singers whohave been performingin and aroundEdinburgh for almostsixty years, with anexciting programmelined up for next year'sanniversary celebrations.Under the direction oftheir Music Director,John Gormley, the choirare known for theexcellent quality of theirsinging as well as theirfull and varied concertsthroughout the year.To maintain and improve standards, the choir tries torun technical workshops every couple of years. Theseusually involve an intensive two – three day workshop torefine specific aspects of their skills and explore newtechniques, as well as fun evenings of entertainment tokeep spirits high. Such sessions are always helpful, butit takes a commitment from the choir of a number ofdays, which is not always possible.Thanks to a Development Grant from Making MusicScotland, the Edinburgh Singers were able to organiseand run an invaluable one day workshop for its choirmembers St Philip's Church, Joppa, on the outskirts ofEdinburgh. This was a great success, both for developingand improving the skills of their singers, as well as thinkingoutside the box with the hope of holding more bite-sizedevelopment workshops. if successful.

The Edinburgh Singers,Helped by a Development Grant,

Holds a Successful One Day WorkshopThe morning consistedof two sessions whichwere taken by JohnGormley and EmilyMitchell and weredesigned to increase theawareness ofunderlying metricaldynamics; these ransimultaneously with thechoir split into twosections. One groupparticipated in a sessionon rhythm and pulsewhile the other focussedon musicianship andtechniques to improve

voice production. In the afternoon the groups joined upto put all their new-found skills together. This was doneby applying these skills to pieces of music that involvedcomplex cross-rhythms and cross metres, especiallyrepertoire from the 14th century, with some interestingand rather entertaining results!Louisa Stewart, an alto with the choir said, “The day wasthoroughly enjoyable and a great experience. I feel thatwith these techniques I can better understand and increasemy skills in rhythm, and use the techniques to improvemy quality of sound.”Always looking for ways to improve, the choir hope torun more one day workshops in future with courses suchas music theory, dancing for improved rhythm and sight-reading made easy proposed, and with many other usefultechniques possible.

The Edinburgh Singerswww.edinburghsingers.org.uk/

Peebles WInd

www.peeblesorchestra.org.uk

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Aria Alba Opera for AllBalerno Music FestivalDeveron River Brass

Doune The Rabbit HoleHelensburgh Ladies Barbershop ChoirMarkinch Community & District Choir

We are living in financially challenging times. Not onlyis the national economic position causing us a numberof challenges, but Making Music groups in Scotland havealso been hit by the withdrawal of financial support fromthe former Scottish Arts Council. Apart from the impactthis decision is having on Making Music, the largestproportion of the funds were used to offer financial supportto Scottish member groups either through the financialscheme for concerts or through a Development Grant,which offered a sum of money to go towards a project agroup wished to implement.I wanted to know how our groups who had been in receiptof funding to support their activities were managing.Recently I met June Thomas, President of The StrathendrickSingers, a rural group whose 50 members come mostlyfrom the villages in the valley of the River Endrick west ofStirling. They rehearse in Balfron Church and employ twoprofessional staff, their conductor Mark Evans andaccompanist Chris Baxter.The group were awarded a Development Grant in 2010to set up a web site - their first. I was interested to knowhow the award helped them, and June was of the opinionthat having access to such funding was critical. She said,“Without Making Music Scotland's financial support, wewould not have been able to employ a web designer wholooked after everything that we had specified, and madesuggestions to improve our specification. We have finishedup with a site displaying what we wanted, and in a formatthat was simple and easy to use for our members andour site visitors.”When I asked June how the website had supported thechoirs activity, she was in no doubt. “It has given us apresence on the web which is useful in marketing thegroup and our concerts. We have recruited new membersthrough the website, we advertise our concerts and other

activities and although at present most of our tickets aresold through members and local outlets, we also havethe option of offering tickets to buy online. The websitealso supports our communication with members, throughthe members only pages, to keep members up to dateand provides an invaluable link to rehearsal aids - noteveryone is a good sight singer! We are getting 'hits' fromall over the UK.”We went on to talk about the effect of the loss of fundingsupporting the choir's concerts. June was quite adamantthat the loss is devastating and explained, “The moneywe received made a difference, supporting in particularcosts of music hire, professional orchestra and soloistskeeping our concert losses to a level that our reservescould cope with.”I asked June what steps the choir was taking to coverthese costs in the future, and she described theirfundraising including coffee mornings with lightentertainment from the choir and talented individuals,increasing subscriptions, weekly donations for coffee andtea, etc. She added “We will need to redouble our effortsto recruit more members and to sell more tickets, otherwiseat our current level of expenditure and with no addedincome we could be bankrupt within 5 years. This cannothappen, as singing in a choir is so important, adding topeople's wellbeing, mental and physical health, providingimportant social activity and pleasure and live music toour rural communities. Making Music provides vitalsupport to us and long may it continue to do so.”It was good to hear that June was very determined TheStrathendrick Singers would overcome these hurdles, andhas reinforced why I and my colleagues must increaseour efforts to seek new investment in Making MusicScotland.

Richard  Shaw,  Development  Officer,finds  out  how

The  Strathendrick  Singers  are  faring.

How  are  our  Groups  surviving?

www.strathendricksingers.org.uk/home.html

WELCOME!To the following groups who have joined Making Music in recent months –

Music in LanarkShetland Community Orchestra

The Mackintosh Choir @ Queens CrossToccata

Zawadi Alba

12

Aria Alba Opera for All is a new charity that aims to bringall the passion and music of opera to new audiences, andto provide a platform for young and emergent singers.Our members come from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Linlithgow,Dundee, and as far away as Finland. They don't need to

be expert singers to start with - though that's what they become! Sofar, we've put on seven varied performances this year, including ourFringe show Aria in an Italian Garden, which was well supported. Weare already rehearsing Mozart's Marriage of Figaro for next year...This autumn we are supporting the wonderful work that the Children'sHospice Association Scotland (CHAS) does by putting on an especiallybrilliant and cheerful benefit concert in Edinburgh. We've invited theCity of Discovery Brass Band Quintet to join us, and these fantasticinstrumentalists have volunteered to play alongside our members, whowill sing choruses and solos from well-loved operas. The audience,too, will be invited to join in some of the choruses!We hope that lots of people will help us raise funds for CHAS by comingto our concert and joining in the singing!

12 November at 7.30 - 9.30 pmBruntsfield Evangelical Church,

70 Leamington Terrace, Edinburgh EH10 4JUTickets £8 (£5 conc.) in advance T: 07593316284 and at the door

www.ariaalba.org.uk Charity number SC042322

Of the many changes that are taking place in MakingMusic Scotland at present, probably the one thatgenerates the most comment is about our fundingposition with Creative Scotland, formerly Scottish ArtsCouncil. Currently, we have no funding in place. CreativeScotland has now overhauled the various programmesthey have for investing in the arts in Scotland, andMaking Music Scotland is eligible to apply for fundsfrom this source. I have regularly been in touch withCreative Scotland to see how these funds can best beused for Making Music Scotland's purposes and,amongst other things, I am in the process of applyingfor funds to support the ongoing development of ourORCAL orchestral programme and to develop aprogramme in which Choral Singers can take part.I know the loss of funds that we made available toperforming member groups has been keenly felt causingmany groups to re-appraise their activity. Our applicationto Creative Scotland also includes providing for anavailability of money to enable member groups to carryout challenging projects – whether they be part of theirconcert programme or one-off training or developmentprogrammes.We must not believe, however, that our world hasended! Making Music Scotland is alive and thrivingdespite the setback. Members still enjoy a package ofservices, including insurance and access to advice and

support that is unrivalled by any other umbrellaorganisation. Details of these can now be accesseddirectly on the website. www.makingmusic.org.ukIn addition, there are a number of national MakingMusic projects for members to participate in such asthe Making Music Overture and123sing. Do look atthe website to see what is available to you. Meanwhile,in Scotland we have just heard that we have receivedsome funds to run a pilot ‘Learn to Sing course' -introducing people to singing in groups and encouragingparticipants to join local vocal groups. Look out formore news on this.Furthermore, with the changes to how we are organisedin Scotland1, I am sure there will be openings for manyof you to volunteer to work with us to develop ideas,projects and new opportunities for supporting furtherdevelopment of Making Music Scotland, the voluntarysector and, most of all, our 240 member groups.We have much to celebrate and look forward to overthe next year, and you can rest assured that I and mycolleagues will continue to work hard to ensure a brightfuture for us in Scotland.

Richard ShawDevelopment Officer Scotland

1Chairman’s Report ‘Where do we go from here?’ pp2 - 3

What does the future hold?

SCOTLAND

Scenes from Aria in an Italian Garden

Rolling  HillsSeeks  an  Assistant  DirectorRolling  Hills,  a  male  Barbershop  Chorus

based  in  Edinburgh,is  seeking  to  appoint  someone  who  possesses:                                  •  boundless  enthusiasm                                  •  a  strong  and  engaging  personality                                  •  a  high  level  of  musical  knowledge  and  ability                                  •  an  interest  in  a  cappella  harmony                                  •  a  track  record  in  vocal  coachingAn  important  element  of  the  role  will  be  to  work  alongsideand  in  parallel  with  the  current  Director.This  is  an  excellent  opportunity  to  demonstrate  anddevelop  directorial  skills  with  an  enthusiastic  chorus  ofjust  over  30  men.As  a  not-­‐for-­‐profit  organisation  it  is  an  unpaid  post.Rehearsals  are  held  at  Fairmilehead  Church  in  the  SouthSide  of  Edinburgh  on  Tuesday  evenings  from  7.00  to9.45pm.If  you  are  interested  and/or  wish  to  obtain  furtherinformation,  please  contact  Ian  Kinghorn  onikinghorn37@gmail.com  or  0131  555  2296or  visit  www.therollinghillschorus.co.uk/Scottish  Charity  No:  SC035891

Vocal  Workshopdirected  by

Edward  Caswell…develop  your  skills              …meet  like-­‐minded  people

…enjoy  good  music!

Saturday  29th  October,  201110.30  a.m.  -­‐  4.30  p.m.

St  John's  Church  Hall,  Bonnygate,Cupar    KY15  4BY

…warming  up  your  voice…developing  breath  control

…good  vocal  practice

Bookings  must  be  made  IN  ADVANCE

Cost  £10  (£9)

Visit  www.cuparchoral.org.ukfor  booking  information

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‘Come  and  Sing’Handel's    Messiah

Saturday  26th  November,  2011St  John's  Church,  Bonnygate,

Cupar    KY15  4BY

Musical  Director:  Bruce  FraserAccompanist:  Kate  Doig

Bring your own score if you have one(preferred edition Watkins Shaw, but not compulsory).

Scores will be provided if required

Registration  from  12  noonRehearsal  1.00  –  5.15  pm

Concert  6.30  pm

Singers  £10  (£9);  Score  Hire  £1;  Audience  £5

Please  visit  www.cuparchoral.org.ukfor  booking  information

or  emailLibrarian@cuparchoral.org.uk

Come  and  SingHandel's    Messiah

Invites  you  to

Saturday  29  October  2011Church  of  the  Holy  Rude,  Stirling

Conductor:    Gillian  CraigAccompanist:  Ian  Boulter

Registration  from  1pmRehearsal  2pm

 Performance  7.30pm

Singers  £12.50  (includes  tea  &  coffee)Score  hire  £2.50

Audience  £5.00  payable  at  the  door

For  a  booking  form  please  go  to

www.stirlingcitychoir.org.uk

Further  information  fromsecretary@stirlingcitychoir.org.uk

with

ContemporaryMusic-makingfor Amateurs

COMA encourages amateur musicians of all abilities andbackgrounds to take part in contemporary music-makingby

If you wish to become involved in COMAor require further information, contact:

Chris Shurety, DirectorContemporary Music-making for Amateurs

RICH MIX, 35 - 47 Bethnal Green Road, London E1 6LATel: (020) 7739 4680

e-mail info@coma.org www.coma.org

• providing opportunities to perform new music• creating a repertoire of innovative contemporary

music for amateurs• building links between professional and amateur

musicians and ensembles to further these aims

or Steve King, Co-ordinator COMA ScotlandTel: (0131) 451 3705 email: S.King@hw.ac.uk

Newsletter Editor, Making Music ScotlandMiss Janet A.B. DarlingE: jd@jabd.abel.co.ukWeb Site, Making Music ScotlandMrs. Linda Young E: l.young24@btinternet.comMembership Inquiries, Making Music Scotland Miss Hilary StokesE: hastokes@blueyonder.co.ukRecruitment, Making Music ScotlandMrs Karine DavisonE: KarineDavison@ntlworld.comDevelopment Officer, Making Music Scotland Mr Richard Shaw E: richardshaw43@btinternet.comMaking Music The National Federation of Music Societies,2 - 4 Great Eastern Street, London EC2A 3NWT: (020) 7422 8280; F: (020) 7422 8299E: info@makingmusic.org.ukwww.makingmusic.org.uk

CONTACT INFORMATION

© Making Music Scotland 2011

DISCLAIMERAny views or opinions expressed in contributedarticles may not necessarily represent thoseof Making Music or the policy of Making Music.

SUBSCRIPTIONSThe position regarding printed copiesof the Newsletter continues to be underreview. If you would be interested insubscribing to a printed colour copy forthe cost of production and postage,please contact the Editor

ACKNOWLEDGMENTThe Making Music ScotlandCommittee would like to recordits gratitude to Creative Scotlandfor its support.

COPY for the NEXT ISSUEshould reach the EDITOR

by 15 January 2012. The publication time of the next issue

will be February 2012

Making Music Scotland www.makingmusic.org.uk/scotland

ADVERTISINGPlease contact Janet Darling, the Editor.

14

Making Music, the National Federation of Music Societies.A company limited by guarantee. Registered in England No. 308632Registered Charity in England No. 249219 & in Scotland No. SC038849

A Reminder of the31 October Deadline

Groups due to claim the final instalment of theirguarantee for 2010/11 are reminded that thedeadline for receipt of S2 Forms, accompaniedby a copy of their independently examined andsigned accounts, is 31 October 2011.If you have a problem please contactl.young@makingmusic.org.uk as soon aspossible.