Our next concert

Our next concert in Stockbridge Church, Edinburgh at 7.30 pm on 8th March 2025 is called Northern Lights and includes pieces by Esenvalds, Gjeilo, Part and Sibelius.

It also includes the Edinburgh premier of “The Lost Lichts” – a new commission from Ailie Robertson ………..

‘The Lost Lichts‘ sets three poems by North East poets: ‘Hallowe’en‘ by Violet Jacob (1863 – 1946), ‘A Recruit for the Gordons‘ by Mary Symon (1863 – 1938) and ‘Cotton Grasses‘ by Marion Angus (1865 – 1946). 

Ailie is a multi-award winning composer and performer based on the West Coast of Scotland. She has been commissioned by some of the world’s most prestigious cultural institutions including the BBC Proms, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Scottish Ensemble, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Red Note Ensemble, Bang on a Can, Cappella Nova, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival and the Riot Ensemble.

She was Composer-in-Residence with Sound Festival and Glyndebourne Opera and she has won multiple prizes at the Scottish Awards for New Music and her work has been supported by the PRS Foundation, The Vaughan Williams Foundation, Creative Scotland and Sound and Music. Her work has been performed world-wide and broadcast on international radio. 

Feeback on the premiere of this piece at our concert in Aberdeen in May 2024 included ……..

“Ailie’s (Robertson) musical rendition of “Hallowe’en” is heartbreakingly beautiful.”

MOST RECENT CONCERT – on 23rd November 2024

“A splendid performance in every way with excellent soloists and instrumentalists. Wonderfully energetic.”

The soundtrack on this video is from our joint concert with Calton Consort and the Meadows Chamber Orchestra. It was held in St Cuthbert’s Parish Church in November 2022.

The previous concert was held in Aberdeen at St Machar’s Cathedral at 6.30 pm on Saturday 25th May:

“Your choir gave us such a thrilling and moving experience. …(we) wish we could hear it all again, because there was so much variety and magic in both performance and choice of pieces. …Ailie’s (Robertson) musical rendition of “Hallowe’en” is heartbreakingly beautiful.”

“It was a lovely experience to hear such wonderful music yesterday evening. Rheinberger’s powerful Mass amply filled St Machar’s  ancient and venerable space, as did all the chosen pieces. Such a feast for the ears during Trinity week! “

The concert included a new commission from Ailie Robertson:

‘The Lost Lichts‘ sets three poems by North East poets: ‘Hallowe’en‘ by Violet Jacob (1863 – 1946), ‘A Recruit for the Gordons‘ by Mary Symon (1863 – 1938) and ‘Cotton Grasses‘ by Marion Angus (1865 – 1946). 

Ailie is a multi-award winning composer and performer based on the West Coast of Scotland. She has been commissioned by some of the world’s most prestigious cultural institutions including the BBC Proms, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Scottish Ensemble, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Red Note Ensemble, Bang on a Can, Cappella Nova, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival and the Riot Ensemble. She was Composer-in-Residence with Sound Festival and Glyndebourne Opera and she has won multiple prizes at the Scottish Awards for New Music and her work has been supported by the PRS Foundation, The Vaughan Williams Foundation, Creative Scotland and Sound and Music. Her work has been performed world-wide and broadcast on international radio. 

We are grateful to Creative Scotland and The Hope Scott Trust for supporting our project.

The previous concert was presented in St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh on Saturday 2 March. It had to be moved there at the last minute but attracted a very good audience.

We are grateful to St Giles’ for facilitating this at very short notice.

Recent feedback from our concerts …..

“Your guest soloists were excellent and really fitted the bill perfectly for the parts you asked them to sing. The Bernstein Ps 23 was glorious – that 14 year old voice was made for the solo. She’ll have an excellent voice in years to come, but she’ll never perform that solo as an adult as well as she did last night.”

“We both really enjoyed the concert last night – what a high standard!  I have sung the Bernstein and I know how many challenges it presents.  The other pieces certainly didn’t seem any easier.  We really enjoyed the Argentinian Mass, which I noticed had many audience members silently foot-tapping.  It was a terrific performance all round, and we are now looking forward to your concert of Renaissance music.”

“Wonderful. Great voices”

“Beautiful. Loved the mix of music and poetry.”

“Lovely well-balanced power, light and shade. Gibbons & Arcadelt my favourites.”

“A transcending repertoire skillfully presented for our delight. Glad I came!”