April 2017 – The Soldier’s Tale/ A Milngavie Tale

McOpera have successfully received funding from Waitrose Music Matters and East Dunbartonshire Arts Council to commission an outreach project and concert on April 21st 2017 as part of the Milngavie Music Club 75th anniversary celebrations and concert series.

The project will be based on ‘Cautionary Tales and Fables’, and at its heart will be a performance of ‘The Soldier’s Tale’ in its full septet version, plus conductor, narrator and one choreographer/dancer. The two remaining dance roles will be auditioned from within the local community.

This will be coupled with a commissioned piece for children’s chorus (East Dunbartonshire Children’s Chorus and Youth Choir) and instrumental ensemble, which will use local history events as its text (including the Bennie’s railplane, the madcap events of Charlie the elephant at Craigend Zoo, the folly of the Antonine Wall and Lunardi’s balloon flight). This will be workshopped within the community in a variety of formats (both adult and children’s community groups, with dance, art, text and photography). Peter Kemp has agreed to work with the community and chorus to compose this piece.

Read the article in the Milngavie Herald