recent & past projects
East Dunbartonshire Young Musicians 2018
June 2018
The concert given by Jess Gillam on Friday 8th December at Cairns Church in Milngavie marked the launch of the McOpera Outreach East Dunbartonshire Young Musicians 2018 programme, devised for Milngavie Music Club and continuing the work in the community begun last April with The Tales’ Project.
Prior to the concert, our successful young musicians met for a Q&A session with saxophonist Jess Gillam, the 2016 BBC Young Musicians of the Year finalist, whilst the String Quartet of the Music School of Douglas Academy performed a Dvorak String Quartet in the interval of the concert with the 3 finalists joined by fellow pupil, Anna Mackenzie.
This unique work experience project will catapult 7 aspiring young musicians (chosen during a series of auditions and interviews) into the professional world to play and work alongside our experienced orchestral players from Music Co-OPERAtive Scotland (McOpera). As part of the project, the students will also attend Milngavie Music Club concerts, meet the soloists and showcase their schools.
The project culminates on June 2nd, 2018 with a chamber music concert at Bearsden Cross Church, where the young people will perform as part of our fully professional ensemble.
From left to right in the photograph are:
Corin Whitmarsh: Violin (Music School of Douglas Academy, S5)
Esther Ersfield: Piano and viola (Music School of Douglas Academy, S4)
Clara Daley: Cello (Music School of Douglas Academy, S6)
Jess Gillam
Kirsty Donaldson: Clarinet (Lenzie Academy, S6)
Katrina Mulheran: Oboe (currently on a gap year, prior to taking her place reading music at Cambridge University)
Emily Kemp: Voice (St Ninians High School, S4)
Raj Bhaumik: Clarinet (Music School of Douglas Academy, S2)
An Cadal Trom - Lammermuir Festival 2018
September 2018
We present the premiere performance of An Cadal Trom, an operatic celebration of this area’s unique journey through history and folklore by Scottish-Gabonese composer Matthew Rooke.
With distinguished conductor Sian Edwards once more at the helm , our professional cast and orchestra join a company of over 150 including the children of Dunbar Voices, Dunbar Music School and Dunbar Primary School, and Community Theatre and Costume Design students from Queen Margaret University.
Rooted in the very rich and wondrous stories which run through Dunbar’s own history, we follow the interactions of two central characters whose story of love and rejection is woven throughout time, travelling through a kaleidoscopic musical landscape filled with pilgrims, invaders, visionaries and local townsfolk.
A Song for Haddo - 2018
October 2018
In an exciting development of last year's outreach project at the Haddo Arts Festival, McOpera Outreach and conductor Andrew McTaggart returned to work with over 100 children drawn from 6 local primary schools, performing a selection of songs composed for Snape Maltings by the 2018 Friday Afternoons’ composer-in-residence, Errollyn Wallen. We were delighted to welcome Errollyn to Haddo for the final rehearsal and the performance.
Building on our parallel string mentoring programme, our McOpera string players played alongside local young string players from Meldrum, Ellon and Inverurie Academies and their instrumental instructors, performing Peter Kemp's new orchestrations of the Errollyn Wallen songs and Warlock’s Capriol Suite.
The chorus also performed the Song for Haddo written by Moira Morrison, whilst the strings accompanied baritone Andrew McTaggart in a selection of short arias.
Andrew McTaggart - Baritone, conductor and vocal coach
McOpera String Ensemble (Katie Hull, Shelagh McKail, Aline Gow, Sarah Neil)
Pupils from Auchterless, Daviot, New Deer, Pitfour, Pitmedden and Tarves Primary Schools
Students from Ellon Academy, Inverurie Academy & Meldrum Academy
Sue Baxendale - Mcopera Outreach Project Manager (Music Co-OPERAtive Scotland)
Dr Cathy Guthrie - Haddo Arts Festival Administrator
Piano: Hebba Benygahla