Music creator Finn McLean talks about their collaboration with the Glasgow Community Concert Band as part of Adopt a Music Creator 2024. ...
Jess Griffin, of the Chandos Chamber Choir, relays the group's first impressions after meeting Laura Snowden on our Adopt a Composer project.
The Chandos Chamber Choir were thrilled to be selected for the Adopt a Composer scheme this year. A couple of choir members met Laura and mentor Jenni Pinnock for the first time at the Adopt a Composer launch in September. However, our rehearsal on 6 November was the first chance for Laura to meet the rest of the choir.
Laura enchanted us by playing one of her guitar compositions.
She and Jenni introduced her musical background and the Adopt a Composer programme before joining in our rehearsal of early Christmas music (including Tallis, Praetorius, Byrd and Gabrielli). Laura also got the chance to have a chat with some of the choir members during our break.
Laura had asked the choir to fill in a short questionnaire prior to the rehearsal, to help her to get to know us. She asked for ideas from the choir for the piece she’s going to write. We had a good discussion of ideas on our choir WhatsApp group which we’ve passed on to her to see what she makes of them! So far members of the choir have been musing on themes related to landscape or sea, following Laura’s interest in nature.
The choir have been thinking about a concert of music by women composers for a while so Laura’s piece will be the perfect centrepiece for this.
We’re all very excited to be part of this collaborative process and can’t wait to see what we come up with.
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