adopt a composer

As a newcomer to Strathaven (I’ve lived here for only thirty two of my years) I’ve never failed to be impressed by the effort and creativity the townsfolk apply to the annual Gala week, and in particular to their contributions to the Gala Parade which always takes place on the second Saturday in June.

We had an excellent rehearsal on Sunday. Kirsty Devaney and her mentor Colin Riley came along and made some really constructive comments which pulled the piece together. Kirsty has written a truly original, imaginative piece.

'To think it’s only been seven days' muses a handsome, yet disheveled, man on a 1971 public information film having exited what looks like a bunker.

Making Music’s Adopt a Composer scheme started in 2000, and since then there have been around ninety pairings. First performed in May this year, Hive Minds, a collaboration between composer Seán Doherty and the Kensington Symphony Orchestra, was one of the most recent.

After a spring spent mostly researching, composing and tweaking arrangements, it is now just 6 weeks until the premiere of my song-cycle for the Jubilate Ladies Choir, so last night I ventured once more up to Pinner to visit a rehearsal and see how the ladies were getting on with the songs.

At Rochester Bridge my train slices through the November mist, which hangs heavily over the melancholy Medway beneath. Today, as autumn fades to a blur, I make my second visit to Doncaster and the Quirky Choir.