Red Note

Red Note with Richard Watkins - Sound Festival
2021-06-12 19:00 - 20:30 (Europe/London) | Queen’s Cross Church, Albyn Pl, Aberdeen, AB10 1YN, United Kingdom
As part of sound‘s programme showcasing endangered instruments, we are joined by Richard Watkins, former Principal Horn of the Philharmonia Orchestra, for the premiere of a reworking of Philip Cashian’s Scenes from the Life of Viscount Medardo.Viscount Medardo of Terralba is a character in Italo Calvino’s short story The Cloven Viscount. After being split in two by a canon ball in battle with the Turks, the left half and the right half of the Viscount (a good half and a badhalf) each separately return home to Italy, falling in love with the same girl and eventually having a sword fight on horseback to decide who shall marry her.

The programme also features a new work by Rylan Gleave UNSUNG II; even from a loved one, the second work in a collection of works exploring the same material surrounding, on some level, voicelessness.

Aileen Sweeney’s new work Feda explores the symbolic and important role trees played in Irish and Scottish Celtic culture and traditions as “sustainers of life,” offering food, medicine, warmth and housing as well as forming connections to the spiritual worlds.

Click here to book your tickets now! Tickets are limited and must be purchased in advance.

Philip Cashian Scenes from the Life of Viscount Medardo (UK Premiere)
Aileen Sweeney Feda* (World Premiere)
Rylan Gleave UNSUNG II; even from a loved one* (World Premiere)

Red Note Ensemble
Richard Watkins Horn
Geoffrey Paterson Conductor

*Co-commissioned by sound and Red Note Ensemble

Noisy Nights at Sound
2021-06-13 16:00 - 17:00 | Queen’s Cross Church, Albyn Pl, Aberdeen, AB10 1YN, United Kingdom
Noisy Nights is back! We are excited to play together again with these outstanding musicians:

Maximiliano Martin – Clarinet,
Tony Moffat – Violin,
Jessica Beeston – Viola,
Robert Irvine – Cello.

On this occasion we have partnered with sound, following the success and learnings from the Neurotribes conference, to showcase the talent of neurodiverse composers, supporting greater inclusion in contemporary classical music.
Click here to book your tickets now! Tickets are limited and must be purchased in advance.
Following our call for scores, we are looking forward to presenting 5 new compositions alongside Hason Hodgson:
Jason Hodgson Dimensional Shift (Rubic Cubes)
Joe Stollery Seely Circles
Siôn Parkinson Phantosmia
Sera Wright Sunflowers
Zoe Cutler ✨🌟 👉The👈 ⚠️Contemporary⚠️ 🐝Music🐝 🍋Lick🍋 🌟✨
Rylan Gleave cold with him

Red Note Ensemble
John Harris Conductor
Red Note and sound are PRS Foundation Talent Development Partners.

Development Opportunity for Scotland-Based Composers
2021-07-18
This development opportunity for Scotland-based composers is organised in partnership with us at Red Note and is part of soundcreators programme, which focuses on nurturing creative talent. soundcreators is funded by Creative Scotland, Help Musicians UK and the PRS for Music Foundation as well as by Idlewild Trust, the Hugh Fraser Foundation, the Leche Trust and Aberdeen City Council.
sound is a new music incubator based in North East Scotland, initially set up to give local audiences access to new music. It is now renowned in and beyond Scotland for producing and promoting high-quality work, for its support to composers of all generations and for attracting new audiences through its varied programming and inclusive nature.
Five composers will have the opportunity to develop works of around 5 minutes for double bass and marimba working alongside Iain Crawford (double bass) and Tom Hunter (marimba) from Red Note and composer mentor (tbc). The new works will be performed during the 2021 soundfestival.

Draft schedule:
Session 1: Introduction to double bass and marimba, 12 August 2021
Where: Zoom
This first session will primarily be an introduction to writing for double bass and marimba, and will be led by Iain Crawford, Tom Hunter and composer mentor (tbc)
Session 2, late-August 2021 tbc
Where: Zoom
1-to-1 mentoring sessions with composer mentor (tbc) and musicians. The composers will submit short (approximately 30 second sketches) in advance.
Following this, the composers will work up full pieces for the third session.
Session 3, 12 September 2021
Where: tbc (Central Belt)
The composers will work alongside two musicians from Red Note Ensemble to develop new works. It is expected that composers will bring work in progress with them. The session will last a whole day.
The composers will then have until mid-October to make any last adjustments.
Rehearsal, mid-October (date tbc)
Where: tbc (Central Belt)
The pieces will be rehearsed with the composers in attendance.
Performance, end of October (date tbc)
Where: Aberdeen
A performance of the new works as part of the 2021 soundfestival. There will also be a rehearsal prior to the performance.

Candidates:
The five successful candidates will be talented composers resident in Scotland. They can be at any stage in their career, however they should be able to demonstrate a number of years of compositional experience, and must be able to articulate their development needs and how the opportunity would benefit them.
Please note that we are committed to working with and supporting composers with additional support needs. Composers from under-represented groups and especially composers with disability are encouraged to apply.

Financial support for the opportunity is limited to related expenses for travel/accommodation. There will also be a small commission fee of £200 per composer for a delivered piece to be performed at soundfestival.

How to apply
To apply for the opportunity please fill out a digital form HERE.
Deadline for applications: 18th July 2021

If further information is required, please contact admin@sound-scotland.co.uk
We will inform you whether you are successful or not by the 28th July 2021.

Selection process
As mentioned above sound is committed to working with and supporting composers from under-represented sections of the population. To enable this, there is a two-stage application process: an initial selection is made, and then this is narrowed down in a second stage selection process. If you are a female, disabled and/or BAME composer, you can self-select to be put forward automatically to the second round if you want. The selection panel will be made up of one of the musicians, composer mentor (tbc), a representative of sound (either a staff member or the Chair) and of Red Note.

Notes to composers applying
Selection for new music opportunities is inherently subjective and the criteria used can differ from project to project. We are frequently over-subscribed and often the quality of applications is extremely high from a wide range of composers, which usually means making difficult decisions.
Reasons for selecting one composer over another are not always to do with skill level or experience. We may, for example, be looking for the right fit for us as an organisation at a particular point in time e.g., we may be looking to develop specific strands or activity or genres of music.
For development opportunities that happen in a group setting, it may be that we need to take into consideration the coherence of that group e.g., we may prefer to have composers of a similar experience-level. We thus sometimes end up turning down composers with more experience or skills, or giving opportunities to composers who we feel would benefit most from a particular opportunity at that stage in their career, and faced with difficult choices we may sometimes turn down composers who may have already benefitted from a number of opportunities in the past.
We would however encourage composers to apply for any opportunities that interest them and for which they fit the specification, and not be discouraged if they are not selected for a particular opportunity, as it does not mean that they are not “good” enough. Please do continue to apply for any opportunity that interests you!

Red Note and sound are PRS Foundation Talent Development Partners.

NOW CLOSED - Arts Project Trainee Admin Assistant - Easterhouse
2021-07-30
We’re looking for a paid, part-time Arts Project Trainee Admin Assistant, to support the organising of Red Note’s community-based music project in Easterhouse, from Autumn 2021-early Summer 2022.
This is a part-time, 10–month trainee position for a member of the Easterhouse community to work with Red Note Ensemble to help with the delivery of a project within Easterhouse for the period September 2021 – June 2022.
Using their knowledge of their own community, admin skills and supported by the Red Note team, this position will focus on the successful candidate working with Red Note Ensemble to help organise a community-based music performance project, whilst receiving training and gaining valuable skills and experience in organising and administering youth music activities.

Hours of work: 8 hours a week (flexible)
Salary: £3,619 (equivalent to £19,000 per year full time)
Period of contract: 10 months, starting between *Monday 30th August and 9th September 2021 depending on availability

Key Dates:
Deadline for application: Friday 30th July 2021, 5pm
Notification of interviews: Tuesday 3rd August 2021
Interviews: Thursday 12th August and Friday 13th August 2021
Start date: early September 2021 depending on availability

How to apply
Download the JOB PACK and the FAQ document for full information on how to apply.
You can send your application in any one of these ways:

use the online form link (CLICK HERE )
email written answers to the questions below to: katja@rednoteensemble.com
email recorded answers (video or audio – this can be a dropbox or wetransfer link, max. 7mins long) to: katja@rednoteensemble.com

We have no preference and will only evaluate the content of each application, not its production.
Please CLICK HERE to download the monitoring form. Once completed it please send it by email to katja@rednoteensemble.com

Support with making your application
If you have any additional questions not covered in the FAQ document, if you have technical difficulties or you have any access requirements that we can support you with in the application process, you can arrange a time to speak with one of our team who is not involved in the recruitment process.
If you’re interested in the post but not sure if it’s for you/whether to apply – we’d love to hear from you! Drop an email katja@rednoteensemble.com with any queries; or ask to chat with one of us informally to find out more about the role, what we are looking for, and ask any questions you may have.

Summer Serenades at Cherry Road Resource Centre
2021-08-06
In a playful musical exploration of the ideas of ‘Near and far’, Red Note musicians will be bringing socially-distanced live solo performances to service users at one of our very favourite places, Cherry Road Resource Centre. They may end up improvising from the car park, playing jigs outside a window, or engaging in musical conversations and responses with their audience in the atrium. Pretty much anything musically beautiful, thoughtful, fun and amazing could happen here – and that’s how we like it!
Our musicians will be performing solo between 10am and 2pm on the 12th, 19th and 28th July and 6th August.
These sessions are for service users at Cherry Road Resource Centre.
12th July: Ruth Morely Flute
19th July: Rachel Spencer Violin
28th July: Jessica Beeston Viola
6th August: Ruth Morely Flute

In partnership with Artlink and Cherry Road Resource Centre.

Call for Applicants - The Engaged Composer Professional Development Opportunity
2021-08-16 08:00 - 2021-08-29 11:00
Following our recent online sessions showcasing examples of composers working in community settings, sound and Red Note are now launching The Engaged Composer Professional Development Opportunity for early career composers to devise, develop and deliver inspiring projects with community groups in a fully supported environment. We are looking for composers who are passionate about making and creating music with people and developing skills to facilitate, collaborate and work in different settings.
This six-month programme will consist of online sessions covering practical and administrative related topics, a practical weekend retreat, shadowing opportunities, delivery of your own project, mentoring and a reflective evaluation process. (See schedule below.) The sessions will be led by composers Brian Irvine, Pippa Murphy and Gareth Williams with members of the sound and Red Note management teams.
This opportunity is suitable for early career composers, or those in the latter stages of higher education specifically seeking to develop practical skills and experience in community settings. Participants must be able to commit to all the sessions up front and be in a position to devise and deliver a project of personal choice in their local community.
This development opportunity is free of charge and no fees will be paid. We can offer small travel bursaries to the in-person sessions. Places are limited with priority given to Scottish-based composers. If you are accepted on the programme from elsewhere in the UK, you may need to top up your travel expenses.
To apply to take part please complete the Application Form by 11pm on Sunday 29 August. Successful applicants will be notified by 3 September.
Please note that sound and Red Note are committed to work with and support composers from under-represented groups and encourage applications from composers from a wide range of backgrounds.
If you would like further information or to speak to someone about the opportunity, please contact Ellen Thomson at sound by email in the first instance: participate@sound-scotland.co.uk
The Engaged Composer structure and schedule
Thursday 16 September 2021, 2.5 hours, time tbc
Zoom session 1: Intro and embedding your own practise and compositional voice within community projects.
Thursday 30 September 2021, 2.5 hours, time tbc
Zoom 2: Planning, purpose, outcomes.
Thursday 7 October 2021, 2.5 hours, time tbc
Zoom 3: Animation.
Thursday 14 October 2021, 2.5 hours, time tbc
Zoom 4: Project management and budgeting.
Thursday 4 November 2021, 2.5 hours, time tbc
Zoom 5: Recording and documentation.
Saturday 20 – Sunday 21 November 2021
Develop your practical skills with fellow participants and our lead composers in a weekend retreat. Course times are to be confirmed along with the venue. It will be in Scotland and timings will work around public transport. (10am-4pm approx.)
December 2021 to March 2022
Personal project preparation and delivery with two mentoring sessions. We would like you to plan and deliver a small project in your local community as part of the opportunity. This can be with any group and in a location and duration of your own choice. These projects can be tailored to fit with personal, work and study commitments. We will ask for a brief indication of your project idea as part of the application process.

March 26 or 27 2022, tbc
Reflective evaluation session. Date, venue and time to be confirmed, but please save the dates.

Shadowing
Throughout the duration of the programme there is a chance to shadow existing sound and Red Note projects in the community led by composers. These include our New Music Makers project and soundfestival 2021 learning & participation events in Aberdeen. Full details will be sent to all successful programme participants to select projects that interest them and work with their existing commitments. Travel expenses will be covered.
Supported by Fenton Arts Trust and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Iconnotations - Made in Scotland Showcase
2021-08-25 18:00 - 2021-08-28 23:59 | Dancebase at ZooTV
Written in 1969 this is one of Peter Maxwell Davies’s classic works of concert-hall music theatre. An extraordinarily dramatic, multi-layered fusion of dance and music, its shape superimposes the 14 stations of the Cross on a series of 16th-century anatomical drawings by Vesalius, with a dancer and a solo cellist as the protagonists.
Scored for the classic Fires of London Sextet line-up this work is filled with unconventional percussion instruments, a honky-tonk piano, allusions to foxtrots, as well as medieval and renaissance music.
Iconnotations will be live-streamed from Greyfriars Kirk, Edinburgh, as part of the Dancebase programme. The livestream is on Wednesday 25th August, 6pm (BST). It will then be available as a recording on demand from Thursday 26th August to Saturday 28th August, 11:59pm (BST). Both livestream and on demand will be streamed on ZOOTV.
Please note, there are two different tickets links for the live stream and on demand recordings. You can purchase tickets for the live stream HERE and for on demand HERE.
Peter Maxwell Davies Vesalii Icones

Red Note Ensemble
Matthew Hawkins Choreographer / Dancer
Soraya Ham Dancer
Lionel Handy Cello
Geoffrey Paterson Conductor

Made in Scotland is a curated showcase of high quality performance from Scotland at the world’s largest arts festival, made possible by support from the Scottish Government’s Expo Fund. It is a partnership between the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, the Federation of Scottish Theatre, the Scottish Music Centre and Creative Scotland.
Music courtesy of Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Limited.

Red Note at Lammermuir Festival 2021
2021-09-15 15:00 - 16:45 | The Brunton, The Brunton, Ladywell Way, Musselburgh, EH21 6AA, United Kingdom
Winner of the Royal Philharmonic Society composition award, Tanz/Haus is a tour de force from Scottish composer James Dillon. Its ravishing, extravagant sound world finds a gentler, quieter companion in Tansy Davies’s Soul Canoe. Red Note’s intrepid and brilliant musicians are, as ever, the ideal guides to this fascinating music.

”James Dillon’s Tanz/Haus is a brilliant piece of music; its construction solid, its expression human, with a breathtaking and shimmering orchestration” The Wire

Tansy Davies Soul Canoe
James Dillon Tanz/Haus: triptych 2017

Red Note Ensemble
Conductor Johnathan Berman

Red Note Sessions in Perth - James Dillon's EMBLEMATA: Carnival
2021-09-24 19:30 - 20:30 | Perth Concert Hall, Mill Street, Perth, Scotland, PH1 5HZ, United Kingdom
Red Note’s players have spent the past 3 days together recording two commissions by foremost Scottish composer James Dillon for Delphian Records, and we will share with you the latest – EMBLEMATA: Carnival – talking about the music and the inspirations behind it, and the challenges and delights of performing new music of such extraordinary complexity and beauty. Expect insight, virtuosity, and good company as Red Note take you into James Dillon’s astonishing, unique sound world.

James Dillon EMBLEMATA: Carnival

Red Note Ensemble
Ruth Morley, flute
William White, clarinet
Tom Hunter, percussion
Simon Smith, piano
Jackie Shave, violin
Robert Irvine, cello

Conductor Geoffrey Paterson

GO COMPOSE! 2021
2021-10-06
Spend some time developing your skills in composition with the help of professional composers Karen Power and Joe Duddell who will guide you through the process of writing a piece of music from start to finish. You will write a piece for the alto flute, marimba and double bass and it will be played by professional musicians from Red Note.
There are 10 places on the course and priority will be given to young people based in the north east of Scotland where sound is based. To take part you will need a laptop or computer with music writing software and decent internet connection for the Zoom workshops.
*sound have laptops with Sibelius software we can loan participants based locally for the duration of the course. Please indicate on your application if you require this and we will contact you about collection and drop off.
Timetable
This is an approximate course timetable – full details will be given upon registration.
Sun 17 Oct | 2 – 8pm | Station House Media Unit
Mon 18 Oct | 10am – 5pm | Station House Media Unit
Tue 19 Oct | 10am – 5pm | The Anatomy Rooms with sharing session at 5pm
To apply for a place on Go Compose please complete the online registration form here (cost £60).
The deadline for applying is WEDNESDAY 6 OCTOBER.
If you need any further information please contact Ellen by emailing: participate@sound-scotland.co.uk
Supported by Aberdeen Endowments Trust, David and June Gordon Memorial Trust, Gannochy Trust, Hugh Fraser Foundation, The Witherby Publishing Group Charitable Trust and EIS Education Committee.
*Go Compose! is a collaboration between sound and Red Note.

Go Compose! Sharing Session at Soundfestival 2021
2021-10-19 17:00 - 18:00 | Anatomy Rooms, Shoe Lane, Aberdeen, AB10 1AL
Having spent time developing their skills in composition with the help of professional composers Karen Power and Joe Duddell, these young composers have been guided through the process of writing a piece of music from start to finish for the alto flute, percussion and double bass. At the end of this course, Red Note and sound present a showcase of their works.
Red Note Ensemble
Ruth Morley, alto flute
Tom Hunter, percussion
Iain Crawford, double bass
Supported by Aberdeen Endowments Trust, David and June Gordon Memorial Trust, Gannochy Trust, Hugh Fraser Foundation, The Witherby Publishing Group Charitable Trust and EIS Education Committee.
*Go Compose! is a collaboration between sound and Red Note.

Red Note at soundfestival 2021
2021-10-22 18:00 - 19:00 | Queen’s Cross Church, Albyn Pl, Aberdeen, AB10 1YN, United Kingdom
In partnership with sound, Red Note perform 3 premiers at soundfestival 2021.
Ailie Robertson’s Unfurl forms a continuation of her PhD studies into microtonality and the harp, taking inspiration from Erv Wilson’s 1965 organisation of the overtone series as a logarithmic spiral. The piece is anti-narrative and anti-developmental in form, simply housing the tonal material, which consists of the first 80 partials of the overtone series. Expressivity comes from the simple aligning of tones, one to another, as the harmonic space progressively expands towards the fundamental.
In addition to this is Edwin Hillier’s new work 37 Otago Street. The ‘ghost sign’ at 37 Otago Street became a familiar sight on Hillier’s daily lockdown walk through Glasgow. Revisiting this image with routine, almost ritual, he became fascinated by its complexity and changeability: its disparate elements enhanced, recoloured, embroidered by the light, affected by the time of day and year. When captured on camera, zoomed in and examined – a method famously employed on the streets of Chicago by ‘abstract expressionist photographer’ Aaron Siskind in the 1950s – the sign betrays an intricate and heavily textured inner world. Inspired by Hillier’s daily encounters with the street mural, 37 Otago Street offers several perspectives on what becomes a familiar, even nostalgic, timbral palette. Glimpses of ghostly lettering and flecks of crimson-hued paint emerge in the fragile ensemble textures and concrete sonorities of the auxiliary instruments. Shifting from foreground to background, fractured musical images are interwoven and drawn into focus as we pass them by.
Finally, Luke Styles presents his trio Five Phase Sphere. The trio presents 5 phases of music for this specific combination of instruments. The resonance of these 3 instruments together, their low frequencies and their combined musical potentials are all stimuli for each phase. Across each phase are musical links, but together, as five points of music they form a sphere of material, in the composer’s imagination
Ailie Robertson Unfurl (World Premiere)*
Edwin Hillier 37 Otago Street (World Premiere)**
Luke Styles Five Phase Sphere (World Premiere)***
Red Note Ensemble
Ruth Morley, flute
Will White, clarinet
Daniel Pioro, violin
Tom Hankey, viola
Robert Irvine, cello
Iain Crawford, double bass
Ailie Robertson Harp
William Cole Conductor
* Co-commissioned by sound, Red Note Ensemble and hcmf//
** Co-commissioned by sound and Red Note Ensemble
*** Co-commissioned by sound, hcmf//, Red Note Ensemble and Ask Duets

Five Composers Selected for Development Sessions at sound festival 2021
2021-10-23 | Cowdray Hall – Aberdeen Art Gallery, Schoolhill, Aberdeen, AB10 1FQ, United Kingdom
We are delighted to announce that five Scotland-based composers have been selected to participate in a development opportunity where they will work alongside Iain Crawford (double bass) and Tom Hunter (marimba) from Red Note and a composer mentor to develop new works to be performed at this year’s soundfestival!

The composers are Ellie Cherry, Erin Thomson, Finn Patrick McLean, Ollie Hawker and Siobhan Dyson. Find out more about each composer HERE.

soundfestival will take place in Aberdeen between 19-24 October and the programme includes a focus on the double bass as part of sound’s ‘endangered instruments’ series.
This development opportunity is part of the soundcreators programme which focuses on nurturing creative talent, and is organised in partnership with sound and Red Note.

Red Note and sound are PRS Foundation Talent Development Partners.

'New Normal' Workshops with Soundstreams
2021-11-03 - 2021-11-11
Set to premiere in 2022, New Normal is a collaboration between Soundstreams and Red Note Ensemble. A composer from each organization, Northern Irish composer Brian Irvine and Ukrainian-Canadian composer Anna Pidgorna, will work with the other’s ensemble, creating interleaved works which loosely interact with one another through a series of episodes weaved together through shared, but misinterpreted, objects and ideas. It will be a whimsical exploration of social isolation and strange world events which have occurred during the time of global pandemic.
This November, Pidgorna joins Red Note Ensemble in workshops to develop material for New Normal. This work-in-progress imagines a group of highly interdependent and immensely curious aliens exploring the English language and the empty streets of a suburban town under lockdown. Wer hoomun?
Please note, these workshops are not a public performance.
Anna Pidgorna is a Ukrainian-Canadian composer, vocalist and multi-media artist who combines sound, visual arts, writing and carpentry to create works that are dramatic and picturesque. She works extensively with Ukrainian folk singing, draws inspiration from the natural soundscape, and incorporates visual elements into some of her manuscripts. Her work has been commissioned, performed and recorded by soloists and ensembles in Canada, USA, Uruguay, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Greece, Poland, Ukraine and South Korea. She holds a PhD from Princeton University, an MMus from the University of Calgary, and a BA from Mount Allison University. She lives on the traditional and unceded territory of the Qayqayt First Nation in New Westminster, BC.
Soundstreams is one of the world’s leading contemporary music companies, and the largest global presenter of new Canadian music. Founder and Artistic Director Lawrence Cherney is committed to showcasing the work of Canadian and international composers, and has commissioned over 170 new works, and programmed hundreds of unique and compelling concerts including chamber music events, multi-choir spectaculars, operas, music-theatre works, and seven highly successful international festivals.
Red Note Ensemble
Ruth Morley, flute
William White, clarinet
Colin Scobie, violin
Robert Irvine, cello
Tom Hunter, percussion
Jessica Leary Soprano
Emma Morwood Soprano
Laura Margaret Smith Mezzo Soprano
Ian Shaw Répétiteur
New Normal is a co-production with Soundstreams.

sub mari.
2021-11-04 20:00 - 21:00 | Perth Concert Hall, Mill Street, Perth, Scotland, PH1 5HZ, United Kingdom
As the COP26 summit takes place in Glasgow, Red Note’s latest commission brings together a collaborative multi-media commission by Chilean composer / double-bassist Manuel Figueroa-Bolvarán and Red Note’s Weston-Jerwood Creative Fellow, Scottish-based Martina Corsini, that highlights the contrasting scarcity and abundance of water in Chile and Scotland.
Chile has a very severe water scarcity, exacerbated by land-management practices due to the production of food (including avocados) for export. This, contrasting with a potentially dangerous water abundance here in Scotland, allows the composers to explore the character of water in both places in relation to the environmental crisis, and has inspired them to create a new multi-media artistic work that is both powerful and direct, with a clear message for us all.
Manuel Figueroa-Bolvarán has developed an extensive and multifaceted career focused on performance, composing and arts education. He has been recognized as a cultural ambassador in Chile and abroad, traveling across the Americas and over 20 countries. As composer, Manuel had written music for radio dramas, stage plays, short films and cinema adaptations. He has also premiered music for orchestra, including solo concertos, ballet and opera. Manuel is constantly working across many fields, from digital design to orchestral conducting; from classical to rock music. As a crossover artist, Manuel has performed across the Americas and Europe, recorded for several artists in Latin America and Europe, including Latin Grammys awarded albums and in collaboration with performing arts from different fields.
Martina Corsini joined the team as Creative Music Maker for a year-long Fellowship thanks to the Weston Jerwood Creative Bursaries. From a young age Martina developed her passion for music, studying piano, singing, playing the guitar and the cajon. In her teenage years, she formed an acoustic duo with the guitarist Joshua De Loa and played in multiple venues such as Auditorium Parco della Musica for the community project ‘Play Music Stop Violence’. In Scotland, Martina studied at UWS, completing a Degree in Commercial Music and Masters in Songwriting. During this time she developed her knowledge in the music industry, working as tour manager for the Eurogig and as director, project manager and tour manager for Keep Music aLive – an experience for young bands across Europe.
Please note, this event is for our Perth concert ONLY. For our Glasgow concert, click here.
Martina Corsini and Manuel Figueroa-Bolvaran sub mari.
Red Note Ensemble
Ruth Morley, flute
Joanna Nicholson, clarinet
Tom Hunter, percussion
Malcolm MacFarlane, electric guitar
Emil Chakalov, violin 1
Tom Hankey, violin 2
Fiona Winning, viola
Robert Irvine, cello
Iain Crawford, double bass
Herminda Quintraleo Voice
Coro Allegro (directed by Francisco Espinoza) Chilean Choir
Levenmouth Academy Choir (directed by Alison Fleming) Scottish Youth Choir
Cristian Andres Tapia Aracena Film Producer

sub mari.
2021-11-08 18:00 - 18:45 | Wellington Church, 77 Southpark Ave, Glasgow, G12 8LE, United Kingdom
As the COP26 summit takes place in Glasgow, Red Note’s latest commission brings together a collaborative multi-media commission by Chilean composer / double-bassist Manuel Figueroa-Bolvarán and Red Note’s Weston-Jerwood Creative Fellow, Scottish-based Martina Corsini, that highlights the contrasting scarcity and abundance of water in Chile and Scotland.
Chile has a very severe water scarcity, exacerbated by land-management practices due to the production of food (including avocados) for export. This, contrasting with a potentially dangerous water abundance here in Scotland, allows the composers to explore the character of water in both places in relation to the environmental crisis, and has inspired them to create a new multi-media artistic work that is both powerful and direct, with a clear message for us all.
Please note, this event is for our Glasgow concert ONLY. For our Perth concert, click here.

Manuel Figueroa-Bolvarán has developed an extensive and multifaceted career focused on performance, composing and arts education. He has been recognized as a cultural ambassador in Chile and abroad, traveling across the Americas and over 20 countries. As composer, Manuel had written music for radio dramas, stage plays, short films and cinema adaptations. He has also premiered music for orchestra, including solo concertos, ballet and opera. Manuel is constantly working across many fields, from digital design to orchestral conducting; from classical to rock music. As a crossover artist, Manuel has performed across the Americas and Europe, recorded for several artists in Latin America and Europe, including Latin Grammys awarded albums and in collaboration with performing arts from different fields.
Martina Corsini joined the team as Creative Music Maker for a year-long Fellowship thanks to the Weston Jerwood Creative Bursaries. From a young age Martina developed her passion for music, studying piano, singing, playing the guitar and the cajon. In her teenage years, she formed an acoustic duo with the guitarist Joshua De Loa and played in multiple venues such as Auditorium Parco della Musica for the community project ‘Play Music Stop Violence’. In Scotland, Martina studied at UWS, completing a Degree in Commercial Music and Masters in Songwriting. During this time she developed her knowledge in the music industry, working as tour manager for the Eurogig and as director, project manager and tour manager for Keep Music aLive – an experience for young bands across Europe.
Martina Corsini and Manuel Figueroa-Bolvaran sub mari.
Red Note Ensemble
Ruth Morley, flute
Joanna Nicholson, clarinet
Tom Hunter, percussion
Malcolm MacFarlane, electric guitar
Emil Chakalov, violin 1
Tom Hankey, violin 2
Fiona Winning, viola
Robert Irvine, cello
Iain Crawford, double bass
Herminda Quintraleo Voice
Coro Allegro (directed by Francisco Espinoza) Chilean Choir
Levenmouth Academy Choir (directed by Alison Fleming) Scottish Youth Choir
Cristian Andres Tapia Aracena Film Producer
Presented in collaboration with Music in the University and The Dear Green Bothy, a collaborative cultural programme from the University of Glasgow’s College of Arts, showcasing creative and critical responses to climate emergency.
Post concert: We would really appericate your feedback from our concert. As part of The Dear Green Bothy, please fill out this evaluation form here.

sub mari. Concert and Livestream from St Andrews
2021-11-09 15:00 - 15:45 | Laidlaw Music Centre, University of St Andrews, Queen's Terrace, St Andrews, KY16 9QF, United Kingdom
As the COP26 summit takes place in Glasgow, Red Note’s latest commission brings together a collaborative multi-media commission by Chilean composer / double-bassist Manuel Figueroa-Bolvarán and Red Note’s Weston-Jerwood Creative Fellow, Scottish-based Martina Corsini, that highlights the contrasting scarcity and abundance of water in Chile and Scotland.
Chile has a very severe water scarcity, exacerbated by land-management practices due to the production of food (including avocados) for export. This, contrasting with a potentially dangerous water abundance here in Scotland, allows the composers to explore the character of water in both places in relation to the environmental crisis, and has inspired them to create a new multi-media artistic work that is both powerful and direct, with a clear message for us all.
Manuel Figueroa-Bolvarán has developed an extensive and multifaceted career focused on performance, composing and arts education. He has been recognized as a cultural ambassador in Chile and abroad, traveling across the Americas and over 20 countries. As composer, Manuel had written music for radio dramas, stage plays, short films and cinema adaptations. He has also premiered music for orchestra, including solo concertos, ballet and opera. Manuel is constantly working across many fields, from digital design to orchestral conducting; from classical to rock music. As a crossover artist, Manuel has performed across the Americas and Europe, recorded for several artists in Latin America and Europe, including Latin Grammys awarded albums and in collaboration with performing arts from different fields.
Martina Corsini joined the team as Creative Music Maker for a year-long Fellowship thanks to the Weston Jerwood Creative Bursaries. From a young age Martina developed her passion for music, studying piano, singing, playing the guitar and the cajon. In her teenage years, she formed an acoustic duo with the guitarist Joshua De Loa and played in multiple venues such as Auditorium Parco della Musica for the community project ‘Play Music Stop Violence’. In Scotland, Martina studied at UWS, completing a Degree in Commercial Music and Masters in Songwriting. During this time she developed her knowledge in the music industry, working as tour manager for the Eurogig and as director, project manager and tour manager for Keep Music aLive – an experience for young bands across Europe.
Join us at Laidlaw Music Centre, St Andrews for a small performance of sub mari. or catch it online at the same time as a livestream. Links to livestream to be provided at a later date.
Please note, this event is for our livestream with St Andrews ONLY. For our Perth and Glasgow concerts, click here.
Martina Corsini and Manuel Figueroa-Bolvaran sub mari.
Red Note Ensemble
Ruth Morley, flute
Joanna Nicholson, clarinet
Tom Hunter, percussion
Malcolm MacFarlane, electric guitar
Emil Chakalov, violin 1
Tom Hankey, violin 2
Fiona Winning, viola
Robert Irvine, cello
Iain Crawford, double bass
Herminda Quintraleo Voice
Coro Allegro (directed by Francisco Espinoza) Chilean Choir
Levenmouth Academy Choir (directed by Alison Fleming) Scottish Youth Choir
Cristian Andres Tapia Aracena Film Producer

Presented in collaboration with University of St Andrews Music Centre.

Red Note at hcmf//
2021-11-19 13:00 - 14:00 | Huddersfield Town Hall, Corporation Street, Huddersfield, England, HD1 2TA, United Kingdom
Red Note has been a prominent purveyor of James Dillon’s work for the last decade, bringing premieres of his large-scale works to the festival in 2013, and then again in 2017. Our continuous relationship with the composer is palpable: performing his seemingly insurmountable music with poise, carrying it carefully while also conveying its fragile breaking point. In this concert, we deliver the world premiere of his immense new work Emblemata: Carnival.
Red Note delivers Dillon’s new composition alongside music from Luke Styles, who describes his new piece Five Phase Sphere as ‘abstract, with no programme whatsoever’. Written more for the instrumentation it uses than for any narrative reason, it comes from a place of unbridled intuition, focusing on resonances and combinations. Its title is a candid explanation of the material: five phases, musically connected, orbiting in a sphere. Red Note completes the programme with a new work from emerging Scottish composer Aileen Sweeney, an accordionist who uses her folk roots as a vessel for protesting the growing social inequalities in our environment.
hcmf// is an annual, international festival of contemporary and new music, taking place over 10 days and consisting of approximately 50 events – including concerts, music-theatre, dance, multi-media, talks and film – with a related Learning and Participation programme devised and implemented to reflect the artistic programme and respond to regional need.
James Dillon EMBLEMATA: Carnival (World Premiere)
Luke Styles Five Phase Sphere (UK Premiere)*
Aileen Sweeney The Land Under the Wave (World Premiere)
Red Note Ensemble
Ruth Morley, flute
Will White, clarinet
Tom Hunter, percussion
Simon Smith, piano
David Alberman, violin
Tom Hankey, viola
Robert Irvine, cello
Iain Crawford, double bass
Geoffrey Paterson Conductor
*co-commissioned by sound, Red Note Ensemble, Ask Duets and hcmf//

Red Note at RCS - Composer Development Sessions
2021-11-29 - 2021-11-30 | Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow, United Kingdom
Red Note play through a series of sketches by RCS Composition Master’s Students over two days. Please note, this is not a public performance.
Featuring:
Milosz Czarniecki Scherzo for the Imbeciles from the Comedy of the Profession
Sam McPartlin Interupptions
Emily Rae Small Mushrooms Gathering and Dancing in a Circle
Peter Hughes Chasing Cars
Daniel Mackenzie Out of Sight/griselle dreams
Charlotte Devlin Hand in Hand
Niall Docherty Quintet
Adrian Stark Sketches of The Dry Highlands
Ember Murray Eyes Bolted Shut
Peter Rowan I’m not sorry for you.
Melissa Rankin Invisible Sound
Ailie Ormston Red Note Ensemble

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Red Note!
2021-12-20 - 2022-01-12
Red Note wish you, your family and friends a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. As the end of the year brings around some reflection, we would like to thank you for all your support over the past year as we gradually started to bring back live concerts.
With this, we had the most amazing Autumn Season, filled with workshops, concerts and AEP sessions. However, we are now setting some time aside to recharge our batteries for 2022. The office will be closed from 20th December to the 10th January. We can’t wait to reconnect with you all then!
With warmest wishes,
John, Sarah, Louise and the Red Note Team

NOW CLOSED - Arts Administration and Communications Assistant
2022-01-27 17:00
The Arts Administration and Communication Assistant role sits at the heart of the organisation and requires a positive attitude towards problem-solving and acute attention to detail. Red Note’s administration is a small, hard-working team and we are looking for someone who is supportive, well-focused and has the initiative and energy to adapt to new situations.
The role offers insight into key areas of a cultural organisation and will give the post holder
opportunities to learn and develop skills and gain experience in areas they are not yet familiar with.
The successful candidate will have experience in one or several of the key responsibilities. Relevant training will be offered alongside the full support and assistance of the Red Note team, although candidates who show initiative and pro-activity will be preferred.
Hours of work: 20 hours a week
Salary: £9.90 per hour (we are a living wage employer)
Period of contract: From 11th February 2022 depending on availability. Contract to 31st July 2022 in the first instance, to be reviewed June 2022.
Key Dates:
Deadline for application: Thursday 27th January 2022, 5pm
Notification of interviews: Monday 31st January 2022
Interviews: Friday 4th February 2022 via zoom
Start date: from 11th February 2022 depending on availability
How to Apply
Download the JOB PACK for full information on how to apply.
Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form
All applicants must also complete an anonymous Equal Opportunities Monitoring form. This
will help Red Note Ensemble to better understand the reach and fairness of our recruitment
process.
Please CLICK HERE to download the monitoring form. Once completed please send it by
email to admin@rednoteensemble.com

CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS - The Night With... Concerts
2022-03-22 16:00
Take part in a research project by attending one of our concerts on the 23rd and 24th March 2022. The 10 participants will receive a complimentary ticket to see one of our concerts organised by The Night With… in Edinburgh and Glasgow. There will be a limit of 5 participants per concert.
If you are interested to take part in this event, please contact Flore at admin@rednoteensemble.com with the concert you would like to attend and we will get in touch with you:
– 23rd March 8pm – Summerhall, Edinburgh
– 24th March 8pm – Stereo, Glasgow
As well as the concert, participants will be needed for a focus group 45 minutes before the concert and 30 minutes after the concert.
Deadline to submit interest: 22nd March 2022, 4pm
Should you have any further questions, please contact Sarah at sarah@rednoteensemble.com
More details about the event:
Dr Charlotte Gilmore, an Athenaeum Leadership Fellow at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, is leading a research project to identify and analyse the audience attending arts events. She will lead her project during two concerts with Red Note Ensemble as part of The Night With… 2022.
The Night With… is a charity based in Glasgow presenting salon style concerts of interesting music in intimate, informal venues across Scotland and further afield. Run by Matthew Whiteside, it provides development and commissioning opportunities for young and emerging composers.
Red Note returns to The Night With… with concerts in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast and Aberdeen. Please refer to each individual event page for tickets at each location. Find out more here.
Rufus Isabel Elliot The way we cupped our hands (and how the water ran through our fingers and down to the sea)* (World Premiere)
Witold Lutoslawski String Quartet
George Crumb Black Angels
Caroline Shaw Valencia
Red Note Ensemble
Jackie Shave, Violin 1
Tom Hankey, Violin 2
Fiona Winning, Viola
Robert Irvine, Cello

Red Note at The Night With...
2022-03-23 20:00 - 21:30 | Summerhall, Summerhall Pl., Edinburgh, EH9 1QH, United Kingdom
The Night With… is a charity based in Glasgow presenting salon style concerts of interesting music in intimate, informal venues across Scotland and further afield. Run by Matthew Whiteside, it provides development and commissioning opportunities for young and emerging composers.
Red Note returns to The Night With… with concerts in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast and Aberdeen. Please refer to each individual event page for tickets at each location.
Rufus Isabel Elliot The way we cupped our hands (and how the water ran through our fingers and down to the sea)* (World Premiere)
Witold Lutoslawski String Quartet
George Crumb Black Angels
Caroline Shaw Valencia
Red Note Ensemble
Jackie Shave, Violin 1
Tom Hankey, Violin 2
Fiona Winning, Viola
Robert Irvine, Cello
In partnership with The Night With…
*co-commissioned by Red Note Ensemble and The Night With…

Red Note at The Night With...
2022-03-24 20:00 - 21:30 | Stereo, 22 Renfield Ln, Glasgow, G2 5AR

Red Note at The Night With...
2022-03-25 20:00 - 21:30 | The Black Box, 18-22 Hill Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BT1 2LA, United Kingdom

Red Note at The Night With...
2022-03-27 20:00 - 21:30 | Belmont Filmhouse, 49 Belmont Street, Aberdeen, Scotland, AB10 1JS

Red Note Community Spring Tour
2022-03-29 - 2022-03-31
From the 29th to the 31st of March, Red Note will be on the road across various locations in Glasgow and Paisley to bring music to schools and communities living in those areas*.
Tuesday 29th March: Easterhouse
– 09:00-12:00: Lochend Community High School
– 13:00-15:00: Newhills Secondary School
Wednesday 30th March: Methil
– TBC
Thursday 31st March: Ferguslie Park
– 11:30-12:00: Love Street Disability Resource Centre, Beechwood Community Centre
– 13:00-15:00: Glencoats Primary School
Red Note Ensemble
Jackie Shave, Violin 1
Tom Hankey, Violin 2
Fiona Winning, Viola
Robert Irvine, Cello
*Please note: these performances are not on sale to the general public. If you happen to be part of the groups we are visiting, we would love to see you there!

13 Vices - New Music Biennial
2022-04-23 12:00 - 13:00 | Draper’s Hall, Coventry Bayley Lane, Coventry, CV1 5RN, United Kingdom
For ensemble, improvisers, conductor & voice, 13 Vices melts boundaries between theatre, poetry & contemporary music. Exploring the weird, humorous, dark & exotic world of contemporary vices, it is the creation of pioneering compositional voices – Brian Irvine & Jennifer Walshe.
First performed in 2015, the seed was planted many years before when Brian chanced upon sculptures by Mihail Chemiakin in Moscow. The collection of slightly grotesque figures, each representing a particular adult vice that is damaging to children was the springboard to the project, which would eventually become, in Brian’s words, “a wonderfully messy, chopped up, beautiful, bewitching cocktail of the best people making the best sounds and is a project that myself, collaborator Jennifer (Walshe) and all the gang and very proud of!”.
13 Vices is truly some of the most imaginative and exhilarating music around and Red Note Ensemble is delighted to perform alongside Paul Dunmall, Paul Rogers, & Mark Sanders. This piece that will stick with you.
Red Note Ensemble
Jackie Shave, Violin
Tom Hankey, Viola
Robert Irvine, Cello
New Music Biennial is a PRS Foundation and Southbank Centre initiative. Presented in partnership with Coventry UK City of Culture, BBC Radio 3 and NMC Recordings with support from Arts Council of England, Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Paul Hamlyn Foundation
Suitable for all ages. Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult 18+.
Image credit: Moving on Music

Red Note at Plug 2022
2022-04-26 19:30 - 21:00 | Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow, United Kingdom
PLUG is the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s festival of contemporary music, all about showcasing original compositions by the students. As Contemporary Ensemble, Red Note will be playing and recording new works by five student composers:
Katrin Klose – Piano Concerto
Siobhan Dyson – Chapter Two
Jo Strike – Unreasonable Music
Pablo Martinez – The boys who became stars
Michael Maftean – 2394, 36mg
Zeo Fawcett – Shed
Red Note Ensemble
Ruth Morley, flute
Timothy Orpen, clarinet
Tom Hunter, percussion
Simon Smith, piano
Colin Scobie, violin
Robert Irvine, cello
Iain Crawford, double bass
Marianna Abrahamyan Piano
Stephanie Lamprea Voice
Rylan Gleave Voice
RCS Conductors – Leverhulme Fellowship Conductors*
*Red Note Ensemble and RCS are supported by the Leverhulme Trust

OPEN CALL - Northern Connection
2022-06-19
Scotland, Finland and Norway are joining together in partnership to commission and premiere three new works. Each country will be represented by a composer, an ensemble and a contemporary music festival.
SCOTLAND: Scottish Music Centre/Sound Festival/Red Note Ensemble
FINLAND: Music Finland/MusicaNova Festival/defunensemble
NORWAY: Music Norway/Ultima Festival/Ensemble Temporum
Each country’s selected commission will be performed by one of the ensembles at a festival in at least one of the partner countries, and possibly more. A jury of festival directors will select the three winning composers in late June/early July: the pieces will be composed in summer/autumn 2022 and pieces will be rehearsed from late 2022.
Scotland’s organisations are now looking to commission a Scottish* composer for this project.
Key dates:
Deadline for submissions: 6pm, Sunday 19th June 2022
Decision: By Monday 11th July 2022
How to apply:
Download the OPEN CALL document for full information on how to apply.
You can send your application using the online form link (CLICK HERE).
If you have any issues with the online form please contact Kadri at admin@sound-scotland.co.uk
Support with making your application
If you have any additional questions or would like to know more about this project, please contact Sarah at sarah@rednoteensemble.com
Please note that we are committed to working with and supporting composers from under-represented sections of the population. To enable this, there is a two-stage application process: an initial selection is made, and then this is narrowed down in a second stage selection process. If you are a female, disabled and/or ethnic minority composer, you can self-select to be put forward automatically to the second round if you want.

*This call is open to anyone whose main residence is in Scotland. Please refer to the open call document for further information.
This call is a collaboration between Red Note Ensemble, Sound Festival and Scottish Music Centre.
