New work by Jay Capperauld celebrates 20th anniversary of Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s Big Guitar Weekend

Jay Capperauld at the premiere of Galvanic Dances with accordionist Ryan Corbett, National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, Catherine Larsen-Maguire

The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s (RCS) Big Guitar Weekend celebrates its 20th anniversary this year as it runs from Thursday 29 October until Sunday 1 November. Since its launch in 2006, it has become one of Scotland’s leading guitar festivals, bringing together international artists, RCS faculty, alumni and new talent.

One of the highlights of this year's Big Guitar Weekend is the premiere of Arachne by Scottish composer Jay Capperauld [see my 2025 interview with Jay]. Arachne will be performed by RCS graduate and BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist Samrat Majumder alongside Allan Neave, Head of Guitar and Harp at RCS.

Jay Capperauld graduated with a Masters in Composition with Distinction from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2014. In 2023, he was commissioned by His Majesty King Charles III to compose Schiehallion! for the Honours of Scotland celebrations. His accordion concerto, Galvanic Dances (premiered by Ryan Corbett and the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, conductor Catherine Larsen-Maguire) won the European Composition Award 2025.

Commenting on the premiere of Arachne, Allan Neave said: "It is a fascinating piece with a great narrative. Jay has never written for guitar before, so he has brought some fresh approaches to the instrument. He has written a section that sees the player creating the movements and sounds of a spider spinning thread and scurrying across the fretboard. It’s pretty cool."

Other events in the Big Guitar Weekend include a masterclass and headline concert by guitarist Lorenzo Micheli; Samrat Majumder and Ian Watt, an RCS alumnus, join forces for Lachrimae – The Lute Music of John Dowland and Johann Sebastian Bach, and music by Stephen Goss, Michael Tippett, Giulio Regondi and Emilio Pujol; on Saturday there is a showcase from the Junior Conservatoire of Music; Zoe Barnett closes the festival with a programme heavily inspired by Spanish repertoire.

Full details from the RCS website.