200 singers, 25 nationalities: Edinburgh Royal Choral Union joins forces with the Brussels Choral Society for Poulenc & Bruckner in Edinburgh

Edinburgh Royal Choral Union joins forces with the Brussels Choral Society for Poulenc & Bruckner in Edinburgh

The Edinburgh Royal Choral Union (ERCU) will join forces with the Brussels Choral Society for a collaborative concert at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh on 15 March 2025, bringing together some 200 singers for music on a grand scale. Michael Bawtree, ERCU's chorus director since 2005, will conduct the choirs along with the Orchestra of Scottish Opera in Francis Poulenc’s Gloria and Anton Bruckner’s Mass in D minor. Solo roles will be performed by the Sòlas Ensemble, a young vocal quartet formed at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

The collaboration follows a sold‑out performance of the same programme by ERCU and Brussels Choral Society at the renowned Bozar concert hall and arts venue in Brussels in December 2025, which received a rapturous response from the audience.

Founded in 1979, the Brussels Choral Society is Belgium’s largest amateur symphony choir, comprising around 100 singers from over 25 different nationalities and known for its wide-ranging repertoire from Baroque masterpieces to contemporary works. Founded in 1858, the Edinburgh Royal Choral Union ( is one of Scotland’s oldest choral societies. A mixed choir of around 120 voices, it is best known for its annual New Year performance of Handel’s Messiah at the Usher Hall, a tradition established in 1888 and continued without interruption, even through two World Wars, alongside an ambitious programme of large-scale choral works and international collaborations.

Further details and tickets from Culture Edinburgh website.

 

Young vocal health: St Mary's Music School in Edinburgh launches of two vocal programmes, the only ones of their kind in Scotland and the North of England

St Mary's Music School, Edinburgh

St Mary's Music School in Edinburgh is the only specialist music school in Scotland, and it is also the Choir School of St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral. The has launched two vocal programmes, the only ones of their kind in Scotland and the North of England - Changing Voices Programme and Senior Vocal Programme. Both courses are full time programmes, running alongside academic studies (rather than part time or out of hours lessons/ courses).

Changing Voices Programme is aimed at pupils aged 13 to 15, and arises out of a programme to nurture the boys from St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral choir after their voices break. The programme focuses on classical vocal technique, singers are nurtured and supported to maintain confidence in their vocal ability through specialist classes and teaching on how to use their new voices.

Senior Vocal Programme is designed for pupils aged 15 to 19, preparing young singers for the next stage in their career, and it incorporates acting, movement, stagecraft, and vocal scenes, providing the opportunity for talented young singers to receive top-tier vocal training without the need to travel south of the border.

The courses are the brain-child of the school's Head of Voice, Kate Aitken, herself an experienced opera singer 

Full details from the school's website.

Blair Coron's 'A Carrying Stream': a new collection of music and companion public exhibition

Blair Coron - Photo by Skaiste Klaniute

Blair Coron is a musician and poet from Springfield, a small village in Fife, Scotland. His quiet and intimate music blends modern classical, storytelling and traditional melodies, with themes of nature, people, time and place. Through music, words and cinematography, Coron's primary intention is to create enchanting atmospheres that sets course for introspection and connection to the landscapes surrounding us. 

His debut album was On The Nature of Things and his second was Cairn a celebration of Scottish heritage which had an accompanying film and was in collaboration with the School of Scottish Studies Archives and National Trust for Scotland. Cairn included new music set to archival interviews of those living in the Highlands and Islands during the early 20th century discussing local legends, childhood reminiscences and traditions long forgotten.

Blair Coron's latest project is A Carrying Stream, a new collection of music and companion public exhibition from the Scottish Archives. Blair describes it thus: 

"For the past while my mind has been seaward, accompanying the previous generations amongst their days. With drowned sailors, tales of the sea, songs of lament by parted lovers and all that lives on the carrying stream of Scotland's history and heritage. And now it brings me so much joy to finally introduce the culmination of everything, A Carrying Stream. A new exhibition and EP commissioned by the School of Scottish Studies Archives and Edinburgh University. I was invited to curate a deep, immersive, listening experience, through haunting sound and visual installations inspired by materials in the archives, offering fresh perspective on Scotland's rich oral tradition." 

The exhibition is open until September 30, at 30 George Square, Edinburgh, further information from the University of Edinburgh website. Blair's EP was issued last month and is available to stream [lnktree] or via BandCamp.

Tandava: Simon Thacker and Piah Dance Company at Edinburgh Fringe

Tandava: Simon Thacker and Piah Dance Company

Scottish classical guitarist Simon Thacker has been on our radar ever since I reviewed his disc, Rakasha in 2013. Thacker's interests lie in the edge between Western classical music and Indian classical music, and for a new project he will be joining forces with India's Piah Dance Company. 

Tandava, which is at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from 18-26 August 2023 at theSpace @ Niddry St, Edinburgh, combines dazzling dance with guitar wizardry. The Sanskrit word Tandava represents a cosmic dance which is the source of the cycle of creation, preservation and dissolution, unifying seemingly irreconcilable opposites.

Full details from the Edinburgh Fringe website.

Edinburgh International Festival celebrates its 75th anniversary with 35,000 free tickets

Ukraine Freedom Orchestra © 2022 

Edinburgh International Festival is 75 and to celebrate it is giving out 35,0000 free tickets to four large-scale events, including circus and physical theatre, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Ukraine Freedom Orchestra and an immersive light and sound experience.

The festival opens with Macro at BT Murrayfield, presented as part of the UK/Australia Season 2021-22, Macro features circus and physical theatre company Gravity & Other Myths, First Nations dance company Djuki Mala, the National Youth Choir of Scotland and Scottish musicians including Aidan O’Rourke, Brìghde Chaimbeul, Lauren MacColl and Kathleen MacInnes.

The Philadelphia Orchestra, led by conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, (in residence at the festival) present Thank You, Edinburgh – a free concert given as a big thank you to the city and residents of Edinburgh at the Edinburgh Playhouse on Saturday 27 August at 3pm and it will also be relayed live to the Ross Bandstand in Princes Street Gardens. 

Dreamachine, part of UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK, is a free immersive experience at Murrayfield Ice Rink using light and sound to explore the potential of the human mind. Created by Collective Act, presented by Edinburgh Science, and bringing together Turner Prize-winning artists Assemble, Grammy and Mercury nominated musician and composer Jon Hopkins, and a team of leading technologists, scientists and philosophers. 

The festival and the Scottish Government are partnering to welcome the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra for a free concert at the Usher Hall on Saturday 6 August 2pm. The orchestra includes recent refugees, Ukrainian members of European orchestras and leading Ukrainian musicians and performers including soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska and pianist Anna Fedorova. Led by Canadian-Ukrainian conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson, the special concert sees invitations extended to the Ukrainian community in Scotland and organisations leading efforts in the resettlement of Ukrainian refugees.

Full details from the festival website.

When These Rocks Were Still Young: a new film from Scottish composer & percussionist Oliver Cox, & Gaelic vocalist Julie Fowlis.

When These Rocks Were Still Young - Oliver Cox

A new film premiering online this month as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe features live performances from Scottish composer and percussionist Oliver Cox, with Gaelic vocalist Julie Fowlis. When These Rocks Were Still Young is part performance, part documentary, a journey through music and film into the landscapes of Scotland. 

Cox is a composer and percussionist from Edinburgh, and he is co-founder of the percussion duo, O Duo. When These Rocks Were Still Young was created out of an extended road trip around Scotland undertaken by Cox in Autumn 2019. Searching for a new artistic outlet and a way to connect with Scotland’s wild places, Cox created a mobile studio in the back of a campervan and set off around the Highlands and Islands. Composing and recording on the road, Cox returned home with the fragments of music and plans to develop a full work for film and concert performance. However, the advent of the pandemic necessitated a change in direction, and the work became an immersive film featuring performances and music, written at intervals across 2020 and 2021. The project is Cox's first collaboration with Julie Fowlis, a multi-award-winning Gaelic singer from the Outer Hebridean island of North Uist.

Julie Fowlis and Oliver Cox

When These Rocks Were Still Young is available to watch for free on-demand from Wednesday
18 - 31 August 2021 on the Edinburgh Fringe online player.

High ambitions: Edinburgh International Festival's classical music programme for 2021

Jenna Reid (fiddle), Su-a Lee (cello) and Iain Sandilands (percussion) perform in the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh to celebrate the launch of the 2021 Edinburgh International Festival programme (Photo Ryan Buchanan)

How do you plan a festival when even the idea of a concert is uncertain? The Edinburgh International Festival has announced its plans for the Summer festival running from 7 to 29 August 2021. I spoke last week to Andrew Moore, the festival's Head of Music, about the festival's classical music programme for 2021 and he admits that the planning process has been a rollercoaster, going through various phases of planning over the Winter. However, despite the limits and restrictions, this year's festival features over 170 classical and contemporary music, theatre, opera, dance and spoken word performance, including 15 new commissions and premieres.

Early last year, there was hope that we might be back inside for concerts in Autumn 2020 but then reality dawned. The festival's director Fergus Linehan proposed the idea of outdoor performances for 2021. In September 2020 it seemed cautious indeed to consider we would not be back indoors until Autumn 2021, but now Linehan's ideas seem prescient. So the festival's classical music programme for 2021 will be taking place largely in the festival's new indoor/outdoor pavilions (at Old College Quad, Edinburgh Park and Edinburgh Academy Junior School).

In terms of programming, Andrew says that it has been a challenge but exciting as they had to unpick a lot of last year's cancelled programme, do some shuffling and re-work the original plans for 2021. The negotiating with artists about dates and programmes felt more like a normal year, but the repertoire had to be looked at from a different perspective. Social distancing on stage means that they had to consider smaller numbers of musicians, with no significant chorus (a maximum of 12), an orchestra of 45 maximum, and works with no interval. But for all the restrictions, Andrew says their ambition was high. 

Edinburgh innovations: the 2021 festival will involve three new temporary outdoor pavilions and streamed performances

Edinburgh University Old College Quad

Like most other Summer festivals, the Edinburgh International Festival was cancelled last year, but for 2021 the festival is taking steps to ensure that some sort of live performance will be possible. The festival is planned for 7 to 29 August 2021, and they are creating three bespoke outdoor venues which will enable artists and audience to gather safely. The three temporary pavillions, designed especially for live performance, will be at what are described as iconic locations in the city including Edinburgh Park and the University of Edinburgh's Old College Quad.

My memories of Edinburgh Summers is not one of unalloyed joy when it comes to weather, so I trust that the designers have taken Scottish weather into account!

As the element of international travel in the audience this year is likely to be far smaller than usual, the festival is also planning to go digital and release a selection of high-quality streamed performances free of charge during each week of the Festival, for audiences in Edinburgh and around the world to enjoy from home.

An artist impression of the University of Edinburgh's Old College Quad with the temporary outdoor pavilion during the 2021 Edinburgh International Festival.

The full programme for the festival will be announced on 2 June 2021. Full details from the festival website.

White Flame: Scottish premiere of David Matthews' work celebrating Muriel Spark's centenary

Muriel Spark, Rome c1971-74 (Photo © Jerry Bauer)

2018 was the centenary of the Scottish novelist Muriel Spark, and as part of the celebrations composer David Matthews (born 1943) wrote White Flame, a setting of five of Spark's poems, for the Nash Ensemble. The work was premiered at the Purcell Room on the Southbank in 2018, and now in a sort of coda to the centenary the Nash Ensemble is to give the work's Scottish premiere at the Queen's Hall in Edinburgh on 27 January 2020.

Written for mezzo-soprano and piano quintet, White Flame will be performed in Edinburgh by mezzo-soprano Victoria Simmonds and members of the Nash Ensemble, the performers who premiered the work. Before the concert there will be a chance to hear composer David Matthews in conversation with Alan Taylor, (past chairman of the Muriel Spark Society, the group which commissioned the work in the first place) talking about Matthews' choice of poems.

The concert will be completed by Mozart's Piano Quartet, Schumann's Piano Quintet and Brahms' Two Songs Op. 91 for voice, viola and piano.

The concert is presented by the New Town Concerts society, full details from the Queen's Hall website.