Haddo House Choral & Operatic Society – Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle

Haddo House Choral Society (later to become Haddo House Choral and Operatic Society – HHCOS) was established in 1945 by the late Lord and Lady Aberdeen, David and June Gordon, and is a large and vibrant choral society based at the beautiful Haddo House in rural Aberdeenshire eighteen miles north of Aberdeen in the north east of Scotland.  The first Christmas carol concert took place that year in the family chapel attached to the house and continued there annually until interrupted by Covid.

Since 1945, HHCOS has consistently produced concerts and operas of a high standard, working with professional orchestras, singers and conductors. HRH Prince Edward has taken part in several plays at Haddo and many eminent musicians have performed with HHCOS, including Benjamin Britten, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Willard White, Leon Goossens and Dame Janet Baker. Many young people who have grown up in the area and who have performed at Haddo have gone on to study music and the performing arts at tertiary level.  Several young singers who attended Haddo since their school days now have promising singing careers, including Lisa Moffat, Eleanor Dennis and Amy Strachan.

Haddo House Choral and Operatic Society (HHCOS) is widely recognised as being one of the strongest in the area with a busy schedule which in normal years includes an opera or major concert in spring, an autumn concert in October and several carol events in December.  Some of the productions have been conducted by guest conductors such as Timothy Dean, Ben Parry, Garry Walker and David Jones, otherwise HHCOS Musical Director, Paul Tierney wields the baton.

 Dr Paul Tierney

PhD, BMus (Hons.) LGSMD ATCL

Paul was born in Edinburgh in 1984 but grew up in Hawick in the Scottish Borders.  He graduated from the University of Aberdeen in 2006 with a first class BMus (Hons.) degree and in 2012 with a PhD in composition, also from the University of Aberdeen.  He has taken part in numerous masterclasses with singers such as Donald Maxwell, Raimund Herincx, Cate Hughes, Irene Drummond, Margaret Cable and Stephen Varcoe.  In 2005, he was awarded the Ellie Pirie award by Aberdeen Bach Choir and the North East of Scotland Music School.  In 2006 Paul was awarded the first Derek Ogston Postgraduate Music Scholarship from the University of Aberdeen.  He is also the recipient of the Nora Bentley Award for his services with the University of Aberdeen Chapel Choir.

As a soloist, Paul has performed with many groups including Aberdeen Choral Society, University of Aberdeen Choral Society and Chapel Choir, Concordia String Orchestra, Aberdeen Orpheus Choir, Peterhead Choral Society, Inverurie Choral Society, Roxburgh Singers and the Queens Cross Charity Concert.  He has also performed with the Hereford International Summer School Chorus in the role of Aeneas in Purcell’s ‘Dido and Aeneas’.  Paul has also performed with the Gustavus Adolphus New Music Ensemble in Minneapolis, USA.  He also gives numerous recitals of English Song and Lieder and gave the first Scottish performance of ‘To a Poet’ by Gerald Finzi.  He has also received rave reviews for his performances of ‘Die Schöne Müllerin’ and ‘Winterreise’ of Schubert; “Tierney’s singing was a revelation!”  Paul has recently recorded ‘Winterreise’ with Roger Williams at the piano.

Paul is active as a conductor and composer and has studied with Alasdair Nicholson, Sally Beamish and Sir. Peter Maxwell Davies as part of the first St. Magnus Composers Course.  His piece ‘Threnody’ was premiered by the Kreisler ensemble at the St. Magnus Festival.  Paul’s music has also been performed by the Edinburgh Quartet, members of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Gemini Ensemble and Lontano Ensemble.  Paul’s work, ‘Gallowgate Lard’, based on the painting by Ken Currie was commissioned as part of the 2009 Sound Festival and was given its first performance by Roberto Fabricciani, Tadej Kenig and Rohan De Saram.  Paul was also featured as principal guest composer at the Dana School of Music New Music Festival XXVII at Youngstown State University, Ohio, USA in May 2011.  In June 2011 his new percussion concerto ‘Landscape from a Dream’ was performed by the Inverurie Orchestra, conducted by the composer.  Paul has recently presented a paper on the influence that music of the Far East had on the creative output of Benjamin Britten at the conference ‘Britten 100: An American Music Centenary’ at Illinois State University, Bloomington, USA.

Paul is currently musical director and conductor of the Haddo House Choral and Operatic Society and and was musical director of the Inverurie Orchestra from 2007-2019.  With Haddo, performances have included ‘Elijah’ by Mendelssohn, ‘Nelson Mass’ by Haydn, ‘Te Deum’ of Dvorak and ‘Samson’ by Handel in the presence of the society’s patron HRH Prince Edward.  Notable highlights with the Inverurie Orchestra have included several collaborations with Inverurie Choral Society.  These collaborations have included performances of well-known opera choruses, arias and overtures as well as a performance of ‘The Music Makers’ by Elgar and ‘The Creation’ by Haydn.  Paul also conducted a full performance of Handel’s ‘Messiah’ with the Inverurie Choral Society and chamber orchestra in March 2012.  Paul was the founding director of the University of Aberdeen New Music Group and has also conducted the University of Aberdeen Chapel Choir, the Learig Orchestra, Aberdeen Sinfonietta and University of Aberdeen Gilbert and Sullivan Society.  He has recently conducted performances of Maxwell Davies ‘Eight Songs for a Mad King’, Schoenberg’s ‘Pierrot Lunaire’, Varese ‘Octandre’, Handel’s ‘Messiah’ and Mendelssohn’s Third Symphony.  In April 2014, Paul conducted the University of Aberdeen opera society in a series of performances of ‘Eugene Onegin’ by Tchaikovsky.  In May 2016, Paul conduced Aberdeen Sinfonietta in a performance including music by Rossini, Donizetti and Haydn.   Paul has taken part in numerous choral conducting masterclasses working with conductors such as Stephen Layton (Polyphony), Neil Ferries (BBC SO) and Matthew Hamilton (Hallé).  Most recently Paul conducted the Hallé Choir in a masterclass performing Elgar’s ‘The Dream of Gerontius’.

As well as working with both orchestras and choirs in a formal rehearsal and performance scenario, Paul has also led informal workshops on singing technique with local choirs as well as leading a series of local ‘come and sing’ days focussing on Handel’s ‘Messiah’ and well known Opera Choruses.

Dr Ben Marsden studied mathematics at Cambridge, piano at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama (with Claudio Arrau’s student Brigitte Wild), and history of science at the University of Kent at Canterbury. He is currently the Head of History at the University of Aberdeen. Since coming to Aberdeen in 1999 he has been heavily involved in the city’s musical culture, working as an accompanist, repetiteur, orchestral pianist, chamber musician and occasional soloist in association with groups including: the Aberdeen Chamber Orchestra, the Aberdeen Friends of Scottish Opera, the Aberdeen International Youth Festival, the Bach Choir, the Banchory Singers, Con Anima, Concordia, the Deeside Festival, the Deeside Orchestra, the Grampian Concert Orchestra, the Grampian Youth Orchestra, Haddo Arts, Opera Uploaded, Spectrum New Music Ensemble, the University of Aberdeen Symphony Orchestra, the University of Aberdeen Choral Society and the University of Aberdeen Opera Society. As an accompanist he has performed at the Cowdray Hall, regularly in the ‘Cathedral at Noon’ series at St Andrew’s Cathedral (Aberdeen), at St Machar’s Cathedral, at the Pheonix Centre (Newton Dee), in the University of Aberdeen’s Ogston Prize, and in masterclasses at NESMS (North East of Scotland Music School), including with Donald Maxwell. 

Praised as ‘stylish and appealing’ (The Financial Times) and ‘vocally-skilled, intelligent and mature’ (Wales on Sunday), Welsh tenor William Searle has performed at Carnegie Hall, in Graham Johnson’s Schubertiade at the Wigmore Hall, and with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Cadogan Hall. Recent operatic roles have included Bertram in La donna del lago, Souffleur in Viva la Diva and Lensky [cover show] in Eugene Onegin all at Buxton International Festival, Acis in Acis and Galatea with The Zimmermann Band, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte with Aberdeen University Opera Society and Don Eusebio in L’occasione fa il ladro with British Youth Opera. He was selected as a featured artist by the charity Making Music in recognition of his dedication to oratorio repertoire and future performances will include Haydn’s The Creation, J.S. Bach’s St John Passion and a first Verdi Requiem. Thanks to the support of the Help Musicians Sybil Tutton Opera Award, he is studying with Scott Johnson at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Alexander Gibson Opera School, where upcoming roles will include Dr S. in Michael Nyman’s The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat, King Ouf in Chabrier’s L’étoile and Mozart in Mozart and Salieri by Rimsky-Korsakov.

www.williamsearletenor.com 

Scottish soprano Amy Strachan has recently completed her studies at the Alexander Gibson Opera School (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) under the tutelage of Wilma MacDougall and Duncan Williams. Amy read music at The University of Edinburgh before studying at the Royal Academy of Music where she graduated with a distinction in her Master of Arts and was subsequently offered a fellowship. During her studies Amy has been awarded the Margaret Fletcher Schola Cantorum of Edinburgh Lieder Prize and the Donald Tovey Memorial Prize – awarded to the student who shows the greatest promise in composition or performance and also the Marjorie Thomas Art of Song Prize.

​As an oratorio soloist Amy has performed a plethora of works including Mendelssohn Elijah and Symphony No. 2 – ‘Lobgesang’, Poulenc Gloria, Händel Messiah and Samson, Rameau Grands Motet – ‘In Convertendo’, Hayden Creation and Vaughan Williams Serenade to Music with various ensembles and choral societies. She is absolutely delighted to be returning to HHCOS to perform Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle.

​Amy’s operatic roles include Micaela Carmen, Rosalinda Die Fledermaus, Elle La Voix Humane, Pamina Die Zauberflöte, Sesto Gulio Cesare, and Drusilla L’incoronazione di Poppea. Amy has also performed many scenes including Fox Cunning Little Vixen, Lady Billows Albert Herring, Mimi La Bohème, Countess Le Nozze di Figaro, Fiordiligi Cosi Fan Tutte, and Leonora Fideleo.

​As a soloist Amy has featured in the Edinburgh International Festival as part of their Songlines series, performed a solo recital at the Wigmore Hall and in the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games Cultural Programme performing the world premiere of Stephen Deazley’s Perch. Amy has also premiered Tom Cunningham’s The Willow-Wren and the Stare and Brian Irvine’s Monuments of the Mind. 

Andrew McTaggart graduated from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where he attended the Alexander Gibson Opera School where awards included the David Knox Memorial Prize and the Governor’s Recital Prize. His Edinburgh International Festival debut was singing Vaughan Williams’s Five Mystical Songs in the Usher Hall in 2019. Other notable concert engagements include Messiah at the Royal Festival Hall, Mozart’s Requiem at the Royal Albert Hall and Belshazzzar’s Feast with the National Youth Choir of Scotland and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Other notable concert engagements include Messiah at the Royal Festival Hall, Mozart’s Requiem at the Royal Albert Hall and the Bridgewater Hall, and Belshazzzar’s Feast with the National Youth Choir of Scotland and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

His operatic roles have included Falstaff and Gianni Schicchi (Opera Bohemia), Bottom A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Samuel The Pirates of Penzance, Garibaldo Rodelinda, Yamadori Madama Butterfly, (all Scottish Opera), Lakai in Ariadne auf Naxos (Opera de Lorraine) and Gasparo Rita (West Green Opera). Andrew sang the roles of Noye in Noye’s Fludde and the premiere of An Cadal Throm with the Lammermuir Festival whilst working with the community groups to create the performance. He created the role of Duncan in the European première of Tom Cunningham’s chamber opera The Okavango Macbeth (recorded on Delphian Records). Returning to Opera de Lorraine in 2019, Andrew gave a recital in the Musikfestspiele Saar, as well as singing Josef in Bernard Herman’s Wuthering Heights.

Andrew’s love for education sees him appear regularly with Scottish Opera, recently performing with their Young Company in the premiere of The Cabinet of Dr Calagari and the annual A Little Bit of… tours, as well as developing and delivering workshops for the Education Department. He is currently the Musical Director of Ayr Choral Union, Greenock Philharmonic Choir and Director of the NYCOS Renfrewshire Choir. His debut album with Tim Dean, called A Landscape of Song, can be purchased at www.andrewmctaggart.co.uk

Andrew recently enjoyed a summer of singing all over Scotland singing the title role in Opera Bohemia’s production of The Marriage of Figaro and touring with Scottish Opera’s Pop-Up tour.

Scottish mezzo Lauren Young was an inaugural studio artist at Mascarade Opera Studio in Florence, Italy for the 2020/2021 season. She is a graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) Alexander Gibson Opera School, where she studied with Linda Ormiston and Duncan Williams.

Lauren is a Britten Pears Young Artist 2022/2023 and recipient of an Independent Opera Voice Scholarship and Fellowship. She was the winner of the Clonter Opera Prize and the Joaninha Trust Award in 2020 and runner-up in the Ye Cronies Opera Award 2019 and 2020.

Upcoming engagements include Mathilde in Handel’s Ottone with English Touring Opera and Daughter 6 on Philip Glass’ Akhnaten at the English National Opera in 2023. Recent engagements include Vans Zonnendanz in Donizetti’s Viva la Diva at the Buxton International Festival, cover Rossweisse in Wagner’s The Valkyrie, cover Mrs Alexander in Philip Glass’ Satyagraha with English National Opera and Witch Hansel and Gretel with British Youth Opera/Silent Opera at Opera Holland Park. Lauren made her debut at Teatro La Fenice Venice in May 2021, where she sang the roles of Charlotte (Werther) and Fillipyevna (Eugene Oregon).