Community Music Day at Haddo

Guarana Street Band are a community music street band that has absolutely no barriers to participation in practice and performance, in terms of age, ability or finance.

Someone who has just started can join them in performance. There are 30-40 members of the band, some are highly proficient, some are not able. They performed 80 gigs last year.

They encourage audience participation at every gig and do workshops in creating, performing and enjoying community music and team building. Their ethos is one of total inclusivity, which means that whole families often get involved and they have had three generations at one stage.

Meldrum Academy Pipe Band performs at school and community events and are led by Pipe Major Graeme Small and Leading Drummer Calum Strachan. All the musicians are taught in school by Aberdeenshire Instrumental Music Instructors Andrew Gray (bagpipes) and Nicky Gibson (snare drum).The band rehearses each Wednesday after school for one hour.

The band recently travelled to Kilmarnock to compete in the Scottish Schools Pipe Band Championships where the were placed 5th in a very competitive Debut Grade. This was a great result for the band in their first ever competition.

Over the past year the band has performed at the following events: Apple Sunday at Pitmedden Garden, Eat on the Green as part of the Provenance Festival, Expressive Arts Showcase, Christmas and Summer Concerts, Remembrance Assembly, Celebrating Success Assemblies and with the Band of the Royal Marines Scotland.

McOpera was formed in the spring of 2012 by musicians from The Orchestra of Scottish Opera, Scotland’s only fully professional opera orchestra, to provide and generate a range of artistically exciting and diverse work in Scotland. Since that time, it has developed a wide portfolio of activity ranging from operatic productions, to bespoke recording projects, orchestral performances and community outreach projects across a wide social and cultural demographic.

Recent operatic activity includes the premiere performance of An Cadal Trom, a community opera commissioned by and performed at the Lammermuir Festival 2018, the critically acclaimed (5 star) production of Britten’s community opera Noye’s Fludde (Lammermuir Festival 2016) and the world premiere of Scottish composer Erik Chisholm’s opera Simoon (Cottier Chamber Project 2015, released as a live performance on Delphian label in November 2016).

Moira Morrison is a composer, a conductor and a passionate vocal animateur who works tirelessly composing for, creating and delivering music participation projects designed to engage and enthuse. She composes songs for children in many styles as well as leading song writing projects with children themselves.

An active member of the staff of the National Youth Choir of Scotland for many years, Moira is the founder and director of youth choir Dunbar Voices, Scotland’s first juggling choir Circus Voices (which also writes for), and the Edinburgh based a capellagroup Voces Inaudate.

Moira composed and conducted  A Song for Flightfor Milngavie Music Club (2019) conducted the community opera 20 Seaward Streetfor conFAB and McOpera, was Chorus Master and Assistant Conductor for the Lammermuir Festival / Music Co-OPERAtive Scotland production of Noye’s Fludde (2016) and An Cadal Trom (2018), and she was the composer and vocal animateur for A Song for Haddo (Haddo Arts Festival).