Red Note Ensemble is one of the contemporary music ensembles in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, formed by some musicians in the UK. Playing and developing contemporary music, the ensemble performs to audiences around and beyond Scotland. It was partially named for the

blue note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical co ...

in jazz, and also refers to the red color that a certain music notation software uses to mark notes that it thinks are out of an instrument's range. Red Note Ensemble Ltd has been directed since its foundation in 2009 by John Harris (Chief Executive and Artistic Co-Director) and cellist Robert Irvine (Artistic Co-Director). In 2011 international violinist Jacqueline Shave was appointed as the Leader of the Ensemble. The ensemble performs the established classics of contemporary music, regularly commissions new work and has been developing the work of new and emerging composers from across the globe. Featured composers include Scottish-based composers including

David Fennessy David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

Gordon McPherson Gordon McPherson (born 1965) is a Scottish composer. McPherson was born in Dundee. He studied at the University of York, England, returning there for his doctorate, continuing with post-doctoral research at the Royal Northern College of Music ...

, Gareth Williams,

Sally Beamish Sarah Frances Beamish (born 26 August 1956) is a British composer and violist. Her works include chamber, vocal, choral and orchestral music. She has also worked in the field of music, theatre, film and television, as well as composing for chi ...

and Bill Sweeney and international names such as

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

Arvo Pärt Arvo Pärt (; born 11 September 1935) is an Estonian composer of contemporary classical music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs tintinnabuli, a compositional technique he invented. Pärt's music is in pa ...

Toru Takemitsu TORU or Toru may refer to: *TORU, spacecraft system *Toru (given name), Japanese male given name *Toru, Pakistan, village in Mardan District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan *Tõru Tõru is a village in Saaremaa Parish, Saare County in western Est ...

and James Dillon. As the most prominent contemporary ensemble in Scotland, Red Note undertakes extensive audience research, in conjunction with

St Andrews University (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

, with the aim of finding new ways to attract new audience to contemporary music, including through finding new spaces and exploring new ways of presenting and performing contemporary music. Red Note debuted in 2008 with a recording of

Eddie McGuire Edward Joseph McGuire AM (born 29 October 1964) is an Australian television presenter, journalist and Australian Football League commentator. He is also an occasional ''Herald Sun'' newspaper columnist. He hosts Channel Nine’s Millionaire ...

’s Carrochan suite for

Delphian Records Delphian Records is an Edinburgh-based independent classical record label, founded in 2000 by two students of the University of Edinburgh, Paul Baxter and Kevin Findlan with start-up funding from two private individuals, and support from the Pri ...

, since then their annual Spring and Autumn season comprises Scottish tours in the major towns and cities as well as more remote areas in the Highlands and Islands. The ensemble is renowned for their site-specific work and collaborations with other companies including

1000 Airplanes on the Roof ''1000 Airplanes on the Roof'' is a melodrama in one act by Philip Glass which featured text by David Henry Hwang and projections by Jerome Sirlin. It is described by Glass as "a science fiction music drama". The work was commissioned by the D ...

with the

National Theatre of Scotland The National Theatre of Scotland, established in 2006, is the national theatre company of Scotland. The company has no theatre building of its own; instead it tours work to theatres, village halls, schools and site-specific locations, both at h ...

, Pass the Spoon with

Magnetic North Theatre Company Magnetism is the class of physical attributes that are mediated by a magnetic field, which refers to the capacity to induce attractive and repulsive phenomena in other entities. Electric currents and the magnetic moments of elementary particles ...

and Tantallon! These Lands, This Wall with the Lammermuir Festival in

East Lothian East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the histo ...

. Red Note's regular informal new music series ''Noisy Nights'' and ''Noisy Words'', in partnership with the

Traverse Theatre The Traverse Theatre is a theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded in 1963 by John Calder, John Malcolm, Jim Haynes and Richard Demarco. The Traverse Theatre company commissions and develops new plays or adaptations from contemporary pla ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, attract and showcases the work of new composers from Scotland and across Europe. Red Note is committed to the education sector and has alliances with the

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland ( gd, Conservatoire Rìoghail na h-Alba), formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama ( gd, Acadamaidh Rìoghail Ciùil is Dràma na h-Alba) is a conservatoire of dance, drama, music, production, and ...

in Glasgow, at

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

and the Woodend Barn in

Banchory Banchory (, sco, Banchry, gd, Beannchar) is a burgh or town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is about west of Aberdeen, near where the Feugh River meets the River Dee. Prehistory and archaeology In 2009, a farmer discovered a short cist ...

, near

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

. Red Note is particularly focused on helping the development of the musical creativity of Primary and Secondary school pupils, as well as performance and composition standards across higher education. Red Note is Associate Contemporary Ensemble at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow, and an Associate Company of the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh.

References

External links

Red Note Ensemble official website
{{Authority control New music organizations Scottish musical groups Contemporary classical music ensembles British classical music groups