Chris Stout is delighted to have been asked by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra to compose a piece of music especially for them. The piece will be premiered in Shetland next year as part of their ‘out and about’ series.
It is a very exciting opportunity as the project will allow Chris to work closely with various members of the orchestra as he is composing it. These meetings will allow the orchestral musicians a greater access to traditional music styles and lead to a greater understanding of Chris’s music.
In addition to this Chris along with Harpist Catriona McKay will be orchestrating the music from their critically acclaimed Duo album ‘White Nights’ for 3 performances with Symphony Nova Scotia in Halifax next March. It’s a huge reward for the hard work the Duo have put in over the last few years and will undoubtably enable them to reach out to a wider audience.
The bittersweet aspect of this project is that it will be at exactly the same time as the premier of Chris’s piece for the RSNO in Shetland. Therefore he will be unable to write himself a part in the new piece….
While all this is going on Catriona & Chris will be working closely with world renowned composer Sally Beamish as she will writing a concerto for Harp, Fiddle and Strings. The piece is to be performed at the Edinburgh International Harp Festival and at next years Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow.
New Album: Chris Stout’s Brazilian Theory – Live In Concert
Chris also has a new album out this week titled Chris Stout’s Brazilian Theory – Live In Concert. The album was recorded at Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow and is the first to be released on his own label.
Photo credit: Donald MacLeod
Video
Harp & fiddle, Catriona McKay & Chris Stout ‘Smugglers Set’
Chris Stout and Finlay MacDonald – Fiddle and Pipes -Piping Live! 2010