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First Composer-in-Association announced

Steve Forman confirmed as ensemble's first resident composer over the next two seasons...

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...Composer-in-Association announced

Auricle is pleased to announce details of their first composer-in-association, Steve Forman. Steve will be collaborating with Auricle from mid-2011 with kind support from the PRS For Music Foundation. Steve will be creating new work with Auricle, as well as re-presenting some of his earlier pieces. Steve's career has taken him from Los Angeles where he worked as a session musician, to Glasgow where he is currently finishing a composition PhD at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. With particular interests in ethnic forms and world percussion instruments, he also became known for combining digital sampling with live percussion, and has created many special percussive effects and sequences for the screen. He has worked on many soundtracks and with hundreds of artists around the world - such as David Bowie, The Beach Boys, James Taylor, Pink Floyd...and now Auricle!

"I'm extremely excited about working closely with Auricle Ensemble and collaborating with many of the finest musicians in Scotland," said Steve Forman, “Auricle combine an abiding respect and appreciation for traditional styles and repertoire with a keen enthusiasm for new musical forms and structures beyond the usual limits of contemporary concert programming, and bring a world-class standard of performance precision, and a deep emotional sensitivity to every project they undertake. As an emerging composer, to be invited to team up with such a versatile and capable group of seasoned professionals is a fantastic opportunity, and for me, literally a dream come true."

"We're thrilled to be working with Steve", said Musical Director Chris Swaffer, "it'll be a fantastic collaboration that will not only see new pieces created but also be a platform for Steve's exciting catalogue of existing music over a number of seasons. By working in this way, we feel we can provide crucial performance longevity to the work created, maximise audience familiarity to Steve and his music over time and create a real working relationship between players and a composer. Exciting times."

Watch this space for dates, times and venues...

2011 Festival Appearances

/STOPPRESS/ Tickets now released for Fringe by the Sea, Edinburgh Fringe and Wigtown Book Festival dates. See Concerts page for direct links...

Over the coming months, Auricle will be appearing at a number of festivals, including Glasgow's West End Festival, Edinburgh's Fringe, Fringe by the Sea in North Berwick and Wigtown's international Book Festival. Our performances include another two chances to hear our Facade show with Crawford Logan and Joanna Tope, a European premiere of the suite from Wynton Marsalis' 'Fiddler's Tale' and brand new arrangements especially made by Auricle, of the incidental music of Scottish composer Thomas Wilson.
All concert and ticket info here...

Further Facades

Two great audiences, two great actors and more fun than you're really supposed to have at a concert... Following our recent performances of the complete movements of William Walton's Facade in Glasgow and Dumfries and Galloway we've been approached by a number of festivals to repeat the experience over the summer, so if you've missed out so far, watch this space!

Maggots

Auricle transformed both St.Bride's and Edinburgh's Reid Hall into decaying, dusty wedding ceremonies (complete with wedding cake), to give two performances of Maxwell Davies' 'Miss Donnithorne's Maggot'.

Robin Holloway's charming and surpising 5 Haydn Miniatures was very warmly received but gave no hint at the mayhem to come. Max's Fantasia on one note after Purcell (complete with banjo-playing percussionist, harpsichord-playing violinist and cello-playing harpsichordist) provided the perfect accompaniment for Miss Donnithorne to process down the aisle (aka Alexa Mason wearing a wedding gown and the most startling make-up).

Reviews:
The Scottish Review (Institute of Contemporary Scotland). Review by Hugh Kerr here
Leith FM Online. Review by Fin Wycherley here

For more photos, please check out our albums on our Facebook page, here

West End Festival 2010

Herald Feature Article/Interview Magical Mahler: here

Auricle's two sell-out concerts at this year's Glasgow West End Festival featured Kurt Weill's Threepenny Opera with an amazing cast singing Jeremy Sams razor sharp translations. Auricle then performed its twentieth concert - our Mini-Mahler journey so far in Oran Mor's beautiful auditorium, with soprano Una McMahon to a packed (and hot) house.

"revelatory...gorgeous...compelling...characterful...ravishing...****"
For the full Herald Review of the Mini-Mahler Concert at Oran Mor by Chief Music Critic Michael Tumelty, click: here

Auricle 2010/11

Auricle's next two seasons of concerts have been announced, including its ambitious two year Mahler project. Click the image below to download the Mahler brochure (pdf), or follow the link for our complete season here...

To read Michael Tumelty's Herald article about Auricle and its forthcoming season (From Miles Davis and Mahler to an ensemble affair, Arts Section, 06/02/10), please click here...

Auricle and Pierrot

Auricle's performances of Pierrot Lunaire garnered much interest and great reviews. Over 100 people turned out over their lunchtime to hear Pierrot Lunaire at Edinburgh University, and at the Wigtown Book Festival, the audience enjoyed a Discovering Music style introduction, before an atmospheric late night performance under a full moon.

"a delicate, technically impeccable and sensitive reading of Schoenberg’s detailed score"
For the full review of the Glasgow performance in the Herald, click here...

To hear Auricle's Schoenberg interview on Leith FM, click here

"extraordinary" Wigtown Book Festival

Auricle's Edinburgh Uni concert is also cited in Kenneth Walton's Scotsman article
"Let music be the food of lunch"

Auricle Announce New Residency

Auricle is pleased to announced its residency at St. Bride's church in the heart of Glasgow's West End.

St. Bride's will be the new administrative and rehearsal home of Auricle, as well as being the venue for selected Glasgow performances. St. Bride's has seen Auricle perform a number of critically acclaimed concerts, including Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire (4-star, Herald) and the start of Auricle's two year Mini-Mahler project ("an artistic goldmine", Michael Tumelty).

St. Bride's boasts a historic 1865 Hill organ as well as a new 9 foot Steinway piano - this instrument will be featured in our staged 'mock wedding' performance of Peter Maxwell Davies Miss Donnithorne's Maggot with Alexa Mason as Miss Donnithorne.

All of Auricle's percussion and PA equipment stored at St. Bride's is available for other performing groups to hire - please contact manager Kenny Letham for more information.

For all St. Bride's concert listings, please click the picture above.