National Youth Orchestra of Scotland

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National Youth Orchestra of Scotland

 

Young Edinburgh musicians invited to perform with internationally renowned Saxophonist

2 young jazz musicians from Edinburgh will join internationally renowned Saxophonist Julian Arguelles in a concert tour throughout Scotland.  Double Bass player Andrew Robb, age 20 and Trumpet player Sean Gibbs age 17 have been invited to join 8 other musicians from around Scotland to make up the National Youth Orchestras of Scotland’s prestigious NYJOS Collective, for their September tour.

The young band will perform in venues in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Montrose from the 1st September (full listings below).  They will perform their own compositions and arrangements in the first half of the concert before being joined by Julian in the second half, to perform a variety of pieces from some of his award winning albums including Skull View, which was voted Jazz CD of the Year by the Independent on Sunday in 1997.   A full concert set list is below.  Julian, who recorded two albums with the acclaimed 21 piece band “Loose Tubes” and won the prestigious Pat Smythe Award said:

I would describe myself primarily as a composer and player of jazz and improvised music. My background started as a child within the American jazz tradition alongside classical music tuition. My influences have embraced contemporary classical music, folk and 'world music' together with contemporary European jazz. Some of the musicians and composers that have greatly influenced me are: Keith Jarrett, Kenny Wheeler, John Coltrane, Vaughn Williams, Bach, Paco de Lucia and Egberto Gismonti.

As a composer even though I like complicated structures and “interesting” ideas (e.g. melodic, rhythmic, harmonic or orchestration), it is always an emotional depth or connection that I seek first.  I am particularly interested in blurring the usual lines between composition and improvisation and balancing the extremes of composition such as diatonic/atonal; free/structured: and intense/delicate. Composition is clearly principally notated but i believe certain textures, atmospheres or emotions can be best achieved if there is an element of surprise or freshness especially when working with great improvisers. I often use improvisation as a background or accompaniment rather than as the focal point.

It's been great rehearsing this music with these great young musicians from the collective, they have brought a great spirit and wonderful musicianship to this project.

Set List

500 Broadway  (Home truths 1995)
Bath Time  (Skull View 1997)
Hi Steve  (Phaedrus 1991)
Mind Your Head  (Escapade 1999)
Skull View  (Skull View 1997)
World Without words  (As Above So Below 2003)

Listings

1 September, Oran Mor, Glasgow, 8pm
Box office: www.ticketweb.co.uk/08444 771 000

2 September, The Lot, Edinburgh, 8pm
Box Office: 0141 332 8311

3 September, The Links Hotel, Montrose, 8pm
Box Office: www.linkshotelmusic.com/01674 671 000

Tickets: £10/£5/£2
The Links Hotel - No concessions

NYJOS Collective

NYJOS Collective comprises the most experienced and talented players from The National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland. Essentially a jazz chamber ensemble, NYJOS Collective is a smaller and more flexible arm of the jazz orchestra.  Throughout the year the ensemble gives concerts during residencies at a variety of venues around Scotland.

Directed by Malcolm Edmonstone and Andrew Bain, the ensemble offers the more experienced members of The National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland the opportunity to publicly perform their own arrangements, play a wide variety of compositions and lead jazz workshops with members of the community and other jazz ensembles.

Julian Arguelles

Julian began his career as a musician at the age of fourteen touring throughout Europe with the European Community Big Band. Quickly he gained recognition as an original musician and joined the much acclaimed 21piece UK big band "Loose Tubes". He stayed with them for four years and recorded two albums.

Since their demise Julian has collaborated with fellow Tubes members including  Django Bates who appears on Julian's albums "Skull view" on Babel and  "Escapade" - on Provocateur Records. In 1986 Julian was awarded the prestigious Pat Smythe award and has also been awarded several BBC awards.

His main interest continues to be writing and performing with his own band. In 1990 the Julian Argüelles Quartet, with pianist John Taylor recorded their first CD "Phaedrus".

The second CD "Home Truths" was released in 1995 with Mike Walker on guitar, Martin France on drums and Steve Swallow on electric bass. This was followed by a project with his brother Steve Argüelles, entitled "Scapes" which was released in 1996.

The BBC commissioned Argüelles to write 60 minutes of music for a new band to be premiered at the 1996 Bath Festival, the Octet was formed and the music became his fourth album "Skull View" which was voted Jazz CD of the Year 1997 by the Independent on Sunday. His previous two albums (Scapes & Home Truths) had been voted Jazz CD of the Year in both 1995 and 1996.

Julian has worked with musicians drawn from around the world including Tim Berne, Hermeto Pascoal, Steve Swallow, John Abercrombie, Dave Holland, Dave Leibman, Jim Black, Peter Erskine, Chris McGregor, John Taylor, Kenny Wheeler and Carla Bley.

In 1999 Julian released his first album for Provocateur records the critically acclaimed "Escapade". His second, some 5 years later, was the much anticipated "As Above So Below" – a large scale work for jazz and classical musicians featuring the 20 piece Trinity College of Music String Ensemble. The album evolved from a commission that was originally performed in Saint Wendredas Church in March in the Fenlands. The result is an album charged with a wide range of emotional and melodic surprises. His recent CD "Partita” was recorded in New York and features Tom Rainey on drums and Michael Formanek both from New York. In Jan 2009 a solo CD "Inner Voices" was released on the Portuguese label TOAP and in May 2009 a CD was released intitled 'Momenta' on Basho Records featuring all Julian's compositions for the Frankfurt Radio big Band, Germany.

Despite being very busy performing he maintains a commitment to teaching and has been invited to teach at various places such as The Royal Academy of Music, Trinity College of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Glamorgan Jazz School, Edinburgh and Manchester summer schools and music colleges in Den Haag, Lisbon, Porto, Koln, Weimar and Copenhagen.  In 1995 Julian was offered the first position of Jazz Musician in Association at the Royal Northern College Of Music and in 2007 he became tutor of Saxophone. The Julian Arguelles Octet is currently the Ensemble in Residence at The University Of York.

Malcolm Edmonstone

Malcolm Edmonstone is a jazz pianist and arranger, born in Perth, Scotland in 1980. In 1998 he moved to London to study with Simon Purcell and Pete Churchill at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he is now professor and a key member of the jazz faculty. The ten years between then and now saw Malcolm gather an enormous range of experience, both as a practitioner and educator. He has worked in many high profile situations, often as musical director/associate.

At the age of 20, television MD Laurie Holloway called on Malcolm to step in to cover the piano chair on a tour with his wife, the late jazz legend Marion Montgomery. Since then Malcolm has continued to work with Laurie on various projects, including the first three series of the BBC1 show Strictly Come Dancing, where he played piano and arranged a significant portion of the music. During this time Malcolm was writing prolifically and having his arrangements performed live on television to audiences upwards of 10m.

At 21, he met Jacqui Dankworth and soon became her Musical Director, a position he holds to this day. Together they have toured the world and been involved in numerous recording projects, including the album Detour Ahead. Recently they have recorded an album with Jacqui’s father, Sir John Dankworth.

As a jazz sideman Malcolm has enjoyed greatly the breadth of experience that London can offer a young jazz musician, having worked with Dame Cleo Laine & Sir John Dankworth, Georgie Fame, Mark Lockheart, Alan Barnes, Art Themen, Duncan Lamont, Steve Waterman, Dave O’Higgins, Tina May, Dick Pearce, Stan Sulzmann, Martin Speake, Pete Hurt, Martin Hathaway, Frank Holder, Russell Van Den Berg, Simon Allen and Laurence Cottle. Later in 2009 he will be touring with legendary guitarist Mike Walker.

In addition to work in the jazz world, Malcolm is often called upon as a reliable MD for artists operating in many and various musics. He is MD for Lenny Beige, the comic alter-ego of Steve Furst (Little Britain, Orange ads) and they often appear at London’s Pigalle Club. As a session/TV musician he has performed with Tony Bennett, Michael Bolton, Cliff Richard, Robin Gibb, Donnie Osmond, Bruce Forsyth, Madeline Bell, Vernon Kaye, Denise Van Outen, Tony Christie and Kenny Lynch. He has recorded widely as a session musician and appeared on all the major UK television networks.

In addition to working at the Guildhall School, Malcolm also finds time to teach at Trinity College of Music (arranging) and Middlesex University (composition) and co-directs the National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland, most recently conducting for Mark Lockheart.

Andrew Bain

Andrew Bain was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on 24th February 1979 and began studying percussion and drumset at the age of twelve. Equally talented in both disciplines, Andrew showed early progress in many classical and jazz ensembles including The National Youth Orchestra of Scotland and The National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland. With these, and other ensembles, Andrew performed alongside Evelyn Glennie (1995), made several recordings, toured Europe and performed at the Royal Albert Hall in London for the BBC Proms.

In September 1997 Andrew moved to London to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, enrolling on a unique classical and jazz percussion Bachelor of Music program. Whilst living in London Andrew studied with percussionists David Corkhill, Mike Skinner and Richard Benjafield, and received jazz tuition from Trevor Tomkins, Martin France, Pete Churchill and Scott Stroman. Whilst at college Andrew performed Gil Evans' Porgy and Bess with Randy Brecker at the Barbican Hall, London; Gil Evans' Sketches of Spain with Dave Liebman, and alongside Billy Cobham. In 2000 Andrew’s own jazz group performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.

Still active as a classical percussionist, Andrew got to the semi-finals of the BBC Young Musician of the Year 1998, the percussion finals of the Shell/London Symphony Orchestra Percussion Scholarship 2000 and the final of the Yamaha Foundation of Europe Percussion Scholarship 2000. Andrew also performed at the BBC Proms 2000 with the Guildhall School of Music Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Colin Davis and toured Portugal with the European Union Wind Ensemble in April 2000.He also performed in a number of musicals, pit bands, jazz clubs and recording sessions in and around London, including The Vortex Jazz Club and sessions for The London Film and Television School. Andrew was awarded the BBC Big Band Drummer of the Year 2001.

In August 2001 Andrew moved to New York to study for his Master of Music Degree at the Manhattan School of Music with the help of the Scottish International Education Trust (2001, 2002), the Musicians Benevolent Fund (2002) and the Countess of Munster Trust (2002). During his time at the Manhattan School of Music, Andrew performed alongside tenor saxophonist Bob Mintzer with the Manhattan School of Music Concert Jazz Band (April 2002) and studied with drumset player John Riley, saxophonist/author Dave Liebman, composer/arranger Mike Abene and pianist/theorist Garry Dial. Coached by Cecil Bridgewater, Mark Soskin and Dave Lalama, Andrew also participated in masterclasses with Ron Carter, Elvin Jones, Jason Moran, Joey Barron, Greg Osby, Lewis Nash, Steve Nelson, Gary Bartz and Jamey Haddad.

From August 2002 until December 2003, Andrew was a Jazz History, Jazz Drumset, Jazz Combo and Jazz Theory teacher for the Manhattan School of Music Precollege Division. Andrew graduated from the Manhattan School of Music in May 2003 with a Master of Music Degree and received the William H. Borden Award for 2003. It was given in the memory of Mr. Borden, who was a trustee of Manhattan School of Music for thirty years, ten of which he served as Chairman of the Board. His greatest affinity was for jazz, and this award is given for outstanding achievement in this discipline.

Since graduation Andrew continues to perform at the highest level as a performer, educator, composer and bandleader both in the US and the UK. Andrew co-leads the NY-based group Confluence whose eponymous debut showcased original and highly inventive compositions and features Thelonious Monk Competition Winner Jon Irabagon. They recorded their second record Cosmos in September 2008. As part of NY rock group The Readyset, Andrew toured the North-East US, recorded at Sony Studios New York and is currently featured on Jason Liebman’s solo release due out Spring 2009. In 2007 he was appointed instructor of jazz drumset at Birmingham Conservatoire and instructor of jazz for City of Edinburgh Music School. He regularly performs with comedian/actor Steve Furst in London, teaches for the National Youth Jazz Collective and co-directs the National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland.

Sara Harrison
Marketing Co-ordinator
 
The National Youth Orchestras of Scotland
13 Somerset Place
Glasgow
G3 7JT

Telephone  0141 332 8311
Fax               0141 332 3915
Web             www.nyos.co.uk
E-mail:        saraharrison@nyos.co.uk

The National Youth Orchestras of Scotland (NYOS) is a company limited by guarantee, registered in Scotland - number 66497 and a registered Scottish charity - number SC015482. V.A.T. Reg. No. 328 6513 49.

NYOS Strings - Directed by Alexander Janiczek
24 August, Wick High School Hall, 7.30pm
25 August, Golspie High School Assembly Hall, 7.30pm
26 August, St Duthus Collegiate Church, Tain, 7.30pm
Tickets: £8/£6
Further information 01847 890 076
28 August, St Bride's Episcopal Church, Hyndland, Glasgow, 7.30pm
Tickets: £8/£6/ £2
Box Office: 0141 332 8311

NYJOS Collective with Julian Argüelles
1 September Oran Mor, Glasgow, 8pm
Box Office: 08444 771 000
2 September The Lot, Edinburgh, 8pm
Box Office: 0141 332 8311
3 September, The Links Hotel, Montrose, 8pm
Box Office: 01674 671 000
Tickets:£10/£5/£2
The Links Hotel – No Concessions.

For further information on concerts click the link below:

The National Youth Orchestra of Scotland

 

CD Release

A new Camerata Scotland CD has just been released, including Haydn's Symphony No. 104 'London' and Beethoven's Symphony No.8. The CD is available on www.nyos.co.uk or by contacting the NYOS office on Telephone:  0141 332 8311. 

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