Andy Scott

15th June
North Cheshire Wind Orchestra directed by Mark Heron are busy rehearsing a work that they have commissioned from me, 'Sin Bin' for performance on Saturday 28th June at Pyramid Arts Centre in Warrington & the following Saturday at Llandudno Festival. Both concerts feature the Royal Northern College of Music Saxophones playing the first set (directed by Rob Buckland & myself), with the NCWO including in the second set Bill Connor's 'Oodunnit?!' with the Apollo Saxophone Quartet, 'Dark Rain' with Rob & myself, and the World Premiere of 'Sin Bin'. There are also workshops both in Warrington & Llandudno where participants rehearse one piece for inclusion in the evening concert with the RNCM Saxes. For more details about SaxFest! please visit the diary page on this web site.
 

Photo: Conductor Mark Heron shows Andy the yellow card for his new work for Wind Orchestra, 'Sin Bin'!

13th June
A few weeks ago I finished writing a short piece for Flute & Piano. It's called 'And Everything Is Still' and takes its title from one of Lemn Sissay's wonderful poems. I had a chat with Lemn last night, he is Poet-in-Residence at the South Bank Centre and an incredible person. Please take a look at his web site: www.lemnsissay.com

12th June
This Saturday sees the Sandbach School Summer Concert, special to me for several reasons; it will be the first time that Stanley (my son) & I have appeared in the same gig! He's playing bass guitar with the Junior Big Band & the Funk Group (they're playing my piece 'Don't Shoot The Duck'), and I'm helping out in a new Sandbach School Staff/ ex-student Big Band. The School Big Band plays 'La Conchita', the double Big Band chart that I composed for the Sandbach & RNCM Big Bands, and the School Brass Group gives the World Premiere of 'PDS 4 Zero', a new work that I wrote in April. Huge credit must go to all the music teachers everywhere in schools, they inspire the young musicians of tomorrow and put in an incredible amount of hard work. My wife Lauren has a gig with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra that night, so she'll miss this school concert, but there will plenty more!!

27th April 2008
It gave me great pleasure to take SaxAssault to the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester a couple of days ago, sharing the concert with Julian Arguelles. The concert sponsor was Mawdsleys, who commissioned me to write a new work for the occasion. I called the piece 'Group S' and it was premiered alongside arrangements that I completed of 'Fujiko' (originally written for the British Clarinet Ensemble) and 'Salt of the Earth' (originally the third movement of the Tuba Concerto, Les Neish & Fodens). Two new works were written, 'Sabretooth' by Mike Hall & 'What Might Have Been' by Rob Buckland, both fine pieces! SaxAssault rehearsed the day before the RNCM gig & the band presented nearly 40 minutes worth of new music, all in a 60- minute programme! What great players!!

Below is a photo from the rehearsal in the RNCM Concert Hall (saxes only, apologies to our fine rhythm section). Plans are already underway for a third SaxAssault CD in 2009.

26th March
I heard from saxophonist Roy Hovens, who along with Jos Dobbeistein are soloists in the Dutch Premiere of 'Dark Rain'. See the diary page for details!

Dave Hassell & I have been rehearsing with Richard Ellis (actor) and Matt George (visuals) since October, exploring interaction between music, visuals and voice. Using some fantastic poetry by Roger McGough and Lemn Sissay this project is an opportunity to explore musical improvisation in a way that is true to your musical upbringing (i.e. being yourself!). The three performance strands; 'Sporting Relations', 'The Emperor's Watchmaker' & 'A Summer with Monica' will be ready to be gigged by Autumn '08. Thanks to the RNCM Research Department for enabling this project to be developed! You can see video clips of the very first experimental performance of 'A Summer with Monica' from April 2005 on this web site - Paul Clarvis standing in on percussion for an unwell Dave Hassell - and sound clips and research that is updated week by week at ucan.tv (search for ucantv, when on site then go to the 'moodle'). Finally, a real achievement.... my daughter Ruby trained for a month and ran the Manchester Mile, raising £420 for Sports Relief!

12th March

(l-r: Rob Buckland, Andy Scott, Mike Hall & Carl Raven)

29th February
It is a great honour and privilege to be asked by the famous Foden's Richardson Brass Band to be their Composer in Residence. Some of you will know that I worked with the band in January when they rehearsed and gave the premiere performance of 'Salt of the Earth', the Tuba Concerto that I wrote for Les Neish & Foden's. I'm delighted that following on from the RNCM Festival of Brass premiere that the band has approached me for the Composer in residence role. It will be a challenge, but what an opportunity! It's especially pleasing because the band is based in Elworth, very near Sandbach (which is where I moved to last August) which gives me an opportunity to drop into rehearsals and talk with the players, try out ideas, ask their advice, all of which is better than any book about composing! Keep an eye out on the BBC Radio 3 schedule as part of the Foden's Band concert from the RNCM Festival of Brass will be broadcast soon. I'd like to thank everyone in Foden's Band for creating this musical opportunity, and I'll do my best to write you some decent pieces!!

Read reviews of Foden's performance at the RNCM by going to Les Neish's blog (www.lesneishtuba.blogspot.com).

23rd February
I've just finished writing a solo saxophone piece called KBM. It was written for Kyran Matthews who is studying with Ruth Darby at the Royal Northern College of Music Junior School. His mother approached me saying that it was Kyran's 18th birthday on 23rd February and could she commission a piece from me as a birthday present to Kyran! Well it's worked out, today is the big day for Kyran & the piece is finished! It has two main sections/ideas that recur - a rhythmically freely played cadenza, and a 6/8 swing idea. It's great knowing who you are writing for..... in this case I know that Kyran loves his jazz and improvising as well as his 'classical' saxophone playing. KBM incorporates influences from both these musical areas, unlike 'Eighteen' which was written in similar circumstances for Spencer Moran and is less jazz influenced. All of KBM is notated and I've left the option of improvising over a two-bar vamp at the end of the piece to the discretion of the performer! Eighteen and KBM will both be published by Astute Music later this year.

20th February
Mark Heron will direct the North Cheshire Concert Band in performances of 'Dark Rain', as well as premiering a new Wind Band piece from me in late June in Warrington, followed by a second performance at Llandudno Festival in early July. I'm pleased to say that also included in the programme is an Apollo Saxophone Quartet commission - Bill Connor's 'Oodunnit?!'. The ASQ has been on the back burner for the last year or so, just surfacing to play the occasional gig as we pursue our individual projects. We're (Tim Redpath, Rob Buckland, Carl Raven & myself) delighted to come out of hibernation to perform Bill's piece! Rob & I will lead a Saxophone Workshop on the day of the concert in Warrington, and both concerts will also feature our Saxophone students of the Royal Northern College of Music. More information to follow on the Diary page.......

7th February 2008
The new British Clarinet Ensemble CD 'Looping the Loop' includes 'Fujiko' & 'Paquito' by Andy, whilst the National Saxophone Choir of Great Britain's CD 'Sax to the Max' includes Andy's work 'Big Red'. Composer/arranger/saxophonist Mark White has produced a Saxophone Quartet version of 'Big Red' (with CD) which has been recorded on the forthcoming Veya Saxophone Quartet CD. Mark and Matt Dunn are in the middle of producing some spectacular SaxAssault remixes, due for release later this year!

• www.britishclarinetensemble.co.uk
• www.saxchoir.com
• www.markwhitemedia.com

 
23rd January 2008
Watch and listen to tuba star Jim Gourlay play 'Going Down' by Andy, in a concert in Italy from last summer.

Also, Jim's web site: web.mac.com/jamesgourlay1956/iWeb/Site/Home.html

 
16th January 2008
Saxophonist Christoph Enzel will give only the second ever performance, and a German Premiere! of a new piece that I've written for solo saxophone, 'Eighteen'. The performance is at the Hans Eisler Conservatory in Berlin, on Sunday 27th January. The piece was written for Spencer Moran, and was a surprise for his 18th birthday. I was approached by his music teacher & family who commissioned me to write it. I gave the World Premiere of 'Eighteen' in November last year at the Sound Festival in Aberdeen. 'Eighteen' along with other new works, plus SaxAssault & Big Band charts that I've composed, will all be published by Astute Music in 2008.

 
11th January 2008
With Astute Music & North West JazzWorks I've just finished editing Eb, Bb and C versions of the NW Real Book! One hundred tunes by North West jazz composers, the Real Book is a fantastic musical statement, or document, that everyone involved should be proud of. It's needed an incredible amount of hours by all concerned to reach this point where the books are finished and available, so please encourage musicians & students to go and buy copies!

• www.astute-music.com
• www.nwjazzworks.org

 
8th January 2008
I'm going to the first rehearsal tonight of my latest commission, 'Salt of the Earth' for Les Neish (tuba) and Fodens Brass Band, conducted by Garry Cutt. Les won an award from the BBC Fame Academy which has enabled this commission to happen, whilst Fodens are based in Sandbach, their bandroom being about one mile from my home! Both Les & Fodens are exceptional musicians, it's going to be daunting going through the piece with them for the first time! All the hard work writing a piece coming back at you in it's entirity for the first time I normally find a pretty heavy experience. The World Premiere is at the Royal Northern College Festival of Brass on Sunday 27th January, 3pm. The BBC are recording the concert, but as yet I don't know how much or little of the concert they will broadcast...... More details about Les, Fodens and the RNCM Festival of Brass can be found at:

• www.rncm.ac.uk
• www.fodensband.co.uk
• www.lesneishtuba.blogspot.com

 
6th January 2008
I had the honour of being a part of the saxophone section (with RNCM colleagues Carl Raven, Mike Hall & Rob Buckland) with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in concert with the Wayne Shorter Quartet! One of the legends of jazz, from being headhunted to fill the chair vacated by John Coltrane with Miles Davis' band to co- forming Weather Report, Wayne Shorter is now in his mid-seventies & still going strong! All the compositions and orchestrations were by the great man, whilst his quartet, comprising Danilo Perez, John Pattitucci & Brian Blade was just ridiculously good. Conducted by my friend Clark Rundell, this concert was part of a mini Festival in Liverpool that announced the start of 'Liverpool 08' European City of Culture. If you haven't experienced Liverpool first hand then this is the year to go there!!

 
1st January 2008
Happy New Year!

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