The UK premiere by the British Clarinet Ensemble will take place on Saturday 21st October 2017 in Oakham School Chapel. More details to follow…
​

Andy Scott + Group S CD - Ruby & All Things Purple
It's finally released (hooray) and is now available on iTunes here
https://itunes.apple.com/…/ruby-all-things-pur…/id1209343576

But...

...I'd be grateful if you bought a hard copy CD from either the record company direct (BASHO) or my online webshop.

It's a good looking CD to have in your collection, (if you like that sort of thing), it has lots of liner notes, plus I get more royalties than if you bought the album through iTunes.

I've deliberately asked for the CD to not be available via streaming, so you won't find it on Spotify or similar services. I'd get around 0.000001p per stream from Spotify, so I don't want this CD on a service which doesn't give composers a decent royalty.

So please, support my music by buying the CD direct from either BASHO or my online webshop

BASHO RECORDS

Ruby And All Things Purple

The Maidstone Symphonic Windband are launching a new CD of Windband Music by Andy Scott  on 25th February 2017.

At the end of January, Andy took part in the Westland Saxofoon Festival.    He had composed a new piece of music specifically for the event, which he has since named "Westland" and it was successfully premiered over that weekend.   

The weekend of 11th/12th February saw Andy attending the inaugural JazzSmart Workshop for the North west, which was a huge success.     The 2-day workshop, held in partnership with the Manchester College Jazz Department featured a varied repertoire of British compositions.

There will also be a further 3-day Saxophone ensemble workshop on 4th-6th August in Barton on Sea (near Bournemouth) when Andy will be working with anyone wanting to take their saxophone and ensemble playing to the next level.  

For further details see the JazzSmart website:  www.jazzsmart.com/andy-scott-2017/

There is currently a special offer of £15 off the rrp for Libero (making it now excellent value at £60) until the end of 2017.

Use promotion code XMAS60 at the checkout.

​

There are still some places left for the MusicFest Saxophone Course (23-31 July)
For more information go to http://musicfestaberystwyth.org/events/saxophone/
​

The Venue for the Accent Music Hub Saxophone Day on Saturday 2nd July

Huge congratulations to talented Saxophonist Jess Gillam for having won through to be one of three finalists in the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition. 

Congratulations to young Saxophonist, Jess Gillam on her success in the Woodwind Section of the BBC's Young Musician of the Year 2016 Competition last week.

Some fantastic prizes totalling £4,000 available to be won when you attend one of the 9 events that form part of Andy's Lucky Draw Sax Tour this summer.

Sax and Piano duo, Vykintas Civas (alto saxophone) & Birute Stundziaite (piano), are to perform 'Three Letter Word' by Andy Scott in three concerts in Lithuania during April 2016:
​
April 6  at festival 'Pavasaris piano.lt 2016' to be held in Vilnius
April 8 at festival 'Sugrizimai 2016', in Ukmerge
April 12 at festival 'Sugrizimai 2016', held in Vilnius

Dave Hassell (Drums and Percussion), Paul Kilvington (Keyboards), Ken Marley (Double Bass) and Andy launch a new project called 'Celebrating Brazil'.   
"The Quartet has been exploring music from Brazil in rehearsal, tracks from Hermeto, Airto and Jobim.   It's amazing music, harmonically and rhythmically complex with memorable melodies.   It's been great learning these tunes and we are all looking forward to the forthcoming gigs."
Check the events page for further details.

Seventeen-year-old Saxophonist, Jess Gillam is due to take part in the Woodwind Final of the BBCs Young Musician of the Year competition.
"Jess Gillam is a wonderful young musician, who works very hard and has a great attitude.   For a number of years, she has been studying at the Royal Northern College of Music Junior School, and will be commencing her studies as an undergraduate student at the RNCM in September 2016.    Everybody is delighted that Jess has once again reached the Woodwind Final of the BBC Young Musician of the Year, and wish her the best of luck in Cardiff on 7th March.    On a personal level, I am really pleased that Jess has chosen to include my piece 'Fujiko' in her programme."
www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2016/bbc-young-musician
www.jessgillamsax.co.uk
​

Lucky Draw Sax Tour is an idea of Andys that sees him directing a number of saxophone days and saxophone courses in the UK and France from March to July 2016.    By attending one of these events, you will automatically be included in a draw to win some fantastic prizes to take place on 31st July.
"I'm really looking forward to working with lots of saxophonists in the UK and France and am very grateful to Selma Paris Saxophones, Vandoren, Astute Music and Libero for providing a wonderful array of prizes.    In addition, I will compose a 3-minute piece as one of the main prizes specifically to that persons saxophonic experience."
See the Events pages for dates and further details.,

About 15 months ago, Andy was approached by Mark Concar, Director of the Love Music Trust percussion ensemble, to see if he would be interested in writing a work for the group.    Love Music Trust is the music hub for Cheshire East and has a number of flagship County ensembles, with the percussion ensemble at the forefront, giving performances in London and Manchester as well as Cheshire East and undertaking collaborative projects that give the young musicians of the group invaluable musical experiences.   
The quirky title of the piece, Elvis was my Taxi Driver, came about when Andy himself was a student at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.   After gigging one night with an Elvis impersonator, the following lunchtime, Andy was giving a workshop in a Manchester school with his Jazz Quintet and was waiting for percussionist, Mike Hamnett, to arrive by taxi and lo and behold, the very same Elvis was his driver!  
The 6-minute piece divides in to three sections;  By Day, Morphing and The King which roughly follows a day in the life of our Taxi-driving Elvis impersonator.
"A big thank you to Mark, LMT Percussion Ensemble and the Love Music Trust.  You gave a great performance at the RNCM Day of Percussion on Sunday, 7th February 2016, a composer couldn't ask for any more at a World Premiere of a new commission."


www.artsprofessional.co.uk/news/drum-sweat-and-tears-young-musicians-rai...
www.lovemusictrust.com/world-premiere-for-percussion-ensemble-at-rncm/
​

Andy was approached by Manchester Camerata to play in a new project, Hacienda Classical.   For the very first time, the DJs who shaped the Hacienda sound - Graeme Park and Mike Pickering - will perform a continuous set of Hacienda Classics alongside a 70-strong Manchester Camerata Orchestra, with special guest vocalists.   Taking the euphoria of Hacienda nights to a whole new level, Hacienda Classical is a unique meeting of styles.  
"Musical Director Tim Crooks has created some amazing arrangements in a carefully crafted one-hour, 40 minute set.   There are two saxophone parts which Carl Raven and I are playing and the combination of DJs, Gospel Choir, 70-piece orchestra and guest vocalists is something special.  I can remember going to the Hacienda in about 1987, at a time when Manchesters music scene was exploding and known worldwide, it's fascinating 30 years later to be part of this project and play the music in concert halls such as the Bridgewater Hall and Royal Albert Hall."
For dates and further details, check the Events page.
www.thisisgraemepark.com/general/hacienda-classical-here-we-go
www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/hacienda-c...
www.manchestercamerata.co.uk

We are delighted to announce that once again, Andy Scott has been shortlisted for the British Composer of the Year Award 2015 in the Wind Band or Brass Band category. A Child Like You was commisioned by Foden's Band through the New Music Biennial in 2014 in conjunction with the Commonwealth Games.
A Child Like You, depicts the real life story of a 17-year old Ugandian Asian who fled Uganda in 1972, under the brutal regime of Idi Amin, and who subsequently lived with the family of composer Andy Scott, via UK refugee camps. Andy has composed music and lyrics that are powerful and thought-provoking, producing a 15-minute mini-opera that features soprano/narrator Anna-Clare Monk, harpist Lauren Scott, the world famous Foden’s Brass Band and four young musicians from Foden’s Youth Band who both play and narrate.

The shortlist can be seen here. The 2015 British Composer Awards ceremony will take place on 9 December at the British Film Institute, Southbank, London and will feature in a BBC Radio 3 broadcast.
Andy Scott was shortlisted and won the British Composer Award in 2006 for Dark Rain in the Wind Band or Brass Band category; and was shortlisted for the British Composer Award in 2012 for Spirit of Mingus. Well done Andy and to all the other shortlisted candidates who beat stiff competition to be short-listed.

On Sunday 8th November 2015 and now in its 16th Year, Co-Artistic Directors Rob Buckland and Andy Scott present another action packed day of events.
Everyone is welcome and the day is relaxed and informal.
As a saxophonist you may choose to go to a workshop or visit Trade Stands or chat with saxophone playing friends over a coffee!
For more info visit the RNCM website for more details about the Saxophone Day and click here to download the PDF poster with more information.

Positive reviews of London premieres of two Andy Scott works appear on the specialist band website 4 Bars Rest.
The recent London premiere of A Child Like You, Andy Scott’s New Music Biennial commission for Foden’s Band, Anna-Clare Monk and Lauren Scott conducted by Michael Fowles at Southbank Centre, received a considered and substantial review by Peter Bale. It painted a clear picture of the work, highlighting aspects of the instrumentation and linking the music with the subject matter. While observing that the work is hard to categorise, the reviewer concludes that it is “an immensely powerful, emotive and very relevant work that reflects attitudes and circumstances of this or any other era”.
Earlier in the year, Andy Scott’s Fujiko was premiered in a new version for flute and wind band by Rachel Smith and the Band of the Coldstream Guards as part of a St George’s Day concert at Cadogan Hall. Peter Bale remarked: “The march Standard of St George was an obvious candidate for inclusion on such an occasion; less so was Andy Scott’s Fujiko, in a first performance in a new arrangement for flute, with Lance Sergeant Rachel Smith as the impressive soloist. With its Japanese influences and unfamiliar sounds, it made for one of the highlights of the evening.” 
Andy Scott’s works are published by Astute Music
Click to read the review of A Child Like You on the 4 Bars Rest website
Click to read the review of Fujiko on the 4 Bars Rest website

Andy Scott and his music will feature heavily in SaxOpen, the World Saxophone Congress in Strasbourg, next month.
Andy Scott will feature as both performer and composer in The Tenor Saxophone Collective at a featured SaxOpen Festival evening event entitled The Strasbourg Project on Sunday 12th July at 6pm. Conceived by Andy Scott and Erin Royer, and comprising twelve established tenor saxophonists from across the world, the ensemble will present eight world premieres of music written especially for this exciting event.
Celebrating 30 years at the forefront of the UK music scene, the Apollo Saxophone Quartet will present a programme selected from the ensemble’s 30th anniversary CD Perspectives. The recital will take place at 4.00pm on Friday 10 July.
Under the direction of Rob Buckland and Andy Scott, the RNCM Saxophone Orchestra will give a recital on Saturday 11 July at 12.00 noon. Exploiting the versatility of the saxophone, the ensemble will present a programme taking inspiration from jazz, contemporary classical and folk music. Their programme will include The Golden Horn by Andy Scott as well as other new works commissioned from emerging and established British composers.
As previously reported, Andy Scott’s SaxAssault will give the closing concert on 14 July, with a pop focused programme featuring the original Supertramp saxophonist, John Helliwell. The concert will include the premiere of some brand new charts by Andy Scott for nine saxophones and rhythm section, including a guitar in the line-up for the first time. Andy Scott is grateful to Selmer Paris for supporting this free public event linked to the city's Bastille Day celebrations.
Big Red by Andy Scott will be performed by Yorkshire Saxophone Choir as part of a programme of works by British composers on Monday 13 July at 9.30am.
SaxOpen is the latest incarnation of the triennial World Saxophone Congress, which brings together professional, students and amateur saxophonists from across the globe to perform on the world stage and share their passion for the saxophone. Directed by Philippe Geiss, SaxOpen will be dedicated to research (congress) and festivities (festival). The event will be open to the public and to all styles of music, with the main themes being tradition, research and innovation.
Click to visit the SaxOpen website

Andy Scott is busy preparing for the second Sandbach Saxophone Weekend, which will take place on 4 and 5 July at Sandbach School.
There are still a few places remaining on this tailor made new course, which is suitable for adult saxophonists and young people alike, with a minimum level of Grade 3. As last year, there will be an enjoyable programme of workshop sessions in a friendly, supportive environment, including Andy’s popular SaxAssault workshop, his Access All Areas introduction to improvisation for non-jazz musicians, and a range of small and large saxophone ensemble sessions. Andy will also give an insight into his works for ABRSM and Trinity Guildhall saxophone exams. 
A special feature of this year’s event will be performances by Australian saxophonist Erin Royer and the RNCM and Queensland Conservatorium Saxophone Orchestras. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear these world class players, and to share the stage with them in a massed saxophone spectacular to round off the weekend.
With over 20 years in music education, Andy Scott has earned a reputation as a gifted teacher. As versatile an educator as he is a performer and composer, Andy’s wide ranging music interests and experience enable him to teach across classical, jazz and contemporary styles.
The Sandbach Saxophone Weekend is run in collaboration with the Love Music Trust and sponsored by Selmer Paris, Vandoren and Astute Music. 
Click to view details of the Sandbach Saxophone Weekend on the Love Music Trust website
Click to visit the Educator section on this website for more information about Andy’s education work
Click to visit the websites for Selmer Paris, Vandoren and Astute Music

Andy Scott will be launching an exciting new purpose-designed product for saxophonists this summer. 
Libero is the world’s first and only adjustable saxophone sling spacer, and has been developed by Andy Scott in collaboration with engineer Ian Sanger. By preventing a traditional sling from constricting the sides of the neck, Libero enables players to free up their breathing, thereby achieving a better sound. This can transform a saxophonist’s playing for a relatively small investment.
Libero has the flexibility to be used with any saxophone sling, making it ideal for players who prefer to use different slings for different sizes of saxophone. It can be used with players’ existing favourite sling(s), removing any need to adapt to a different style of sling, and can even be adjusted while playing. Although designed for the saxophone player, Libero is equally suitable for clarinet players who choose to play with a neck sling.
Libero is a stylish high quality accessory, designed to last a lifetime. It is designed to be quickly fitted and removed, and can be adjusted very easily, even while playing. Other benefits include distributing some weight to the chest, enabling fine height adjustment of the mouthpiece and facilitating low note production for beginners. Libero will initially be available in black or silver colour, with solid brass end clamps. Watch this space for future developments!
Libero is currently in production and will be available exclusively from this website from July 2015. 
Click to view the Libero Facebook page from July 2015 (link to follow)