Previous Reviews of 2010-2011 Concert Season

Pure Brass

Pure Brass is a vibrant, young and well established brass quintet. They have won several prizes including the RSAMD Governors Chamber Music Prize.The group tours throughout Scotland and further afield, bringing their infectious enthusiasm to all ages.
 Link to Pure Brass Website

          Thursday 3rd March 2011 at 7.30 p.m.

Red Hot Chilli Pipers

Putting a modern spin on incredible piping and astounding drumming with an emphasis on showing off and putting on a show guaranteed to amaze any audience; A genuinely unique experience. The group is in much demand performing all over the world from the USA to China at the biggest of events and festivals!
The band features Stuart Cassells the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2005. Three of the band members are recent graduates from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, the musicianship is first class. Stuart's piping has featured on The Darkness album 'One Way Ticket to Hell and Back' and on the soundtrack to the film 'Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire'.
Click here for Red Hot Chilli Pipers videos
Link to Red Hot Chilli Pipers' Website

Friday 18th February 2011

Red Hot Chilli Pipers Review

On Friday the 18th of February, there was a great suspense in the Music Department as we waited for the arrival of The Chilli Pipers. They were coming to perform in St. Christopher’s Chapel at 7:30pm. When they arrived at Gordonstoun, late morning, they even created an audience whilst setting up their stage. The chapel was absolutely packed with the local public and Gordonstoun students. They played a numerous amount of old famous tunes and versions of modern pop songs on the pipes. The audience even got to participate in choosing their favourite member of the band - the winner was in fact Dougie (the young piper) ! Everyone enjoyed a great evening, and there was even time for some dancing, toe tapping and singing! Afterwards, there was an opportunity to buy the band’s CDs, get some photographs and even their autographs! Unfortunately, a great successful night came to an end with them having to pack up their big bus, and head back on a long journey to Glasgow. We do hope to see them back in the future as the evening was greatly enjoyed by all!

by Rebecca Cheyne

Harry the Piano

The best damn pianist in the civilised world' just about sums it up but if you need more persuading Terry Wogan named it 'The best music show I've ever seen'. Paul 'Harry' Harris has headlined at festivals in all six continents and played with just about everybody in show business from David Bowie and Elvis Costello to Charlotte Church and the Opera Babes. Finally Harry is being recognised for what he does best, his ability to take requests to play 'any tune in any style'

Harry the Piano's website

Tuesday 19 October 2010

Harry the Piano Review

The Gordonstoun Concerts Society presented Harry the Piano on Tuesday evening in Ogstoun Theatre in the second concert of the season. The theatre was packed with a very enthusiastic audience of students and members of the public who had turned out to listen to a musician described by Jonathon Ross as “the best damned pianist in world” and no-one was disappointed with the resulting performance. Harry, who earlier in the day had made an appearance at morning Chapel and conducted workshops with Gordonstoun students, charmed and amused the audience with his anecdotes and relaxed manner and impressed with his seemingly effortless blend of musical styles ranging from classical to jazz, blues and modern rock via film scores and cartoon and advertising jingles. His final piece - requests from the audience - produced a masterpiece in improvisation which had the audience on its feet, cheering for more.

At Thursday evening’s concert ODuo’s repertoire ranged from arrangements of Bach and Chopin keyboard works to improvisations and jazz standards, all played on two marimbas, a vibraphone and a wide range of orchestral percussion instruments. The two engaged their audience with a dazzling display of musicality and virtuosity – all tied together with informative banter and witty stories. You would be very hard pressed to find any member of the audience that did not thoroughly enjoy ODuo’s charm, finesse and musical brilliance – it was a true feast for the eyes as well as the ears.

O Duo

Percussionists OWEN GUNNEL and OLIVER COX returned to Gordonstoun with another kaleidoscopic and invigorating mix of popular classics and accessible contemporary music played on two marimbas, vibraphone and a huge array of percussion. ‘Phenomenal artistry… Brimming with style and panache’. The Daily Telegraph.
See them playing live and
O Duo's website

Thursday 23rd September 2010

O Duo Review

On Thursday evening O Duo, the renowned percussion duo, performed in St. Christopher’s Chapel at Gordonstoun school, much to the delight of the many students, teachers and outside guests that had braved the rough weather to get there. The two college friends Oliver Cox and Owen Gunnel, who met at the Royal College of Music, ran two days worth of workshops at the school with year 9 and GCSE music students. Everyone involved in these workshops gained a hands on experience of minimalist techniques, improvisation and Samba. As well as the main performance and the workshops ODuo performed in morning chapel to give an inspirational start to our day. This was a real treat and was thoroughly enjoyed by the whole school.

At Thursday evening’s concert ODuo’s repertoire ranged from arrangements of Bach and Chopin keyboard works to improvisations and jazz standards, all played on two marimbas, a vibraphone and a wide range of orchestral percussion instruments. The two engaged their audience with a dazzling display of musicality and virtuosity – all tied together with informative banter and witty stories. You would be very hard pressed to find any member of the audience that did not thoroughly enjoy ODuo’s charm, finesse and musical brilliance – it was a true feast for the eyes as well as the ears.

Kaeli Gibson
Music Captain

Reviews of the 2009-2010 Concert Season

SNJO

SCOTTISH NATIONAL JAZZ ORCHESTRA Ltd advances a unique vision for the continued development of the art of jazz by producing a year-round schedule of performance, education, and broadcast events for audiences of all ages.

Scottish National Jazz Orchestra Review

“The SNJO concert hosted by Gordonstoun Concerts society featuring Gary Burton and led by Tommy Smith was a modern Big Band at its best. A tight and swinging horn section was driven effortlessly by the powerhouse rhythm section led by Alan Cosker on drums. The music of Wayne Shorter –
re-worked and wonderful.”

Bozza Ensemble

The Bozza Ensemble are currently the ensemble in residence at the Guildhall School of Music and latest winners of the Tunnell Trust Award. They have performed at a number of prestigious venues around the country and will be presenting a diverse programme of music from Bach through to Stravinsky that displays their youthful virtuosity and ensemble mastery.

Tuesday 19 January 2010

Bozza Ensemble Review

Caireen Gourlay

Gordonstoun Concerts Society was delighted to welcome the Bozza Ensemble to the South Room of Gordonstoun House on Tuesday evening. The London based group are currently touring Scotland having recently won the prestigious Tunnell Trust Award for chamber music, and this was their first visit to Gordonstoun, at least in a musical capacity. Adam Mackenzie, the trio’s bassoonist, originally hails from Tain, and could recall visiting the School to take part in athletics competitions in years gone by, where he remembers not being able to keep up with the Gordonstoun students!
The concert was well attended from both inside and outside the school, and all present were certainly in for a treat. From the opening bars of the first piece, Divertimento No 1, KV229 by Mozart, it was obvious that this was going to be something special. The individual players, Helen Scarborough on oboe, Thomas Lessels on clarinet and Adam on bassoon were each truly masters of their instruments. Every phrase was beautifully crafted, the timbres were glorious and the sense of communication between the players made their music a joy to listen to. The programme was quite a challenging one, introducing the audience to some less well known works as well as some standards. We heard Ibert’s ‘Cinq Pieces en Trio’ and Poulenc’s ‘Sonata for Clarinet and Bassoon’ as well as solo pieces for each instrument ranging from Bach to Stravinsky and Britten. The innocuous sounding piece by Villa Lobos entitled simply ‘Trio’ sounded fiendishly difficult, and was helpfully introduced with things to listen out for along the way.  The evening ended with a Trio by Auric whose music was reminiscent of old classic cartoons and great fun, plus an encore arranged by Thomas of Prokofiev’s famous ‘Montagues and Capulets’.
At the interval some of the young Aberlour students who themselves study woodwind instruments had the chance to meet the performers and ask questions before it was time to head back to school, and senior students enjoyed  the same opportunity at the end of the concert.  It was a privilege to hear such fantastic woodwind playing, and the Gordonstoun Concerts Society is grateful to Enterprise Music Scotland and Gordonstoun School for their support in making these concerts possible. 

Opera on a ShoeString

Glasgow-based company Opera On A Shoestring return to Gordonstoun with a concert programme of opera scenes set in Spain. From Carmen to The Barber Of Seville via Mozart, Massenet and more, four versatile singers and one pianist present a varied evening of drama, comedy and red-blooded Spanish passion.

Thursday 4 February 2010

Opera on a ShoeString Review

“The small Glasgow based opera company, ‘Opera on a Shoestring’ performed a varied programme of popular opera Arias, Duets, Trios and Quartets last Thursday, 4th February in the South Room at Gordonstoun School . The evening performance entitled ‘Espana’ included excerpts from operas set in Spain by composers ranging form Mozart to Massinet and Bernstein. Although it was very clear that the evening was a concert performance, the group made every effort to entice the audience into the spirit of the operas through some excellent interpretation and expression. It was through this clear interpretation and the concisely written programme notes that, even in the absence of a translation of texts the audience were transported to the sunny climbs of Spain through the performances by Michelle Foster and Shuna Scott Sendall, sopranos, Bjartmar Sigurdsson, tenor and Frank Church, baritone. Special mention should also go to the pianist, Andrew Brown who played with expert precision throughout the evening helping the music come to life.”