by Graeme Stevenson
The concert season is just about upon us again. On Thursday 5 December, all the music society groups will be performing at their end of term concert featuring Charpentier's Te Deum, Haydn's Trumpet Concerto and a medley of James Bond themes. The two choirs will be performing at the lunchtime concert the next day and on the following Sunday will be leading the singing at the University's annual carol service at St Paul's Cathedral.
The music groups will resume in the first week of term in January and new members will be welcome again. The choir will be working on Faure's Requiem and the orchestra on Schubert's Symphony No. 8 (Unfinished). OPSOC will be heavily into preparations for their 40th anniversary show, Bye Bye Birdie.
Two evening concerts are taking place in January and both will be given by young and exciting Scottish groups. On 16 January, we host the Scottish flute trio, a unique ensemble, which is rapidly achieving a reputation for original and accessible performances of new repertoire, and for bringing new audiences to contemporary music. A review in the Scotsman said: "Last week the Prime Minister's arts advisor declared that contemporary music concerts were too long and boring and accused composers of being "elitist and arrogant". In just 75 minutes the Scottish flute trio proved him wrong on all counts."!
Their programme will feature a piece called St. Kilda's Parliament by Kenneth Dempster and Toward the Sea by Toru Takemitsu which will also feature Allan Neave on guitar.
The Gliondar Ensemble who will perform on 30 January was formed in 1998 at the Royal Scottish Academy of music and drama, from which the five permanent players are all graduates. Gliondar have taken part in many chamber music concerts at the RSAMD and in July 1999, they were awarded the prestigious Mary D. Adams chamber music prize.
The Gliondar Ensemble is also the Tunnell Trust prizewinner for the year 2000. Their programme will cover a wide variety of music from a Divertimienti by Haydn to an arrangement of "Le Petit Negre" by Debussy and including other works by Reicha and Neilsen. More information on any of the above can always be found at www.dundee.ac.uk/music
Students from the music society were awarded nearly £2,000 from the national lottery to buy stylish concert stands complete with individual concert lights. The string ensemble is pictured (right) rehearsing with the new stands.