Reflections on my first workshop with the Scottish Chamber Choir for Adopt a Music Creator 2023.
Going into the first workshop, I was extremely nervous. I had planned to explore text and spoken word, as well as perform some text scores with the choir. This type of work is an integral part of my creative practice and something I’m used to doing in contexts involving my friends, collaborators, or even teaching my students at university. However, bringing this work to the Scottish Chamber Choir was quite daunting, as the members of the choir didn’t necessarily have the same relation to this type of music-making that I do. However, my anxieties were not realised as the choir was extremely open to trying out new things and really get stuck into what I brought to the workshop.
The work of Pauline Oliveros has had a significant impact on my practice and how I think about sound and listening, so it was only natural that I gravitated towards her Anthology of Text Scores as a point of departure for the choir. We worked on a couple of pieces, including Antiphonal Meditation and Group Processes. This was a really nice way for the choir to think about why they’re together, as well as useful way to generate text for potential use in a future workshop, or even in the final piece.
Holding space for discussing and reflecting on how we realised the pieces was really fruitful, and provided the opportunity for some of the choir’s quieter members to share, rather than just the usual leaders.
It really was a privilege to share some of my musical interests with the choir and to see their responses and willingness to engage, try new things, and reframe their approach to a number of musical concepts, particularly listening. It was also great to be set up in a circle, with everyone sitting randomly and not in their usual sections. However, even in the face of more open instructions, it was clearly evident how cohesive the singers are as a unit and community group, which was great to witness and listen to.
Everyone was so open and welcoming, and my expectations for the workshop were certainly exceeded. I’m really looking forward to continuing this collaboration with the lovely folks of the Scottish Chamber Choir.
The year-long Adopt a Music Creator project brings together music groups and music creators to collaborate on a brand new piece of music for premiere.
Adopt a Music Creator is run by Making Music in partnership with Sound and Music, and is funded by the PRS Foundation and the Philip & Dorothy Green Music Trust.
The Scottish Chamber Choir has the size and scope to tackle a range of works and to nurture individual and choral skills. Following recent reflection on their repertoire choices, they have collectively committed to explore and present a more diverse range of composers and musical styles in future programmes.
