A University of
Aberdeen student and composer has joined with his father – an emeritus
professor of the institution – and a leading violist to create a musical
tribute to the Cairngorms.
The trio have
created a musical reflection on Deeside’s changing habitat titled On A Wing and A Prayer,
which will be performed at The Barn in Banchory for the first time on March 14.
Student Joe
Stollery, originally from Monymusk, graduated with an MMus in Composition from
the University of Aberdeen in 2016 and was recently successful in the viva voce
exam for his PhD in Musical Composition.
He attended a
workshop at the University as part of his studies where he met violist and
music creator Katherine Wren and ideas for musical collaboration based on a
shared interest in the natural world began.
Joe’s father,
Professor Pete Stollery, is a composer and sound artist who taught at the
University for more than three decades before retiring in 2022. His work
centres on sound and how it relates to place.
The trio decided
to explore how music could be used to help people connect to environmental
issues in ways that words and science alone cannot and, following a residency
in Braemar in January, they became fascinated with the way nature has
regenerated in the Glen Quoich area.
On A Wing and
A Prayer
is a musical and emotional response to the sights, sounds and stories they
experienced there.
The performance
will include field recordings which form the basis of an electroacoustic score
by Pete, over which Katherine will perform music on the viola composed by Joe
as well as her own improvised response.
The music will
reflect the damage and violence caused by an increase in flooding events but
will also reflect the tranquillity of Glen Quoich as experienced by the
musicians during heavy snowfall in January. Katherine will also perform Joe’s Deer Tracks for Solo Viola
and a new piece inspired by the birds (whose numbers have increased since Storm
Frank) inhabiting the wetlands around the Upper Dee.
The performance
at The Barn will include the premiere of Icelandic/Scottish composer Charles
Ross’ The New Forest,
inspired by Hallormsstaður National Forest in East Iceland which, like the
Caledonian Pine Forest includes both pine and birchwood.
The programme
will end with Deeside fiddler Paul Anderson’s Bonnie Glen Quoich.
Joe Stollery said: “This project has been an eye-opening experience for me and led me to some interesting compositional ideas to explore. I was greatly inspired by the visit to Glen Quoich and got to learn from the staff at Mar Lodge about some fascinating insights regarding the local environment, its wildlife and recent natural events which has shaped the landscape, as well as how it connects to global matters around climate change. Katherine has been wonderful in giving me some ideas for improvisation, and I feel we all worked very well as a team in creating this collaboration, passing on sounds to one another and responding in our own ways.”
Katherine said: “Coincidentally, this year has seen the largest number of named storms since 2015 when the system was inaugurated and the year in which Storm Frank hit Deeside. As a frequent visitor to Deeside, I’m very conscious of changes, positive and negative, manmade and natural, to the habitat and climate. Through my music I hope to convey my emotions about the natural world and to stimulate conversation with people about their own experiences. As On a Wing and a Prayer visits composers in other areas of the Highlands and Islands, I hope we can share our experiences and start a conversation across Scotland and the North Atlantic sharing the sights, sounds and experiences of our changing habitats between musicians and our audiences.”
Pete Stollery said: “Working on this project has allowed us to respond creatively to each other’s ways of working, thus informing one’s own practice. It was important for us to bond as a creative unit which we did extremely effectively during our three days in Braemar in January. Braemar and Loch Quoich have yielded some wonderful sounds and it’s been really helpful to be able to engage with the staff at Mar Lodge Estate, Braemar Gallery and the locals in the village. We couldn’t have done what we did without their insightful local expertise.”
On A Wing and A Prayer takes place on 14th March at 7:30pm at The Barn, Banchory. Tickets are available from The Barn at https://thebarnarts.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/1173652872