ecat
ecat
2008/09 season
ecat were recently awarded Flexible funding from the Scottish Arts Council and they launch their new season in September.
Over the past 28 years, ecat (formerly Edinburgh Contemporary Arts Trust) has supported new music in Scotland and worked to cultivate an audience for it. As a promoter of contemporary music, they have commissioned and programmed works which cross the boundaries between western classical, jazz, improvised and electronic musics.
The organisation has generated over 80 new commissions from composers, with pieces in almost every genre, including opera, music theatre, symphonic and chamber orchestral works, ensembles, solo instruments, and computer-generated music.
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ecat has worked with many leading composers before they were widely known, including James MacMillan, Sally Beamish, Gordon McPherson and David Horne, and provided a springboard for the debut performances of the Hebrides Ensemble. They have promoted a series of specialist international programmes, including MusicaItalia; New Nordic Music; and New Zealand, New Music. |
ecat's Flexible funding for 2009-2011 from the Scottish Arts Council will give the organisation the stability to further develop its plans for the future.
ecat's tagline 'new music for Scotland' is an indication of ecat's desire to create greater exposure for contemporary music. Following on from last season's expansion to Glasgow through collaboration with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the Scottish Ensemble, the coming season includes a significant new presence in Aberdeen through collaboration with the University of Aberdeen and the sound festival (21 October - 17 November) for two concerts.
The ecat 2008/09 season begins on 27 October in the Queen's Hall, Edinburgh, with a special free concert, MusicNow, designed to break down barriers to new music. With lively, informal presentation and performances by Yann Ghiro (clarinet), Joby Burgess (percussion) and Simon Smith (piano), this concert will aim to demystify contemporary music and will foreshadow some of the sounds to be heard during the season, including a new commission from Shiori Usui.
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As well as presenting outstanding Scottish and Scottish-based musicians, ecat will introduce some of the best international performers, including a return visit from the New Zealand String Quartet, whose last visit in 2001 produced 5-star reviews such as 'Concert so good you’ll believe a Kiwi can fly' (Susan Nickalls).
The Quartet will be joined by Richard Nunns, leading specialist on traditional Maori musical instruments. The season climaxes in May with the extraordinary Instant Composers Pool Orchestra from Amsterdam, led by legendary pianist Mischa Mengelberg. |
ecat wants its concerts to open the ears of its audience to new experiences. ecat prefers not to 'play safe', believing that people like to be intrigued and challenged. They promise stunning performances of fascinating new music in the 2008/09 season.
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For more information visit the ecat website. | |