BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra visits SMO
On the evening of Thursday, 12 February, members of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra visited students from the Gaelic and Traditional Music Programme at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig for an evening of musical collaboration. The event was part of the Orchestra’s three-day residency on Skye which has seen concerts, surprise ‘pop-up’ performances and workshops throughout the island. The collaboration with the music students from Sabhal Mòr was focused on music written especially for the event by the College’s Musician in Residence, Blair Douglas, and was filmed and recorded by staff from the BBC as well as by students from the College’s media course. Said Dr Decker Forrest, Programme Leader for the College’s music programme:
“This was a truly exceptional opportunity for our students to mix with some of the finest Classical musicians in the country on our home turf. It was a revelation for our students to see how the orchestral musicians approached the music with instruments not generally associated with traditional music – the viola and double-bass in particular. The professionalism and skill of the BBC SSO musicians and of course the beautiful music created and produced by the two groups together was inspirational.”