sound

sound, North East Scotland’s annual festival of new music, is driven by the passion to make new music more accessible to audiences of all ages and backgrounds. The festival brings together a large range of different genres of music to appeal to a wide variety of tastes and encourage people to discover new sounds and widen their musical horizons.

sound was set up in 2004 under the initiative of Woodend Barn and the University of Aberdeen, and embraces a network of local organisations to produce this varied programme of events exploring new music.

The 2011 network includes Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums, Aberdeen Chamber Music Concerts, Aberdeen Performing Arts, Aberdeen Sinfonietta, Aden Country Park, Blairs Museum,  BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Citymoves, Con Anima Chamber Choir, Cults Parish Church, DanceLive, Duff House, empreintes DIGITALes, London’s John Armitage Memorial Concert (JAM), Haddo User Group, Interesting Music Promotions, Inverurie Music, Left Bank, The Lemon Tree, Lunchbreaks at Cowdray Hall, Museum of Scottish Lighthouses, music centeral, Music Hall, National Trust for Scotland, New Music Scotland, Newton Dee Community, North East of Scotland Music School, Peacock Visual Arts, Portsoy Salmon Bothy, Red Note Ensemble, Scottish Ensemble, Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, Sonsie Music, Sound and Music, Stonehaven and District Choral Society, Strathdee Music Club, University of Aberdeen Music Prize and Woodend Music Society, as well as the original founders, Woodend Barn and the University of Aberdeen. This network is the backbone of the festival, and demonstrates that very different organisations can work together to the benefit of each other and the wider community.

sound gratefully acknowledges the support of the following: Aberdeen City Council and Vibrant Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire Council, Aberdeen Endowments Trust, Amb:IT:ion Scotland, Astor of Hever Trust, Creative Scotland, David and June Gordon Memorial Trust, D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust, Gordon Fraser Charitable Trust, Hope Scott Trust, Hugh Fraser Foundation, The MacRobert Trust, Peterhead Port Authority, PRS for Music Foundation, Scandinavian Airlines, RVW Trust, University of Aberdeen and Year of Creative Scotland 2012.

Patrons: Dame Evelyn Glennie DBE, James MacMillan and Rohan de Saram.