Red Note Ensemble
Red Note Ensemble is Scotlandʼs contemporary music ensemble, dedicated to developing and performing contemporary music to the highest standards, and taking new music out to audiences around and beyond Scotland.
Red Note was founded in 2008 by Scottish cellist Robert Irvine, and is directed by John Harris (Chief Executive and Artistic Co-Director) and Robert Irvine (Artistic Co-Director). The ensemble is lead by violinist Jacqueline Shave.
Red Note performs the established classics of contemporary music; commissions new music; develops the work of new and emerging composers from around the world; and finds new spaces and new ways of performing contemporary music to attract new audiences. Red Noteʼs performing ensemble is drawn from the deep talent pool of Scottish new music expertise, and we count amongst our players some of the very finest performers working in the UK today.
Red Note undertakes a Spring and Autumn season each year in Scotland comprising tours, site-specific work and collaborations with other companies, and a regular new music series showcasing the work of new composers. The ensemble is also extensively involved in the education of young composers, performers and conductors, particularly at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow.
Current programme highlights include a 3-date residency at Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival 2013, including the European Premiere of James Dillonʼs New York Triptych, a new commission by David Fennessy and the World Premiere of a Francois Sarhan co- production with LOD Music Theatre from Ghent, subsequently touring Europe in 2014 and 2015. The ensemble regularly tours with renowned tabla player Kuljit Bhamra, recently performed with Joanna MacGregor at the Bath Festival, and made its London debut at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in 2012 with the Fennessy / Shrigley opera Pass the Spoon. The CD Reels to Raga with Kuljit Bhamra is due for release on Keda Records in November 2013. In 2014 the Ensemble will premiere of a new work by Stephen Montague during the New Music Biennale at the South Bank in London and at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Red Note Ensemble is delighted to be Associate Contemporary Ensemble at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow, and an Associate Company of the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh.
