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European Composition Award 2025
Jay’s new Accordion Concerto Galvanic Dances has won the European Composition Award 2025 presented by the Young Euro Classic festival in Berlin. After a string of successful premieres with accordionist Ryan Corbett, conductor Catherine Larsen-Maguire and the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland in Perth, Liverpool, Saffron Walden and Berlin at the Young Euro Classic festival, Jay’s macabre music will be given the European Composition Award after a jury of industry professionals and audience members selected Galvanic Dances from a line-up of contemporary works programmed throughout the YEC festival at the Konzerthaus in Berlin.
Jay says: “It is an enormous honour to receive the prestigious European Composition Award from Young Euro Classic for my new Accordion Concerto Galvanic Dances. The festival provides a vital platform for new music and its championship by such incredible young performers. I am very grateful that my music has played a part in this year’s festival and it was a privilege to share my work with Young Euro Classic’s welcoming audiences in Berlin. I would like to say a sincere thank you to the European Composition Award’s generous panel for selecting my work and, of course, my heartfelt thanks to accordionist Ryan Corbett, conductor Catherine Larsen-Maguire and the amazing young musicians of NYOS for bringing my piece to life in their phenomenal performances. Thank you!”
This award will be announced during the finale concert of the Young Euro Classic festival at the Konzerthaus in Berlin on 17th August 2025.
BBC Proms 2025 - Bruckner's Skull
Fresh from its world premiere, Jay’s latest orchestral work "Bruckner’s Skull" will be performed at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the newly announced BBC Proms 2025. Originally composed for Chamber Orchestra, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and SCO Principal Conductor Maxim Emelyanychev will unveil a new fuller orchestral version of Bruckner’s Skull as part of their upcoming BBC Proms concert on 25th July 2025 at Royal Albert Hall alongside a programme of Rameau, Saint-Saëns and Beethoven’s 5th Symphony.
Jay comments: “I am truly honoured and hugely excited that the SCO and Maxim will perform Bruckner’s Skull as part of the BBC Proms, and so soon after its world premiere! I remember going to see my first ever BBC Proms concert when I was about 14 or 15 years old and recently found the old ticket from that very event, so I am beyond thrilled that one of my own compositions will take up space at such an iconic, world-class venue and festival with an orchestra that is so very dear to me. It will be a very special occasion and I am so privileged to be a part of the celebrations!
Bruckner’s Skull was commissioned and premiered by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in February 2025 as part of my role as their Associate Composer. I composed the piece as a death-mask homage to composer Anton Bruckner and it is inspired by Bruckner’s obsession with death. In particular the work is about the two alleged occasions when Bruckner cradled the skulls of both Beethoven and Schubert when their bodies were exhumed and moved to Vienna’s Central Cemetery in 1888. The music references the work of all three of these composers in a macabre, austere, obsessive, solemn, empathetic and humanising expression, and I cannot wait to share it with the BBC Proms audience this July.”
Bruckner’s Skull will be performed by Scottish Chamber Orchestra & Maxim Emelyanychev at the Royal Albert Hall & BBC Proms on 25th July 2025 at 6.30pm. This concert will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and televised on BBC Two and iPlayer as part of "Proms on TV". Full information & tickets can be found on the BBC Proms website via the following link:
Scottish Chamber Orchestra 2025/26 Season Launch
The Scottish Chamber Orchestra has launched their new 2025/26 Season as Jay enters the third year of his role as SCO’s Associate Composer which features the premieres of new works commissioned by SCO as well as giving a platform for Jay’s previously commissioned pieces in the new 25/26 Digital Season online.
The SCO will premiere three newly commissioned works by Jay during the 25/26 season. Firstly, the SCO Chorus will premiere Jay’s new setting of Niall Campbell’s poem “The Winter’s Brightening” for SATB choir as part of the SCO Chorus’s Christmas Concerts at Greyfriars Kirk in December 2025 under the direction of Gregory Batsleer. Secondly, the premiere of Jay’s new arrangement of Scarlatti’s Keyboard Sonatas titled “Stylus Scarlatti” will be brought to life by SCO and their Principal Conductor Maxim Emelyanychev as part of the highly popular Baroque Inspirations series in February 2026. Poet Niall Campbell and Jay continue their librettist-composer creative partnership in a substantial new work “The Language of Eden” for Baritone soloist, Chorus and Orchestra which sets the scene of a new creation myth inspired by the origin of language itself. The new piece will be premiered by the internationally renowned Baritone soloist, Roderick Williams, with the SCO Chorus and orchestra under the baton of SCO Principal Guest Conductor Andrew Manze in March 2026.
Jay’s music will also make a special feature in the SCO’s new Digital Season in which Jay’s previously commissioned pieces “The Origin of Colour”, “Bruckner’s Skull” and “The Night Watch” will be released on Youtube as filmed performances by the SCO and Principal Conductor Maxim Emelyanychev who makes his debut on the Digital Season. These filmed performances will be release online throughout the 25/26 season on the following dates: “The Origin of Colour” on 16th October 2025 with SCO and Maxim, “Bruckner’s Skull” on 12th February 2026 with SCO and Maxim, and lastly “The Night Watch” on 2nd April 2026 with the SCO Chorus conducted by their director Gregory Batsleer.
Jay continues his collaboration with the SCO’s Creative Learning department which sees the culmination of SCO’s 5-year Residency in Craigmillar where Jay will help to curate a 25 minute through-composed piece called “Tapestry” which will be performed by participants of the residency groups Seen & Heard and Craigmillar Voices alongside an ensemble of SCO musicians in a celebratory concert in March 2026. Jay is also set to return to the stage in September 2025 as co-presenter of Immerse 2025 alongside artist & musician Kirsty Matheson in a series of concerts for senior high-school music pupils in the exploration of art, music, composition and the connections they share which includes performances of Jay’s piece “The Origin of Colour”. After two hugely successful years, the 25/26 season sees the third year of performances of “The Great Grumpy Gaboon” for Chamber Orchestra and a cast of theatrical soloists conducted Gordon Bragg as part of the SCO’s Families Concerts in February 2026 which will be performed in Perth, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Full information can be found on the Events page of Jay’s website and full concert information can be found of the SCO’s website via the following link:
Edinburgh International Festival 2025
Jay’s music will make its debut at the Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) who have announced their new 2025 programme ‘The Truth We Seek’ which offers a journey into the elusive nature of truth in our personal and public lives. As part of the festival, clarinettist and composer Mark Simpson will join pianist Richard Uttley in a performance of Jay Capperauld’s piece ‘So My Tears Flow’ for Clarinet and Piano alongside the music of Sir James MacMillan, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Gavin Higgins and Mark Simpson’s own compositions.
The recital concert will take place Wednesday 6th August 2025 at the Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh at 11am. Follow the link for more information and tickets:
SCO Summer Tour 2025 - Carmina Gadelica & Rewired
The Scottish Chamber Orchestra have announced their Summer Tour 2025 which includes performances of Jay’s Wind Dectet Carmina Gadelica across the West of Scotland in June 2025, as well as the world premiere of Jay’s Soprano Saxophone Concerto Rewired which will be performed by saxophonist Lewis Banks and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Jonathan Bloxham, from 17th to 19th July 2025.
Carmina Gadelica is an evocative new dectet for wind instruments commissioned specially by the SCO for their Wind Soloists which weaves together the rich traditions of Gaelic hymns and incantations inspired by the collection of the same name by Alexander Carmichael. After its premiere on 30th April 2025, the SCO Wind Soloists tour the work round Kames, Kilmelford, Crainlarich and Gartmore Village Halls from 11th to 14th June 2025 alongside works by Mendelssohn, Mozart, Hummel and Françaix.
Jay’s new Concerto for Soprano Saxophone and Chamber Orchestra Rewired will receive its world premiere during the SCO’s Summer Tour 2025. This new work, commissioned by and written for saxophonist Lewis Banks takes its stimulus from the process of rewiring the primitive parts of the human brain after trauma and the development of negative emotional and physical habits that affect our most primal instincts. Jay says: “This piece focuses on the learned, unlearned and relearned behaviours of the human brain, and explores the notion that, regardless of our individual circumstances and the loop of negativity in which we may find ourselves, the brain is infinitely malleable and capable of overcoming our primal fears, anxieties and obstacles to forge a positive future for ourselves”. The Scottish Chamber Orchestra will premiere Rewired with Lewis Banks as soloist, conducted by Jonathan Bloxham alongside Symphonies by Haydn and Beethoven at The Town House in Hamilton on 17th July, Castle Douglas Town Hall on 18th July and Ayr Town Hall on 19th July 2025.
For more information and tickets, please follow the link to SCO’s website:
SCO & Maxim Emelyanychev - Bruckner's Skull
The Scottish Chamber Orchestra and SCO Principal Conductor Maxim Emelyanychev will give the world premiere performances of Jay’s newest composition Bruckner’s Skull for Chamber Orchestra in February 2025. The concerts will take place on 19th February at Easterbrook Hall in Dumfries, 20th February at the Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh and 21st February at Glasgow’s City Halls.
This new piece was commissioned by the SCO for their 2024/25 season as part of Jay’s role as their Associate Composer.
Jay says of the work: “Written as a death-mask homage to composer Anton Bruckner in the 200th Anniversary year of his birth, Bruckner’s Skull is inspired by Bruckner’s obsession with death, and in particular the two alleged occasions when Bruckner cradled the skulls of both Beethoven and Schubert when their bodies were exhumed and moved to Vienna’s Central Cemetery in 1888.
The work includes some hidden and overt references to Bruckner's mammoth Symphonies as well as both Schubert and Beethoven’s music where Schubert’s String Quartet No.14 in D minor, also known as “Death and the Maiden”, and the first movement from Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Piano Sonata No.14 in C sharp minor represent the presence of each composer’s skull in the hands of Bruckner. Their music is warped and transformed by Bruckner’s obsessive qualities which merge with his own hyper-religious, austere romanticism as though Schubert and Beethoven are being viewed through Bruckner’s fanatical eyes.”
Bruckner’s Skull will premiere alongside performances of Schubert and Beethoven’s first Symphonies as well as a performance of Mozart’s Oboe Concerto by oboist Ivan Podyomov. Full information and tickets can be found on the SCO’s website via the following link:
Ryan Corbett & NYOS - Galvanic Dances
The National Youth Orchestra of Scotland has commissioned Jay Capperauld to compose a brand-new Accordion Concerto specially for the rising star accordionist and BBC Radio 3’s New Generation Artist, Ryan Corbett. Ryan will join NYOS and their music director, conductor Catherine Larsen-Maguire, who will give the world premiere performance at Perth Concert Hall on 1st August 2025 before taking the work on tour to the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, then Saffron Hall and finally to Berlin's Konzarthaus as part of the Young Euro Classic international music festival.
The new piece, “Galvanic Dances”, is inspired by the early pioneering electric experiments of Luigi Galvani in the 1700s that inspired the concept behind Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein story. These controversial investigations included the re-animation of dead frogs’ legs which moved and twitched when applied with an electrical current. This new piece for Accordion and Orchestra re-imagines and re-tells the Frankenstein story in a set of infernal dances through the nightmarish image of a chorus-line of re-animated dancing frogs legs, as though Galvani’s morbid experiments have created a kind of musical Frankenstein's monster.
Full information is available on NYOS’s website by following this link:
Our Gilded Veins Album - RSNO
The Royal Scottish National Orchestra has long been known for championing British contemporary music and, following two albums entirely dedicated to Thomas Wilson, the orchestra now turns to other leading composers of the contemporary scene.
Devised by conductor Rory Macdonald, the programme includes works that share the themes of loss, love and life. Jay Capperauld’s flute concerto Our Gilded Veins takes centre-stage, with RSNO’s Principal Flautist Katherine Bryan giving the world premiere recording of the work that was written especially for her. The album also features Anna Clyne’s Within Her Arms, Sir James MacMillan’s The Death of Oscar and the commemorative For Zoe, Martin Suckling’s Meditation (after Donne) and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’s Farewell to Stromness (in an arrangement for strings by Rosemary Furniss), which features the composer’s most recognisable tune, complete the programme.
This album, named after Jay’s flute concerto Our Gilded Veins, was released by Linn Records on 21st June 2024 on all platforms.
SCO 2024/25 Season Announcement
The Scottish Chamber Orchestra have announced their new 2024/25 Season which sees Jay enter the second year of his role as Associate Composer with the orchestra as well as the premiere of new works commissioned by SCO specially for this new season.
The SCO will premiere two newly commissioned works by Jay during the 24/25 season. Firstly, the SCO will premiere “Bruckner’s Skull”, a new work for Chamber Orchestra inspired by the life-and-death obsessions of composer Anton Bruckner – who allegedly cradled the exhumed skulls of both Schubert and Beethoven – which will premiere in concerts in February 2025 with SCO Principal Conductor Maxim Emelyanychev. The SCO will also premiere Jay’s new piece for Wind Dectet “Carmina Gadelica” inspired by the Gaelic incantations, hymns and songs collected by Alexander Carmichael in his work of the same name, which will premiere in April/May 2025 under the direction of international violinist Lorenza Borrani.
Return performances of Jay’s work will also feature as part of the SCO’s 24/25 season as Jay’s macabre Chamber Orchestra piece “Death in a Nutshell”, written for the SCO in 2021, will be performed again by the orchestra under the baton of Principal Guest Conductor Andrew Manze as part of the Nordic Music Days Festival in October/November in 2024. This year’s season also sees the return of The Great Grumpy Gaboon for Chamber Orchestra and a cast of theatrical soloists as well as conductor Gordon Bragg as part of the SCO’s Families Concerts in February 2025 which will be performed in Dundee, Inverness and Aberdeen.
Jay also continues his partnership with the SCO’s Creative Learning department in his role as lead practitioner in Seen & Heard in the creation of new Artworks and Music as part of the orchestra’s continuing residency in Craigmillar. Jay is also set to return to the stage in September 2024 as co-presenter of Immerse 2024 alongside artist & musician Kirsty Matheson in a series of concerts for senior high-school music pupils in the exploration of art, music, composition and the connections they share as well as further performances of Jay’s recent work “The Origin of Colour” which was commissioned by the SCO as part of their 50th Anniversary celebrations in the 23/24 season.
Full information can be found on the Events page of Jay’s website and full concert information can be found of the SCO’s website via the following link:
King Charles III Honours of Scotland
It is a great privilege to announce that Jay Capperauld has been commissioned by His Majesty King Charles III to compose a brand-new piece of music as part of the Honours of Scotland ceremony which is due to take place on 5th July 2023 at St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh. The new piece is titled ‘Schiehallion!’ and has been written for The Honours of Scotland Ensemble which comprises of traditional Scottish tunes that have been specially selected by King Charles III to reflect His Majesty’s personal connection with Scotland.
Jay says of the new work: “Schiehallion! takes its title from Edwin Morgan’s poem ‘Caledonia’ in which a wide variety of place-names from around Scotland constitute the surreal and nonsensical text of the poem as though these words form a kind of Scottish dialect in their own right. When the question “and what was the toast?” is posed in the last line of the poem, the celebratory response comes “Schiehallion! Schiehallion! Schiehallion!” in reference to a variant of its English translation: “of the Caledonians.”
This new showpiece for Strings was commissioned by His Majesty King Charles III as part of the Honours of Scotland Ceremony at Edinburgh’s St Giles Cathedral in 2023. His Majesty specially selected three traditional Scottish tunes that have a personal resonance with The King’s connection to Scotland in the form of Dark Lochnagar, Bovaglie’s Plaid and The Flowers of Edinburgh. These tunes form the Scottish musical vernacular of this upbeat piece in a celebratory toast from and “of the Caledonians” who raise a glass and call: “Schiehallion! Schiehallion! Schiehallion!
It is a great honour to have been asked to compose this new piece by His Majesty as part of the Honours of Scotland celebrations and to explore Scottish culture through Scots tunes that mean so much to The King.”
Jay has also been commissioned to compose a new Trumpet obbligato-descant for the final verse of ‘Christ is Made the Sure Foundation’ which is programmed to end the Honours of Scotland service. Jay’s new descant will be performed by the renowned Trumpeter Aaron Akugbo.
The Honours of Scotland ceremony will be broadcast on BBC One and BBC Radio 3 on Wednesday 5th July from 1.30pm
SCO 2023/24 Season Launch
The Scottish Chamber Orchestra announce their 2023/24 Season which features 3 newly commissioned pieces by Jay Capperauld, as the SCO’s new Associate Composer, as well as Jay’s extensive work with the SCO’s Creative Learning Department.
The SCO is currently set to premiere 3 of Jay’s newly commissioned works as part of the SCO’s 50th Anniversary throughout their 2023/24 Season. The new season opens with the first of these commissions as part of the SCO’s Grand Tour of Scotland with Maxim Emelyanychev in which Jay’s new work for Chamber Orchestra ‘The Origin of Colour’ will premiere in 7 concert halls across the nation. In December 2023 Jay’s new choral piece ‘The Night Watch’ will premiere with the SCO Chorus, conducted by Gregory Batsleer, which is inspired by the words of Scottish poet Niall Campbell in his poem of the same name. February 2024 sees the premiere of Jay’s theatrical Chamber Orchestra work ‘The Great Grumpy Gaboon’ which is the first commission of its kind by SCO Creative Learning for the SCO Families Concerts in collaboration with Children’s Author Corrina Campbell, Director & CBeebies presenter Chris Jarvis and Movement Director Daniel Todd.
The 2023/24 Season also sees the launch of the SCO’s new artist development programme ‘Soundbox’ for music creators who will work closely with Jay in his role as lead mentor throughout the season in the development of their new works for SCO musicians. Jay will continue his work as Composer-in-Residence in the Craigmillar Community as part of the SCO’s Seen & Heard workshops in the creation of Artworks and Music inspired by Craigmillar and the surrounding areas. Jay is also set to present a series of composition workshops/concerts for senior high-school music pupils with Musician & Artist Kirsty Matheson as part of the SCO’s ‘Immerse’ programme which explores the connections between music, art, composition and creativity; these concerts will also feature demonstrations and performances of Jay’s new work ‘The Origin of Colour’.
Full information can be found on the Events page of Jay’s website and full concert information can be found of the SCO’s website via the following link:
SCO Associate Composer
It is a huge privilege to announce that the Scottish Chamber Orchestra (SCO) has appointed Jay Capperauld as the Orchestra’s new Associate Composer, taking over from Anna Clyne. Over the next five years Jay will embed himself in all aspects of the SCO’s work not only composing new works for the Orchestra but also working closely with the SCO’s Creative Learning and Marketing teams.
As part of the SCO in Craigmillar Residency Jay will create “Tapestry”, a commission celebrating the Greater Craigmillar community and developed in collaboration with local groups. Jay will also lead workshops as part of “Seen and Heard”, the SCO’s creative project for adults, which returns in autumn 2022.
Jay will also be part of the SCO’s “New Voices” scheme, a two-year mentoring programme that will offer a platform for five emerging composers and music creators to expand their creative practice and experiment with the chamber music format, creating new pieces of music throughout 2022/24 that will be performed as part of an upcoming SCO season. More details about New Stories will be announced shortly.
Jay says: “I am incredibly honoured and humbled to be appointed as the SCO’s new Associate Composer. Having recently worked with this astounding orchestra on my piece “Death in a Nutshell”, I am beyond thrilled to have this unique opportunity to become further embedded in the SCO’s activities as well as form meaningful musical connections with the SCO musicians, audiences and everyone involved over the coming years. Amazingly, this is a real 360° moment for me, as the SCO performed my first ever attempts at composing music in workshops when I was in high school (and I still have that recording on CD at home); so to say that 15 years later, I will be embarking on this exciting relationship with the SCO is truly a childhood dream come to life”.
RSNO and Katherine Bryan - Our Gilded Veins
It is a great pleasure to announce that Jay Capperauld has been commissioned to compose a brand-new Flute Concerto for flautist Katherine Bryan and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra as part of their 2021:22 Season Finale concerts which will premiere in June 2022 under the baton of the RSNO's Music Director Thomas Søndergård. The new piece is titled ‘Our Gilded Veins’ and is inspired by the ancient Japanese art of gilding broken objects with a golden lacquer in order to not only repair the object but to highlight its previous damage in a special and positive way.
Jay says of the work:
“As an artistic tradition, if a plate is broken, instead of throwing that plate away it is glued together with gilded lacquer to emphasise and celebrate the break as part of the object's history. Essentially, as a human concept, this new piece is an honest reflection on damage, failure and scars with the intention of embracing the necessity of life’s negatives when attempting to forge a positive existential outcome.
The concept of cultivating a positive state of Mental Health is at the crux of this work’s aims. The concept of Kintsugi acts as a fitting metaphor for the human experience, which is an undeniable reflection of how we must interact with the external world as well as how we negotiate the various knocks that life throws our way. It is through this metaphor that ‘Our Gilded Veins’ attempts to explore and champion the message of positive mental health in a musical context, and the idea that broken objects ought to be celebrated and nurtured, not discarded.”
Our Gilded Veins will premiere as part of the RSNO’s Season Finale concerts alongside Beethoven’s 9th Symphony ‘Ode to Joy’ on the 3rd June 2022, 7.30pm at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh, with a repeat performance on the 4th June 2022, 7.30pm at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.
COP26 film "Changing Landscapes" on BBC One
BBC Scotland have commissioned a new film called “Changing Landscapes – A Story of Scotland” as part of events surrounding the COP26 conference for climate change which is due to be held in Glasgow in November 2021. The new film is a meditation on the care and carelessness that human activity has brought to bear on our environment, and will comprise of archive footage of Scotland from the last hundred years that maps the alterations in Scotland’s landscape and its people.
Driving the 60-minute film is music and performances from the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra who will perform Jay’s Piano Concerto “Endlings” with pianist Danny Driver as soloist and Geoffrey Paterson as conductor. Jay’s music will be heard alongside composers of the past and present such as Hamish MacCunn, Erik Chisholm and Thea Musgrave as well as performances by Julie Fowlis and Kris Drever. This film will also feature poetry from Edwin Muir, Liz Lochhead and Edwin Morgan which will be spoken and narrated by Annie Lennox and Iain Glen.
“Changing Landscapes” will be broadcast on BBC One in Scotland on Tuesday 2nd November at 10.35pm and will air a second time on BBC Scotland on Friday 5th November at 7pm.
67th International Rostrum of Composers
BBC Radio 3 has selected Jay’s BBC Proms piece “Circadian Refrains (172 Days Until Dawn)” to represent the UK as part of the 67th International Rostrum of Composers which is due to be held in Belgrade, Serbia in 2021. Jay’s piece will be presented to a panel of delegates from the world’s broadcasting corporations who will consider the work for future broadcast on international radio.
The International Rostrum of Composers (IRC), organized by the International Music Council, is an international forum of representatives of broadcasting organizations who come together for the purpose of exchanging and broadcasting contemporary music.Currently, over 30 national radio networks participate in the Rostrum presenting some 60 works composed within the five years preceding the Rostrum. After the listening sessions, the assembly of delegates selects and recommends the most important works in two categories: general and “young composers”. These and other works will be presented in concerts and broadcast after the Rostrum by the participating and other interested radio stations.
This year’s International Rostrum of Composers will be held in Belgrade, Serbia from the 12-15 Oct 2021 where Jay’s work will be presented alongside works by Hannah Kendall and Marc Yeats.
Opera North - Minute Masterpieces
Jay has been selected to compose a brand-new work for the Orchestra of Opera North as part of their “Minute Masterpieces” series 2021. Jay’s new one-minute work “Deep in their Roots” has been composed specially for the Orchestra of Opera North on the theme of “home” and will premiere in their 2021:22 Season opening concert.
Opera North said:
“We received over 200 entries from composers from all backgrounds and traditions. After much deliberation, fourteen pieces were selected by a panel comprising Opera North’s Music Director Garry Walker, Director of Orchestra and Chorus Phil Boughton, Professor Rachel Cowgill, Professor of Music, University of York, award-winning sitarist and composer Jasdeep Singh Degun and Matthew Kofi Waldren, conductor and co-founder of Your Turn Collective.The successful entrants will have their Minute Masterpieces premiered by the Orchestra of Opera North in Huddersfield Town Hall over the next two Kirklees Concert Seasons, and all fourteen works will be recorded by the Orchestra in Leeds in spring 2022.”
"Deep in their Roots" will be premiered by the Orchestra of Opera North, conducted by Garry Walker on the 22nd September at 7.30pm in Huddersfield Town Hall.
Scottish Chamber Orchestra - Death in a Nutshell
Jay’s newly commissioned composition “Death in a Nutshell” for Chamber Orchestra will premiere with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in their upcoming 2021/22 Season, conducted by Sir James MacMillan. This new 20 minute work has been written specially for the SCO and takes its inspiration from Frances Glessner Lee’s “Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death” which are true-crime recreations of mysterious death-scenes fashioned in miniature form to the scale of a dollhouse.
Jay explains:
“These macabre miniature death-scenes were painstakingly handcrafted by Lee throughout the 1940/50s as a learning tool in forensic and crime scene investigation, and often depict a domestic scenario furnished in 1940s décor in which the body of a doll (or dolls) can be found. Each diorama presents a set of clues regarding the events that led up to the doll’s demise including witness statements and important details about the time of year and even the temperature of the room; all of which offer clues to the solution of a puzzle that can be solved from the objects found within each room. These studies have proved so successful that they are still used today and are housed at the Maryland Medical Examiner’s Officer in Baltimore, where the true solutions are kept firmly under lock and key.
This piece focuses on 6 of Lee’s grisly Nutshell Studies in an attempt to represent 6 different crime-scenes as musical miniatures that hint at a variety of elaborate clues and evidence which form their potential solutions. The work is constructed like a house in which we promenade from room to room, starting in the parlour and wandering all the way to the attic, where we find a deceased doll (or dolls) in each room as well as a new mystery to be solved.
Leave no stone unturned, no note unscrutinised, “convict the guilty, clear the innocent, and find the truth in a nutshell”, in this macabre collection of miniature pieces inspired by a dollhouse unlike any other.”
Death in a Nutshell will premiere alongside Ives' The Unanswered Question, Mahler's Adagietto from Symphony No.5 and Wagner's Siegfried Idyll on the 11th & 12th of November 2021 at Edinburgh’s Queen’s Halls and then in Glasgow’s City Halls at 7.30pm with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Sir James MacMillan.
Seven Hills Project with St Mary's Music School
It is with great delight that Jay Capperauld has been commissioned to compose a new work for the young musicians of St Mary’s Music School as part of the Seven Hills project in celebration of the school’s 50th anniversary. The Seven Hills project combines the poetry of Alexander McCall Smith and several new pieces of music by Scottish composers inspired by the famous hills that surround St Mary’s Music School in the city of Edinburgh. Jay’s new work is called 'Theory of the Earth' and has been written for Percussion, Piano and String Quartet and takes stimulus from McCall Smith’s poem “Arthur’s Seat and Geology”.
Jay says of the work: “In Alexander McCall Smith’s poem, he evocatively describes the primitive volcanic formations that forged Edinburgh’s iconic Arthur’s Seat as well as highlighting James Hutton’s revelatory discoveries about Earth’s true age. Hutton published his “Theory of the Earth” which put forward his observations about the different ways in which the various rock layers of Arthur’s Seat were formed as well as the vast expanses of time it would have taken to create such formations. Hutton encapsulated his findings in the theory that the Earth we see today is formed through a continual process of renewal and decay by various forces over millions of years and summarised his theory about the Earth’s origins and its ancient past as having “no vestige of a beginning – no prospect of an end”. His discoveries were truly ground-breaking at the time as they unseated long-held notions about how the Earth was created and how old it truly is. Therefore, this new piece attempts to capture Earth’s primordial process of renewal and decay as embryonic musical ideas are built up in layers (like the rock formations of Edinburgh’s dormant Volcano), which gradually erode over time to reveal – sometimes imperceptibly – a perpetual ever-changing musical landscape”.
'Theory of the Earth' will be the first commission to feature as part of the Seven Hills project and will receive its premiere by St Mary’s Music School senior pupils alongside percussionist Tom Hunter in their Summer Concert 2021 on Friday 2nd July at 7pm.
This event will be held online this year as part of a webinarjam. Please register with St Mary’s Music School to attend this free event via the following link:
Westering Echoes - WSSO Trust
The West of Scotland Schools Orchestra Trust (WSSO Trust) has commissioned Jay to compose a new piece in celebration of their 25th anniversary in 2021. Jay’s new piece “Westering Echoes” combines the full forces of WSSO Trust as members of the Symphony Orchestra, Concert Band, Training Band and String Orchestra will rehearse the piece online and eventually record the work for its online premiere on Youtube in August 2021. This project involves a virtual side-by-side in association with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra who will provide Inspire Sessions for members of WSSO Trust and will record “Westering Echoes” at the RSNO Centre to be included in the final broadcast in August 2021.
“Westering Echoes is inspired by my own time in ‘West’ (as the organisation is affectionately known) as a young saxophonist in the Concert Band. The piece looks to emulate the fantastical sound-worlds of the music that I loved to play as a member in an earnest salute to the organisation and the exciting repertoire which young performers are introduced to. It was these exciting works along with the whole ‘West’ experience which ignited my own deep passion for performing and composition.
Westering Echoes highlights the cultural vibrancy, immediacy and vitality of west and central Scotland with an upbeat and energetic flourish. The listener will hear echoes of Scottish culture blended with my own musical memories of living in the west of Scotland and my time as a member of this wonderful organisation”.
Westering Echoes will premiere online with the WSSO Trust in association with the RSNO, conducted by James Lowe in August 2021.
Déjà Vu to feature on Rob Buckland’s new CD
Renowned saxophonist, Rob Buckland has recently launched his newest solo CD “Just Because – Shot Stories for solo Saxophone” which features Jay’s work Déjà Vu for solo Alto Saxophone. The new album features Jay’s work alongside solo pieces by Graham Fitkin, Gwilym Simcock, Gary Carpenter, Sally Beamish, Julian Argüelles, Jenni Watson & Andy Scott which then leads into Rob Buckland’s own set of new compositions. This disc represents a deeply personal expression of Rob Buckland as a musician and seeks to connected with music as a narrative that takes the listener on many journeys of intrigue and wonder.
Rob Buckland explains his connection to Jay’s work:
“In the early stages of putting together repertoire ideas for what would become my new Solo CD “Just Because”, I watched a performance of Jay’s “Afterlife” suite online, performed by saxophonist Lewis Banks with pianist Marianna Abrahamyan. It stopped me in my tracks. A truly captivating and dynamic work with an immediate emotional and musical impact. I immediately contacted Jay and asked if I could record the solo saxophone movement 'Déjà Vu’ for my CD project, and he graciously agreed. I felt so drawn to this piece, connected to it somehow, and really wanted to create a deeply personal and dramatic interpretation of it as part of my CD. The piece for me is such a perfect representation of the emotional heart of the alto saxophone, and Jay’s wonderful writing, informed by his personal expertise on the saxophone as well as his distinctive compositional style, provides an incredibly rich palette of colours and textures for the performer to paint with. Every time I play this piece it takes me on a different journey, and I very much hope that it becomes widely performed by saxophonists around the world”.
Rob Buckland’s new album is out now and is available to purchase from Rob's website or as a digital download via Bandcamp.
Music Now For Sale
It is a huge pleasure to announce that Jay’s music is now available to buy on this very website. Jay is self-publishing a selection of his work for solo, duo and choral instrumentation/vocals which can all be purchased as digital downloads.
Jay’s solo collection includes the quirky encore piece What The Bird Said for solo Piccolo, his melancholic piece The Pathos of Broken Things for solo Flute as well as his reconstruction of Bach’s famous Cello Prelude in his Déjà Vu for solo Alto Saxophone. Jay’s protective charm Talisman for solo Guitar is also available alongside his evocative and tumultuous solo Piano works Christus Tantasticus and The Epoch Interludes. His duo collection comprises of the mammoth anthology Afterlife for Alto Saxophone and Piano which contains over an hour’s worth of new music across 9 pieces; each piece from Afterlife is also sold separately as works in their own right, along with his earthy rhythmic piece Erratics for Percussion and Piano. Jay’s choral work features his a cappella vocal writing all inspired by Scottish poetry including The Unspoken for SATB Choir inspired by Edwin Morgan’s work of the same name, Arcadia for SATB Choir after the words of Alexander Hume, and Jay’s most recent choral work Dreamer for SATB Soloists, SATB Choir and Organ inspired by Robert Burns’ poem Flow Gently Sweet Afton.
Upon purchase, you will be given instant access to your new score(s) via a digital download link in your confirmation email. Browse, listen, buy and perform Jay’s musical works now – follow the link provided or head to “Buy Music” at the top of this page and enjoy!
RSNO Community Orchestra: All Together Now
It is a great pleasure to announce that Jay has been commissioned to compose a new orchestral piece for the RSNO Community Orchestra as part of their project All Together Now. Jay’s new piece INTERLACED has been composed for mixed abilities covering beginner levels up to ABRSM Grade 5 and will be rehearsed online by members of the RSNO Community Orchestra and the RSNO itself under the baton of conductor Michael Repper. The project is a fresh look at how individuals can grow their music making from their own homes across the country, and while it is still a challenge for many to get out and meet in large groups, the RSNO have created this space to come “All Together Now” to play, share, create and learn Jay’s specially written piece.
Jay says:
“INTERLACED refers to both the interwoven patterns of Celtic knotwork as well as the technological process of incorporating fragmented/alternating lines to form a whole picture. In this sense, this piece attempts to unite various interweaving musical elements, such as short riffs and refrains, which come together to form the overall sound image of the music. This piece was written for the Royal Scottish National Orchestra’s Community Orchestra as part of “All Together Now” during the Covid-19 lockdown of 2020 with the intention of bringing the orchestra’s musicians together over an online platform. Therefore, the objective of the work is to highlight music’s ability to connect, uplift and unify people regardless of their apparent isolation during the global pandemic, or indeed at any time.”
This new piece will premiere online through the RSNO’s social media channels as each individual member of this “digital orchestra” film and record their performance from home, which will be pieced together to create the full orchestral forces. The online premiere performance of INTERLACED will be released on 21st June 2021 as the culmination of the All Together Now project.
Psappha Ensemble - Music for Cimbalom
Jay has been commissioned by Psappha Ensemble to compose a brand-new song for Soprano Voice, Violin, Cello and Cimbalom in collaboration with the Nigerian writer Vashti Suwa Gbolagun. This new work has been written for Psappha Ensemble’s “In Focus” series alongside newly commissioned pieces by Nina Danon, Shruthi Rajasekar, David Nunn and Alan Williams as well as György Kurtàg’s Splinters and Jatekok. These new works all feature the unique sound of the Cimbalom, which will be performed by Psappha Ensemble’s Artistic Director Tim Williams along with Soprano vocalist Claire Wild.
Jay states:
“Glitz and Glamour takes direct inspiration from a poem of the same name by Vashti Suwa Gbolagun, which articulates the plight of Nigerian Miners and the effect that this way of life has on the wider communities of Nigeria. This work attempts to explore the contrasting qualities of Gbolagun’s text where shimmering light meets foreboding darkness in a poignant and lamenting tribute to those men and women lured by the mine’s’captivating embrace’.”
This concert shall take place Thursday 25th March 2021 at 7pm in Hallé St Peter’s, Manchester.
BBC Proms 2020 - Circadian Refrains
Jay Capperauld has been commissioned by the BBC to compose a brand-new piece for this year’s BBC Proms 2020. Jay’s new work will be written for the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and will be conducted by Thomas Dausgaard, with a reduced chamber orchestra line-up to adhere to the new social distancing guidelines. The new piece is called “Circadian Refrains (172 Days Until Dawn)” and takes direct inspiration from the recent global lockdown and the habitual daily routines that many developed during this extraordinary experience.
Jay comments:
“The title ‘Circadian Refrains’ refers to the biological processes that naturally recur in a 24-hour period. These cyclic processes are governed by our internal circadian clock which reacts and adapts to sensory changes in our environment, such as the transition from night to day (or darkness to light). In this context, this piece has been written in direct response to the recent global lockdown implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic in an attempt to articulate the day-to-day experiences of lockdown in a musical setting. The notion of refrains is suggestive of the repetitive, restricted and constrained lifestyles adopted by many during this time, while also referencing the very literal musical refrains and ritualistic utterances in the piece itself. Despite this relentless daily process, the work’s subtitle ‘172 Days Until Dawn’ attempts to capture a more hopeful perspective as the piece slowly transitions (through its own circadian processes) from a place of darkness to a place of light by mapping 172 chords and bars which represent each day since my personal lockdown began until the very day of this work’s premiere. Therefore, Circadian Refrains attempts to portray an individual journey from stillness, inertia and darkness towards a reviving metaphorical dawn.
It is a real honour to have been commissioned to composed this new piece for the BBC Proms, especially given everything that has been happening recently, and I am hugely excited at the prospect of working with the BBC SSO and Thomas Dausgaard again. As we all adjust to new ways of life and the slow return to a new kind of normality, I am aware of just how fortunate I am to have the opportunity to work with such a phenomenal orchestra in such times. The commentary on lockdown is perhaps an inevitable artistic expression after events such as this, and I hope that this new work offers a cathartic and optimistic contemplation as we return to live concerts once more.”
Circadian Refrains will premiere as part of the BBC Proms 2020 on the 5th of September at Glasgow’s City Halls (without an audience) and will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 & live-streamed to BBC iPlayer from 7.30pm, performed by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Thomas Dausgaard.
Afterlife
The new project Afterlife is a cutting-edge new music and film project based around the fictional work ‘Sum’ by bestselling author David Eagleman. ‘Sum – 40 Tales from the Afterlives’ is a collection of vignettes exploring possibilities of post-death scenarios which alongside revealing unexpected and inventive possibilities for the afterlife, provide us with a lens through which to view our current lives with striking clarity.
The performance will consist of new compositions by Jay Capperauld while the music will be performed by two prizewinning graduates of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Lewis Banks (Saxophone) and Marianna Abrahamyan (Piano), whose combined abilities as a musical duo have earned them debut recitals at top London venues such as The Purcell Room and St Martin in the Fields in 2019. The project also integrates a number of short films from Manchester-based director Paul Wright, whose recent film ‘Fissure’ has been subject to strong critical acclaim.
This trio of new music, short film and live performance will seamlessly merge in a gripping live performance of ‘Afterlife’ to create a beautiful, unsettling and vivid artistic response to David Eagleman’s bestselling work, which will have a truly broad appeal to book fanatics, contemporary music specialists and film lovers alike.
Jay says of the project:
“Inspired by David Eagleman’s short story cycle ‘Sum: Forty tales from the afterlives’, this work, entitled Afterlife, comprises of several pieces for Alto Saxophone and Piano, and is conceptualised around a number of speculative stories that Eagleman created that postulate a diverse range of scenarios in which humans might find themselves in the afterlife.
Therefore, Afterlife attempts to capture the qualities of a selection of Eagleman’s short stories in a musical context, while pondering their intended meanings and existential (or post-existential) implications.”
Afterlife premieres at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland on the 27th September 2019 at 1pm.
This will be followed by a further performance at this year's Cumnock Tryst Festival 2019 on the 5th October at 4.30pm in the New Cumnock Town Hall.
Psappha Ensemble - Composing for Piano and Percussion Duo 2018/19
Jay Capperauld has been selected to take part in Psappha Ensemble ‘Composing For…’ scheme in which Jay will work closely with the ensemble in the creation of a new work for Piano and Percussion Duo. This Duo will comprise of the pianist Benjamin Powell and the percussionist (and Psappha Ensemble’s Artistic Director) Tim Willaims, who Jay will develop this new 5 minute work with over the coming 2018/19 Season.
Psappha Ensemble say: “We have been running our “Composing For…” talent development schemes since 2013, supporting the creation of new works for solo instruments and duos by emerging and early career composers by providing sustained, one-to-one contact with our expert musicians. The works created through our schemes are listed below. You can watch HD multicamera films and listen to audio by clicking the relevant icons.”
The scheme will culminate in a Filming and Recording day where the ensemble will produce a high-quality video performance of Jay’s new piece ‘Erratics’ for Piano and Percussion Duo.
Jay says of the new work:
“Erratics takes its inspiration from the masses of colossal rocking stones that can be found in various locations throughout the world, which are balanced in such a precarious way that they can be rocked back and forth by the application of force by a single person.This piece attempts to portray an abstract image of a vast rocking stone being pushed in various directions by two quasi-antagonistic characters, in the form of the Pianist and Percussionist, who instigate movement in the stone and agitate the musical material between them in order to influence the motion of this huge object. In this way, Erratics takes on a double-meaning in its title by acting in a capricious and unpredictable or “erratic” manner, which conveys the abnormal movements of these massive rocking stones.”
The video to Jay's new work Erratics can now be viewed via the link below.