Made up of Glasgow and Dublin-based freelance musicians, the members of the Gliondar Ensemble have appeared with such diverse groups as the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the BBC Concert Orchestra, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Irish Chamber Orchestra, the Scottish Ensemble, the Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra, Scottish folk group Blazing Fiddles and Iain Anderson from Jethro Tull!.
Since winning a Tunnell Trust prize in 2001 (the first Scottish based group to have achieved this accolade in over ten years) the Gliondar Ensemble has been delighting audiences all over Scotland. North, south, east and west, from Invergordon to Biggar, and Dundee to Islay, audiences and reviewers alike have been amazed by the group’s virtuosity alongside their obvious pleasure in performance. Indeed the appropriateness of their name has been mentioned on many occasions (Gliondar is an Irish word meaning joy or great glee).
Outside of Scotland, the group has represented the RSAMD at the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-fields and August 2001 saw them undertake an extensive tour of Ireland. This tour saw them performing in such diverse venues as the National Concert Hall, Dublin and the Village Arts Centre, Kilworth (a village near Cork). Their participation in the Boyle Arts Festival consisted of a lunchtime concert followed by a children’s composition workshop in collaboration with the Irish composer Elaine Agnew.
The climax of the tour was the World Premiere of “The Art of Falling Apart” by the exciting young Irish composer David Fennessy. The Gliondar Ensemble commissioned this piece with help from the Irish Arts Council. This concert (in the National Concert Hall, Dublin) was received to critical acclaim in the Irish Times newspaper. Gliondar went on to give the Scottish premiere of this piece in November 2001 as part of Glasgow University’s lunchtime concert series.
Gliondar have recently been awarded a touring grant by Music Network Ireland, and will be undertaking a concert tour in August 2007. They have also been engaged by Argyll and Bute Concert Tours to do a tour in February 2008.
As individuals and collectively, Gliondar have extensive experience of working with children both in schools and as tutors for regional and national ensembles. The ensemble like to involve local schools if possible and are always keen to give workshops close to any concert dates.
Through the juxtaposition of exciting new music and much-loved classics, and with a reputation for lively presentation and informative introductions during performances, Gliondar are committed to bringing refreshing and enjoyable concerts to music societies and festivals wherever they travel.
Hello! I'm off to Orkney on Sat the 7th for a week to celebrate my 30th birthday on the 13th. However, I'm thinking about having a belated gathering on sat 21st. No plan in place yet, but do you fancy joining me? x
Blimey, 3 out of 5 ain't bad! We will have to discuss this over a drink. I've not got too many holidays left to take this year (some of us don't have cushy teaching jobs!) so a near-to-a-weekend gig would be the best. We'll have a team meeting soon x x
Hey Cli, thank you for your message. I'm just back from a week in Aviemore with mum, Sue and Ian. Mum thinks it's HYSTERICAL that I am now considered to be a wise woman. And I'm not dressed as a mummy in the picture, I'm standing behind a statue and I'm meant to be an Emperor. Humph! x
Message to all the quintet......Ian and I will definately come to Ireland for one of your gigs this summer. It's official, THE CAMPBELLS ARE COMING! x x x x
