The RSNO’s Guide to Nordic Music Days Posted Wed 16 October 2024
(4 minute read)
We’re thrilled to be part of the Nordic Music Days Festival which runs 30 October – 3 November 2024. Founded in 1888, it’s one of the world’s oldest music festivals and it comes to Glasgow for the first time in a new collaboration between Scotland and the Nordics. Over 120 composers and sound artists will have their music performed whilst installations, workshops, exhibitions and sound routes can be found in venues throughout the city.
Read on for our recommendations of how to spend your Festival, with special highlights by RSNO Viola Katherine Wren.
Wednesday 30 October
Opening Concert: Scottish Ensemble, Aidan O’Rourke and Qullaq
Wed 30 Oct 2024, 8pm
Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow
Tickets: £23.90 (concessions available). Book tickets.
The pioneering collective, Scottish Ensemble, are joined by musicians from Norway, Finland, and Greenland, as well as one of Scotland’s most well-known musicians, Aidan O’Rourke, for a collaborative concert inspired by traditions, myths, societal dynamics and worldviews.
Well, it’s not often you hear Greenlandic music in Scotland, so as well as Nordic Viola’s performance [Saturday 2 November], go to the opening concert with the Scottish Ensemble where Aidan O’Rourke joins with a group of Greenlanders from various musical traditions.RSNO Viola
Thursday 31 October
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra: An Extraordinary Voyage!
Thu 31 Oct 2024, 7.30pm
City Halls, Glasgow
Tickets: £12 (concessions available). Book tickets.
Take a fantastical musical journey with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra as they celebrate contemporary music and sounds from the imaginations of Britta Byström, Hildur Guðnadóttir and more.
Friday 1 November
Hebrides Ensemble & Ánnámáret
Fri 1 Nov 2024, 5pm
New Auditorium, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
Tickets: £12.70 (concessions available). Book tickets.
The award-winning chamber ensemble, music students from the University of Glasgow and Sami vocalist Ánnámáret bring a characteristically intriguing programme, full of contrast and colour, to the Festival.
Scottish Chamber Orchestra: Borealis
Fri 1 Nov 2024, 7.30pm
City Halls, Glasgow
Tickets from £15 (concessions available). Book tickets.
Discover new sounds from Sweden and Scotland as the Scottish Chamber Orchestra perform music by Anders Hillborg, Madeleine Isaksson, Jay Capperauld and Sir James MacMillan.
Saturday 2 November
Nordic Viola: Arctic Edgelands
Sat 2 Nov 2024, 1pm
CCA Theatre, Glasgow
Tickets: £10 (concessions available). Book tickets.
Founded in 2016, Nordic Viola sees RSNO Viola player Katherine Wren exploring cultural connections between Scotland and the North Atlantic region. For Arctic Edgelands, Katherine joins forces with musicians from Shetland and Greenland for a concert full of stories.
In 2016 I founded Nordic Viola and my connection with composers from the Faroes, Iceland, Greenland, Denmark and the Northern Isles of Scotland began. I am so looking forward to exploring the intersection between Shetland and Greenland at 60 degrees latitude and northwards in Arctic Edgelands with my dear friends Renzo Spiteri, a percussionist, sound artist and composer from Shetland, and Greenlandic composer and flautist Arnannguaq Gerstrøm.RSNO Viola
RSNO: Sibelius Seven & more
Sat 2 Nov 2024, 7.30pm
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
Tickets from £14 (concessions available). Book tickets.
Prepare to be astonished as Sibelius’ nature-infused Seventh Symphony is paired with beautiful new sounds from Copenhagen and Glasgow, conducted by Music Director Thomas Søndergård and starring violinist Isabelle Faust.
A special shout-out for young Scottish composers Aileen Sweeney and Lisa Robertson in the RSNO concert. I got a sneak preview of Lisa’s piece, which will also include young musicians from Sistema Scotland’s Big Noise Govanhill in Glasgow, and it’s full of energy and a lot of fun!RSNO Viola
Sunday 3 October
RSNO String Quartet: Wood Works
Sun 3 Nov 2024, 2.30pm
New Auditorium, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
Tickets: £20 (concessions available). Book tickets.
A fresh take on some memorable tunes as the RSNO String Quartet perform music created by the Danish String Quartet. Expect the intimacy and colour of classical music mixed with the untamed beauty of Scandinavian folk tunes.
Closing Concert: Echoes from the Edges
Sun 3 Nov 2024, 5pm
Glasgow Cathedral
Tickets: £10 (concessions available). Book tickets.
Inspired by a series of concerts hosted in a famous sea cave in the Faroe Islands, RSNO Principal Trombone, Dávur Juul Magnussen, explores the echoes and resonances of Glasgow Cathedral with atmospheric music from the Faroes and Scotland.
I will also be going to the final concert in Glasgow Cathedral led by our very own Principal Trombone, Dávur Juul Magnussen. Dávur will be recreating one of the famous Faroese cave concerts with our mutual friend and one of the most fun, original and generous composers I know, Kristian Blak.RSNO Viola
Nordic Music Days runs in Glasgow, Scotland from 30 October – 3 November. A full programme can be found at nordicmusicdays.org/whats
