For more than 60 years Melrose Music Society have been putting on concerts of the highest possible calibre between October and April in the Parish Church hall of our beautiful historic town in the Scottish Borders.
This year we are trying something new: a short summer season before our usual main season of eight concerts. This makes for the most diverse programme we have ever been able to offer: piano quintet; string quartet; piano trio; trumpet, cello, violin, soprano with piano; solo piano, guitar and accordion, and a wonderful range of composers: alongside mainstream repertoire, we are featuring works by such neglected figures as Nikos Skalkottas, Xavier Montsalvatge and Halsey Stevens, and by eight living composers: Franck Angelis, Caroline Shaw, Sadie Harrison, Elena Mendoza, Sofia Gubaidulina, Erkki-Sven Tüür, James MacMillan and, in celebration of his 75th birthday, Eddie McGuire, who is hoping to attend the guitar recital dedicated to him in August.
Florence Price brings the count of female composers up to five, while other pieces with Scottish connections include Maxwell Davis’ Farewell to Stromness and Mendelssohn’s Sonate écossaise.
As well as Scots and other British musicians, we present Nikita Lukinov from Russia, Emma Abbate from Italy, Josiah Duhlstine from the USA, Filipa Portela from Portugal, Max Mostovetski from Germany, and Boglárka György from Hungary.
Our season will end with a sublime trio composed by an Austrian, Franz Schubert, played by a Greek pianist, Angeliki Giannakopoulo, a Malayan violinist, Yik Liang Soo, and an American cellist, Khalil Johnson. Isn’t it wonderful how music can bring the world together? Please, come and be part of this celebration of harmony and humanity.
Download details of our main season of eight concerts. (PDF document, 1MB)
We are most grateful for financial support from Creative Scotland through Chamber Music Scotland, without which we could not continue.
Martin Paterson, Chair