MSP Calls On Locals To Get Involved - A New Music Project At WHALE Arts

WHALE Arts and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra’s new integration project, Music and Visuals, begins next week and local MSP, Gordon Macdonald, is calling on adults in Wester Hailes to get involved.

The project, which is for adults living in Wester Hailes, will use music workshop practices as tools to create a space where participants can create their own audio or visual materials that articulate their own experiences in the locality.

The project begins on 6 August with two full days of workshops and continue with two hour sessions for the following five weeks at the WHALE Arts. Throughout the project, participants will be given the chance to take part in workshops led by Emma Smith, an innovative musician who also works with Musicians Without Borders, and supported by Suzanne Parry, a composer who recently worked on a project for the Borders Heritage Festival.

Music and Visuals is part of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra’s three year Wester Hailes Community Residency programme, running from October 2017 to summer 2020. Local children, young people and adults join SCO musicians to create, perform, record and enjoy music at creative music workshops and performances in Wester Hailes and Edinburgh city centre.

Commenting, SNP MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Gordon Macdonald said, “This is a fantastic opportunity for adults in Wester Hailes to cultivate their musical and artistic talents. The professional musicians helping with the project are extremely capable and experienced.

“The materials created during the project will feature in an audio visual installation at WHALE Arts later in the year. I encourage people to participate – you might discover an interest you never knew you had.”

Kirsteen Davidson Kelly, SCO Connect Director, says, “After an amazing year of creative activity with children and young people in Wester Hailes, we are excited to meet and work with adults from the community. The workshops will be led by Emma Smith, an innovative musician who works with Musicians Without Borders and is part of the SCO team visiting Wester Hailes Education Centre, and Suzanne Parry, a composer who recently worked with us on a project for the Borders Heritage Festival in the Scottish Borders, in which local children explored the local environment. Emma and Suzanne will work with participants to design, create and curate their own work, and to make the Music and Visuals project their own.“

Meghan Bidwell, Arts Engagement Manager (Adults), WHALE Arts says, “Following the success of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra’s Family Days at WHALE Arts, we are pleased to partner with SCO for a new project offering co-created opportunities for adults living in Wester Hailes. The culmination of the Music and Visuals project will be an installation which will demonstrate the quality and strength of community art.”