The Black Isle Messiah

THE TEAM

Alasdair Nicolson Musical Director/Conductor Verity Walker Event Manager

David Knotts Chorusmaster Aileen Fraser Rehearsal pianist

Nia Bevan Leader Roddy Long 2nd Violin Oakki Lau Viola

Clea Friend Cello May Halyburton Double Bass Lis Dooner - Flute

Laurance Gill Clarinet Alison Green Bassoon Tom Poulson Trumpet

BIM Projects is the brainchild of Alasdair Nicolson and Verity Walker who both attended and studied music at Fortrose Academy in the 1970s. In 2009 the Black Isle Messiah brought together nearly 200 participants (both singers and instrumentalists) to perform Handel's Messiah from Scratch. The weekend of workshops, masterclasses and performance in 2009 was a huge success and has led to the current venture: Mozart's Requiem from Scratch.

VERITY WALKER - Event Manager

Verity was brought up in Cullicudden on the Black Isle and was educated at Fortrose Academy, where as well as playing the flute she enjoyed taking part in many musical performances, including the Inverness Festival, the Mod, and the musicals Oliver! and The Boyfriend. Her early career saw her working for the National Trust and she managed a box office and events programme for its busy Thames & Chilterns Region. Events managed included open air Shakespeare, many open air music and fireworks concerts (for audiences up to 12,000) and theatrical performances. She returned to the Black Isle with her young family in 2002 and has been running her heritage consultancy, Interpretaction from her office in Fortrose since then. Interpretaction clients include Forestry Commission Scotland, British Waterways, Highland Council and the Woodland Trust. She is well known as a local community volunteer and founded and helps to run the Black Isle Gathering, which is funded by the Highland Council Black Isle Ward team.

ALASDAIR NICOLSON - Musical Director and Conductor

Alasdair was born in Inverness and brought up on the Isle of Skye and the Black Isle where he attended Fortrose Academy. An award-winning composer and conductor, he is now regarded internationally as one of Scotland's most important musical voices. He has written music for many of the leading orchestras, ensembles and soloists in the UK and abroad. Premieres have been given by the Nash Ensemble, the London Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the City of London Sinfonia amongst others. His music has performed all over the world from Sydney to New York, Tokyo to Toronto. He has a strong commitment to work within education, with amateur performers, and particularly with young composers; he Director of the St Magnus Composers' Course for young professionals and Artistic Director of the RPS award-winning Sound Inventors Project. He is also a performer and began his early career as a repetiteur with the Opera de Monte Carlo and has conducted many of the UK's leading orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. He is well known for his work combining amateur and professional performers and has directed choral and instrumental performances as well as community operas for many UK festivals and orchestras most recently drawing together several choruses and children's choirs to perform at the Barbican with the London Symphony Orchestra.

BLACK ISLE LEISURE CENTRE

Centre Manager Ian Goode

The Black Isle Leisure Centre and its associated facilities, the Theatre and Football fields and Town Halls are available to provide the opportunity for a wide range of education, cultural and leisure experiences that contribute to the Health and Wellbeing of individuals, families, visitors and the Black Isle community as a whole. With the aim of ensuring all the facilities be accessible to all, the centre staff run and support the development of sporting, leisure and cultural activity bual also aim to develop strong links with partners from across the local area and beyond to enhance the use of our facilities.

David Knotts - Pianist and Assistant Conductor

David Knotts studied piano at the Royal Academy of Music with Maria Solimini before going to King's College, Cambridge where he was an Instrumental Award holder, the recipient of numerous prizes. He took part in several masterclasses with David Owen-Norris and Bernard Roberts at Dartington and with Pierre-Laurent Aimard in France. An extremely versatile pianist, David Knotts has developed a wide-ranging performing career. He has regularly worked as a repetiteur for the BBC Singers, Friday Night is Music Night and the BBC Symphony chorus and, as an orchestral pianist, he as played with Sinfonia Viva and the City of London Sinfonia. David is also an experienced session musiciain and is featured on the soundtrack of I Capture the Castle and Miss Potter. He has also broadcast on BBC Radio 3 (with the BBC Singers) and worked with conductors Simon Joly, Stephen Cleobury, Martyn Brabbins, Ronald Corp, Barry Wordsworth, Stephen Jackson & Pierre Boulez. His work as a composer makes David Knotts an ideal performer in new repertoire and he has premièred works by Alexander Levine, Daniel Grimley, Alasdair Nicolson, Morgan Hayes, Anjula Semmens & Stephen Deazley, whose group, Music at the Brewhouse he performs in regularly. He also works regularly as a recitalist and is staff accompanist at Trinity College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music. As a choral conductor he works with choirs at the Royal Academy of Music, HSBC London Choir and the London Symphony Orchestra Community Choir amongst others.