1. Aberdeen Chamber Music Concerts
Are you in S5 or S6?
Then listen on as this could be the competition for you.
Are you interested in music, journalism or just eager to experiment with your range of writing skills?
Would you like to win a first prize of iTune vouchers worth £100?
Or a second prize of £50 worth of vouchers?

2. Aberdeen Chamber Music Concerts
But first, some background information.
What is ACMC and what does it aim to do?
ACMC is a local charity entering its 79th season
That means that it has been bringing chamber music to Aberdeen since before World War II
It aims to provide its audiences with music of the highest quality from musicians of an outstanding calibre, mostly young professional musicians
Concerts are mainly at the Cowdray Hall
However the November 2013 concert will be in the Sanctuary at Queens Cross Church

3. Aberdeen Chamber Music Concerts
What is Chamber Music and who plays it?
Chamber Music is exactly what it says. It is music to be played in a room
By its very nature then it is performed by small groups of musicians who can fit into a room
Almost all composers write or have written for chamber groups, e.g. for string quartets, piano trios and wind groups etc.

4. Aberdeen Chamber Music Concerts
What is Chamber Music and who plays it?
You, at school, may be part of a chamber group as it is easier than getting a full orchestra together, yet it enables you to learn to play as part of a group
Many professional musicians may also augment their orchestral life by playing in chamber groups, thus keeping their repertoire very wide and fulfilling
It opens a route for entering many prestigious competitions which can lead to valuable sponsorship

5. Aberdeen Chamber Music Concerts
Yes, but who exactly plays it and who writes it?
Well, it is played by anybody from young up and coming musicians who start
during their studies, to well established performers such as The Badke String Quartet who are playing
the Haydn piece that is
running in the background
Beethoven 1770
… and it is difficult to think of a composer who doesn’t write chamber music
J. S. Bach 1685
Just about every composer has written some chamber music as it gave them a source of income from private individuals and it also provided them with a very special palette from which to create some very special sound pictures. Also, it meant that they could give some exposure to very talented friends, let them expirement with the particular character of either a small group from the orchestral range or even a solo instrument perhaps as part of a sketch for a full symphonic piece.
Here are some well known and maybe not so well known composers
Peteris Vasks 1946
Janáček
1854
Which covers every century from the 17th
to the 20th

6. Aberdeen Chamber Music Concerts
What kind of chamber groups will you hear at our concerts?
Many of the musicians that we invite have already won major international prizes, such as The Arcadia Quartet from Romania who will give our November concert, and who won the London International String Quartet competition last year
It is not unusual for our guest musicians to have played to a packed Wigmore Hall in London before coming north to play for Aberdeen Chamber Music Concerts
Many of them comment on the wonderful acoustic that we are lucky to have in the Cowdray Hall

7. Aberdeen Chamber Music Concerts
So why are we organising this competition?
Because we want to encourage you as the future potential musicians (or journalists) to come and hear for yourself how varied, intimate and exciting this range of music can be
Together with ConocoPhillips (UK) Limited we have devised a competition that we hope will interest you and help you to understand and appreciate this form of music

8. Aberdeen Chamber Music Concerts
7 October 2013
PASSACAGLIA BAROQUE ENSEMBLE
18 November 2013
THE ARCADIA STRING QUARTET
OF ROMANIA
2 December 2013
TRIO DALRIADA
Featuring Ian Watt on guitar
13 January 2014
THE WU STRING QUARTET
17 February 2014
THE DORIC STRING QUARTET
17 March 2014
THE LEONORE PIANO TRIO
Review Writing Competition for School Students in S5 & S6
These are the concerts for the 2013 – 14 season and by bringing along an entry form you can come for free to as many as you wish, although prizes will be presented at the final concert so sadly that concert is not included for a review entry

9. Aberdeen Chamber Music Concerts
Review Writing Competition for School Students in S5 & S6
1st Prize
Come to our concerts, write a review like the ones in the photo and you could win a prize donated by ConocoPhillps UK Limited
2nd Prize

10. Aberdeen Chamber Music Concerts
Review Writing Competition for School Students in S5 & S6
Download an entry form and read the rules at:

11. Aberdeen Chamber Music Concerts
Review Writing Competition for School Students in S5 & S6
for answers to any queries

12. Aberdeen Chamber Music Concerts
Thank you and good luck with your entries
We look forward to seeing you at our concerts