String Ensemble Days with Aaron McGregor
Saturday 11 October 2025, 24 January 2026 and 18 April 2026
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Brass Ensemble Days with Hamish Wood
Saturday 1 November 2025 and 7 March 2026
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Venue for all workshops:
Kemnay Church Centre, Church Lane AB51 5QP
Inverurie Music acknowledge the generous support of the David and June Gordon Memorial Trust for this workshop season.
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String Ensemble Days
Saturday 11 October 2025, 24 January 2026, and 18 April 2026
Local musicians can come together with Aaron to be tutored on works for small string orchestra. There are around 20 places available for string players. Music can be provided in advance to allow for some preparation
Dr Aaron McGregor is a freelance violinist and Lecturer in Music (Performance) at the University of Aberdeen. Aaron’s performance background ranges across a spectrum of styles, including modern and baroque violin, and Scottish traditional fiddle. He has performed with ensembles such as the Dunedin Consort, Ludus Baroque, Oxford Baroque, Ex Cathedra, RSNO, Scottish Ensemble, Scottish Ballet, Manchester Camerata and the recently formed Laudonia. Aaron is a leading exponent of 17th and 18th-century Scottish fiddle music, performing regularly with Concerto Caledonia. A graduate of the University of Edinburgh and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Aaron completed an MMus in Historically Informed Performance Practice with distinction at the University of Glasgow and the RCS in 2014. In January 2020, he completed a PhD at the University of Glasgow, his research focussing on the early history of the violin in Scotland.
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Brass Ensemble Days
Saturday 1 November 2025 and 7 March 2026
A workshop for a mixed group of brass players to come together to work on arrangements for brass ensemble. There are places for around 20-25 players of around Grade 3+ ability. Music planned includes pieces such as Maccabeus, A Man from Clan, Toot and Ska Man and Havana.
Hamish Wood graduated from the University of Aberdeen in 2008 with a degree in Music, specialising in trombone. During his time at university, he played in a range of ensembles and has continued performing with orchestras including Grampian Sinfonia, Aberdeen Sinfonietta, and Aberdeen Chamber Orchestra.
Since graduating, Hamish has worked as a Brass Instructor with Aberdeenshire Council’s Instrumental Music Service. He teaches brass instruments to pupils in both primary and secondary schools across the Aboyne, Alford, Banchory and Huntly areas. He has also been involved in a number of regional music projects, including conducting the South/Central Aberdeenshire Music Centre Youth Orchestra and previously the North Aberdeenshire Music Centre Junior Concert Band. He is a regular tutor at the annual Aberdeenshire Youth Orchestra residential course, which has included tours to Belgium and Germany.
Hamish is the founding Musical Director of the Inverurie Concert Band and has gone on to establish both the Inverurie Concert Band Youth Section and the Inverurie Concert Band Big Band, helping create more opportunities for young and adult musicians alike in the local community.
Alongside this, Hamish is a Brass Tutor at the International School of Aberdeen. Through this role, he has travelled to various cities for Association for Music in International Schools (AMIS) festivals, including Düsseldorf, Munich, Bucharest, and Doha.
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Provisional timetable for each day:
10.00 – 13.00 – tutored session (including break) followed by lunch
13.45 – 14.45 – tutored session followed by a short break
15.00 – 15.30 – performance session and depart
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Cost:
£25 standard price or £15 if in full-time education, and for those on disability or low-income benefits.
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