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MacMillan, JamesDr. James MacMillan,born 1959, composer and conductor was born in Kilwinning in 1959 and educated in Cumnock. James studied music at the Universities of Edinburgh and Durham, gaining his doctorate in 1987. He began his career lecturing at the University of Manchester. James gained acclaim following the successful premiere of two works; namely The Tryst at the St Magnus Festival on Orkney and The Confession of Isobel Gowdie at the BBC Proms. The latter work explores the effects of witch-hunting following the Reformation.
His other compositions include the percussion concerto Veni, Veni, Emmanuel which has been regularly performed by Evelyn GLENNIE (this work has received over 150 performances to date and has been programmed by leading international orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Detroit Symphony); Seven Last Words from the Cross and Cantata for Choir and Strings.
James was a featured composer at Edinburgh Festival in 1993 and has worked with orchestras internationally, including the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra and New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics. He maintains close links with fellow composer Peter Maxwell DAVIES who has been an influence on his work. Other influences include his political and religious convictions (a Socialist and devout Roman Catholic) and his sense of national identity.
James now lives in Glasgow, where he is an occasional tutor at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.
Cumnock Fair
Cumnock Fair had its world premiere on 23rd March 1999 in Cumnock Academy, Ayrshire – played by musicians from Scottish Chamber Orchestra. The piece is a twelve-minute fantasy by James MacMillan based on dance melodies by the 18th century composer from Cumnock, John FRENCH. It was commissioned by Cumnock Music Club for its Golden Jubilee concert in 1999. It is thought that Robert BURNS knew John French and that the composer played the fiddle for the dance classes reluctantly attended by the poet as a young man in Ayrshire. French was also a friend of James BOSWELL, Dr JOHNSON’s biographer and dedicated many of his compositions to him and to his wife. Cumnock Fair quotes clearly from one of these "Mr James Boswell’s Jig" and alludes to another (which is more hidden) "Mrs Boswell of Auchinleck’s Reel". French’s original Cumnock Fair, a strathspey, is also quoted audibly.
Cumnock Fair is dedicated to Isabel CRAWFORD, secretary of the Cumnock Music Club.
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