Five minutes with… Dame Seona Reid

Dame Seona Reid talks about her first inspiring encounter with Scottish Ensemble at the Anderson Centre, memories of Applecross, the importance of engaging young people in music, and what she enjoys about being a Trustee.

Born and educated in Glasgow, I have worked for many decades in the management of performing and visual arts, arts education and funding. This included Northern Dance Theatre, Ballet Rambert, Shape and Greater London Arts in Manchester and London before returning to Scotland to become Director of the Scottish Arts Council in 1990 and Director of the Glasgow School of Art in 1999. I have also been privileged to serve as a Trustee of Tate and British Council, Deputy Chair of The National Lottery Heritage Fund (formally Heritage Lottery Fund), Chair of National Theatre of Scotland and of Cove Park, Vice Chair of Wasps Artist Studios and a Trustee of the Edinburgh International Cultural Summit.

The obvious super power I would wish for would bring peace to a ravaged world and restore humanity and democracy where it has been lost but I suspect that something a little more light-hearted is expected! So the superpower I would wish for would be the ability to transport people to their destinations without planes, trains and cars, thereby making travel very much simpler, quicker and stress free whilst also significantly mitigating carbon emissions. A win win!

My first experience of Scottish Ensemble was in 2014 in a collaboration with visual artist Toby Paterson. Toby had created a site specific environment in the Anderston Centre, one of Glasgow’s sadly neglected Modernist landmarks and the Ensemble responded with a powerful programme of 20^th century music, exquisitely played.  I was blown away and from then on, I rarely missed a performance. Nearly a decade later, when I heard that the Ensemble were looking for Trustees, I jumped at the chance to bring my Board and governance experience to a company whose work I so admire.

Being a Trustee is a serious business. We are there to ensure that the organisation functions effectively and appropriately, fulfilling its objectives and realising its vision. This job is made so much easier when everybody in the company – Trustees, staff, players – bring such a high level of commitment to the Ensemble and apply such an impressive range of talents and abilities to ensure its continued success. Not having a professional music background, I particularly enjoy learning about performance and programme planning, the impact of music on wellbeing and the rhythms of rehearsal and touring. Every meeting, every concert, brings new learning.

Engaging young people as participants and widening the audience must be amongst the major challenges that classical music continues to face. In this, one has to admire the work that Scottish Ensemble is already doing to address that challenge: the Young Artists programme with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, our sustained work in schools, the cross sector concerts like In Sync (storytelling), Impulse (dance), and Law of Gravity (puppetry), the cross genre work (traditional Gaelic, Indian classical), playing in new and unusual venues, and the online film offering. All of this is compelling stuff which reaches beyond traditional participants and audience for classical music.

This is bound to show one’s age! My first album was A Hard Day’s Night by the Beatles in 1964.

I have travelled all over Scotland, mainland and islands, and love it all so it is difficult to pin down one place. If I must, I would chose Applecross in Wester Ross because I have a particularly wonderful memory of it. We were at the Applecross Inn on the longest day in June. A group of young traditional musicians arrived and we persuaded them to play. The music was so infectious that it did not take long for the entire pub to spill out onto the main street and start dancing Strip the Willow. Soon residents from local houses joined us and it felt as if the entire village was there dancing in a wonderful moment of mid summer joy.

I have two favourites – very different. The first was Echoes of the Burrell, a collaboration with Cryptic’s Sonica Festival. We were taken by four Ensemble players, led by violist Jane Atkins, on an absorbing journey through The Burrell Collection in Glasgow, stopping at key locations to listen to an eclectic programme of music ranging from 12^th C Hildegard von Bingen to contemporary American composer Jessie Montgomery inspired by the surroundings. You looked differently at the art and architecture because of the music and you listened differently to the music because of what surrounded you. An intriguing synergy.

My other favourite was this year’s Concerts for a Summer Night at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. A collaboration with singer and composer Heloise Werner, it was a fascinating programme which introduced the audience to a number of less familiar works by female composers such as Barbara Strozzi, Julie Pinel, Pauline Viardot and Errollyn Wallen. The full Ensemble was on superb form and filled the vast central hall with sublime sounds. There is often a surprise with the Ensemble and this concert was no exception as the audience was invited to whistle the tune of the final work as the musicians left the stage. Brilliant!

• Caroline Shaw Partita for 8 singers, Roomful of Teeth
• Philip Glass Violin Concerto No 2, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Robert McDuffie, Conducted Marin Alsop
• Albinoni, Oboe Concerto in C Major, Anthony Camden, London Virtuosi, Conducted John Georgiadis 

Inspired to become a Trustee? We’re now recruiting for four new trustees. To find out more and download the recruitment pack click here.