A short summary of our project
We want to record an album of orchestral music by Cedric Thorpe Davie, reaffirming his place and contribution to the musical life of St Andrews, Scotland and the world.
Who are WE?
Alan Munro – alumnus of St Andrews and student of Cedric Thorpe Davie
Bede Williams – Deputy Director of Music
St Andrews Chamber Orchestra – the University's best instrumentalists
CEDRIC THORPE DAVIE STORY
Cedric Thorpe Davie was Master of Music at the University from 1945 to 1978. He trained choirs and orchestras, gave recitals, taught and composed, as well as building the Department of Music. In the opinion of many of his students, he was the most remarkable, inspirational and sympathetic of teachers. Music in St Andrews is indebted to Cedric (as he was called by his students at the time, though never to his face!) and, in many ways, he laid the foundations for the rich musical life of St Andrews that we all enjoy today.
Cedric's music was widely performed and broadcast during his lifetime and despite being a major influence in the Scottish musical renaissance of the twentieth century, and having an international career (he wrote over twenty film scores for organisations as diverse as the Ealing Studios and the Disney Corporation), very few of his works have been recorded under studio conditions.
This project seeks to redress this shortcoming by recording an anthology of his major orchestral scores, including his sole symphony.
The album will be released by Toccata Classics, an independent label dedicated to producing recordings high-quality classical music routinely ignored by concert halls and major record companies. Toccata Classics was founded by Martin Anderson, (St Andrews alumnus) in 2005 and has made over 600 releases to date.
Our recording engineer will be the legendary Bob Whitney, former sound engineer at EMI Abbey Road and Sony. Bob will be supported by the wonderful staff and students at Fife College as part of our ongoing partnership with them.
Where will the money go?
1) Typesetting of autograph scores and production of orchestral parts: £5000
2) Engineer, Producer and Editor fees: £3000
3) Artwork, duplication and international distribution: £5000
4) Fees for professional players to provide cover in the orchestra in the event of student illness or similar
Rewards
We value all support no matter how small: please check out what we can offer you by means of thanks. We have everything from free tickets to Music Centre events, free CDs and behind-the-scenes visits to the recording sessions themselves.
Find us here
http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/music
https://www.facebook.com/UniversityofStAndrewsMusicCentre
Hear the orchestra in their most recent performance
