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Dear all,
It has been another lively and varied week here at ACMS, and, as I write, Specialist Weekend No. 8 is just about to begin. There is certainly plenty happening across the school at the moment, with concerts, examinations, rehearsals, performances, and some exciting plans for the summer beginning to gather momentum.
ACMS Perform at Haddo House
ACMS Perform at Haddo House
We are delighted to announce that the pupils of Aberdeen City Music School will present Heritage & New Horizons: A Showcase of Young Musicians at Haddo House on Sunday 7th June.
Running from 11 am until 4 pm, the event will see Haddo House transformed through a musical take-over, with 12 performances taking place across seven locations throughout the historic house and grounds.
Audiences will be able to enjoy an enormous variety of music-making including solo recitals, chamber music, jazz performances, drawing room songs, traditional Scottish music, and a concluding service of Evensong in the Chapel.
Instruments featured across the day will include pipes and drums, jazz piano, harp, guitar, trumpet, accordion, saxophone, and voice, alongside many ensemble performances.
Concerts will take place in the Library, Drawing Room, Hall, Game Larder, Peat Yards, Courtyard, and Chapel, creating a wonderful opportunity for visitors to explore the house whilst enjoying live music throughout the day.
This event continues ACMS’s growing tradition of large-scale summer concert days following previous visits to Braemar and Stirling Castle.
There is no additional charge for the performances. Concerts are free to National Trust for Scotland members and included within normal admission to Haddo House on the day.
It promises to be a very special occasion, and we hope many of you will come along to support our young musicians.
Specialist Weekend
Our eighth Specialist Weekend begins today at 2:45 pm. We have a significant amount of work to do, and so the schedule is suitably packed, finishing at 5:15 pm this evening. The weekend then continues on Sunday from 10:30 am until 5:15 pm.
During assembly this week there was some discussion regarding this weekend’s theme, and after much careful deliberation, debate, and scholarly reflection, the overwhelming consensus was that this week’s theme should be achievable with minimal effort. We therefore proudly present:
Theme of the Weekend: “Freestyle”
We look forward to seeing what interpretation our pupils bring to a wonderfully broad brief!
Happy Retirement, Margaret
Thursday afternoon was a bittersweet occasion as pupils and staff gathered for an in-house, pupil-led farewell to our much-loved Boarding Residence Depute, Margaret.
Whilst we are delighted for Margaret as she embarks upon exciting retirement plans involving the sea, gardening, and even learning the accordion, we all know that she is truly one of a kind and will be deeply missed by the entire ACMS community.
We will have an opportunity to thank Margaret formally at the Leavers' Concert on 4th June, and we very much hope to see her there. However, given that Margaret is one of the most loyal readers and supporters of The Shout, it feels entirely appropriate to take this opportunity to thank her publicly for an extraordinary 22½ years of service, care, dedication, humour, and kindness to generations of young musicians.
Thank you, Margaret. We will miss you enormously, and we know you will continue following ACMS closely from the sidelines, concert halls, and no doubt occasionally from beside the sea.
Pipers Out and About
Our pipers have been keeping busy recently.
Ruben and Taylor travelled to Anstruther where they entertained tourists enjoying food and drinks along the harbourfront. One particularly memorable moment involved performing “Happy Birthday” for a 60th birthday gathering, which was received with enormous enthusiasm.
Taylor and Ruben then travelled on to St Andrews where they spent the day entertaining large crowds and thoroughly enjoying themselves.
Kai, Taylor, and Ruben then returned to St Andrews in full regalia, creating wonderful photo and video opportunities for visitors. Their performances of El Paco Grande and Steam Train to Mallaig proved especially popular, drawing sizeable crowds and generous applause throughout the day.
Alongside public performances, there has also been a considerable amount of focused preparation for upcoming competitions including the Atholl Gathering on Sunday 24th May.
As always, we are enormously proud of the musicianship, professionalism, and enthusiasm our pupils show whenever they perform publicly.
Early Closing on Monday
A reminder that, as is customary following a Specialist Weekend, ACMS will close early on Monday evening at 7 pm.
We are also delighted that parent Jill Douglas has very kindly offered to speak to our pupils about her life and experiences working in the world of dentistry. We are extremely grateful to her for giving up her time to help us drill down to the root of our desire for learning and fill a few cavities in our collective knowledge base along the way.
Recital at Noon
Recital at Noon
We are delighted that some of our pupils will be performing tomorrow in the wonderful Recital at Noon concert series at St Andrew’s Cathedral.
We wish the very best of luck to Alexis, Sophia, and Taylor, and extend our thanks as always to long-standing ACMS friend and supporter Sam Paul for organising the series, and to Mr Birse for accompanying.
Saturday 16th May 2026, 12 noon to 12:30 pm
Accompanist: Neil Birse
Programme
Taylor – Bagpipes
The Company’s Lament (Ground and First Variation) – Attr. Joseph MacDonald
My Land – Norman MacLean
Medley: The Kansas City Hornpipe / The Panda – Fred Morrison & Gordon Duncan
Itchy Fingers – Robert “Rab” Pinkman
Medley: Pipe Major George Morrison / The Need for Tweed / Fear a’ Bhàta
Alexis – Flute
Andante from Sonata in E minor, BWV 1034 – J. S. Bach
Sophia – Cello
Danse Rustique Op. 20 No. 5 – W. H. Squire
Minuet No. 1 from Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major BWV 1007 – J. S. Bach
Taylor – D Whistle
The South Wind
Leavers' Concert 2026
Leavers' Concert 2026
We very much hope that many of you will be able to join us for our annual Leavers’ Concert as we formally say goodbye to our S6 pupils. The concert will take place at 6:30 pm on Thursday 4th June in the MPA at Dyce Academy and will feature a short recital from each of our departing leavers. It is always one of the most moving and memorable events in the ACMS calendar, giving our pupils the opportunity to share music that reflects their journeys, personalities and achievements during their time with us.
Following the concert, we are extremely grateful to our Boarding team, who will kindly be hosting a reception with tea, coffee and cakes. We do hope that families, friends, former pupils and supporters of ACMS will be able to join us for what promises to be a special evening. Please click HERE to reserve your seats
Finally, we hope that everyone has a restful and enjoyable weekend ahead. Best of luck to all pupils involved in rehearsals, performances, examinations and activities over the coming days, and thank you, as always, for your continued support of ACMS.
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