Sunday 23rd Aug 2026 (125)

Welcome Back!

A huge welcome back to everyone, and welcome to the first edition of The Shout this academic year.

The Shout is our weekly opportunity to celebrate everything that has been happening across the school, keep everyone informed about our current areas of focus, and take a quick look both backwards and forwards.

An especially warm welcome to all our new pupils and their parents who have joined the ACMS community this year. We are delighted to have you with us and hope that you will soon feel completely at home.

Braemar

We have an exciting day ahead of us on Sunday 30 August, when the whole of ACMS will travel to Royal Deeside.

We will begin by providing music before and during the morning service at Crathie Kirk, opposite Balmoral Castle. Following the service, we will make the short journey to Braemar, where we will perform a full 75-minute concert at the wonderful St Margaret’s at 3.30 pm.

Braemar holds a special place in our hearts. Our visit there in 2024 was the first tour ACMS had undertaken for several years, and we received the warmest of welcomes. Since then, we have developed strong friendships with the people of Braemar and have been delighted to return on a number of occasions.

We are excited to be heading back next weekend to share new music, introduce new pupils and present some fresh musical ideas. Please do join us if you can!

Boarding Issues

We are enormously grateful to the many people who helped to resolve the heating and water issues at Boarding this week.

As many of you will be aware, a significant amount of work was carried out on the heating and water systems during the summer break. Unfortunately, some teething problems meant that Boarding had to open a couple of days later than we had hoped.

A considerable number of people worked extremely hard to enable us to reopen when we did, and we are immensely grateful to everyone involved for their time, expertise and determination.

It was wonderful to welcome all our boarders back, even if it was a couple of days later than expected. Thank you, too, to our pupils and families for their patience, flexibility and goodwill throughout.

Summer Music-Making

Many of our pupils took part in festivals, courses, performances and masterclasses over the summer. These opportunities allow young musicians to work with different tutors, meet like-minded people and gain many hours of valuable rehearsal and performing experience.

Here is a round-up of what some of our pupils have been doing. There will be even more to follow next week!

Isabelle and Oliver

Isabelle and Oliver attended the National Youth Wind Ensemble of Scotland Summer School at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

They worked with instrumental specialists in sectional rehearsals as well as playing together in the full ensemble. The course culminated in a public showcase concert at the end of the week.

Isabelle

A few weeks later, Isabelle returned to the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland for its Strings Summer School. 🎻

The course included individual tuition, technique and performance classes, and ensemble coaching. Led by Andrea Gajic and supported by RCS staff and professional string players, it gave Isabelle the opportunity to develop her technique, broaden her repertoire and explore new approaches to practising and critical listening.

That makes two summer schools for Isabelle. Clearly, one was not quite enough!

Sophie

Sophie completed the RCS Popular Music Summer School at the beginning of August.

During this intensive five-day course, she worked with tutors who are active recording and touring musicians. The programme explored songwriting, arrangement, programming, audio production, live performance and the practical realities of developing a career in popular music.

Sophie also had the opportunity to collaborate with other young musicians, develop her own artistic identity and contribute to the performance or recording of original music.

Well done, Sophie!

Eddie

Eddie took part in the Edinburgh Napier University Jazz Summer School, where he played alongside musicians of all ages and had a tremendous time. The week crescendoed to a final set at the Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival. What a marvellous way to finish a summer course!

Annorah

Annorah spent much of the summer preparing for an exceptional achievement while continuing to maintain her individual musical practice.

She performed her Arangetram with the Bharatha Sri Dance Academy at Aberdeen Arts Centre. Over the course of three hours, Annorah presented a demanding programme of dramatic dances to a full auditorium, in the presence of her teacher and an honoured dance assessor.

Following her performance, Annorah was awarded the title Natya Kala, with high distinction, in recognition of her artistry and accomplishment in Indian classical dance.

This was the culmination of many years of dedication, discipline and hard work. Warmest congratulations, Annorah!

Pipe Idol Kai

Congratulations to Kai for winning Heat 3 of Pipe Idol 2026 at the Piping Live! festival.

He performed alongside young pipers from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States and Scotland. Competing in such an international field is a significant accomplishment and a wonderful experience.

Congratulations, Kai!

Athena

Congratulations to Athena, who spent the final ten days of the holiday putting her musical skills to good use at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Having registered with the festival’s street-performance community, Athena performed regularly for members of the public and managed to see a few shows during her downtime too. Performing so frequently over a concentrated period is a wonderful way to develop confidence, stamina and stagecraft.

It was a memorable experience and a particularly musical way to spend the end of the summer holiday.

Eddie also joined Athena and they performed together as a duo for four days at the same festival.

They drew upon repertoire they had learned and developed at ACMS, performing several times during their visit and refining their programme as the week progressed. They also took the opportunity to watch and learn from the many other artists performing around them.

A lovely example of ACMS pupils taking their music beyond the classroom and creating their own performance opportunities.

Douglas

Douglas made the long journey to York to attend The Choral Course at York St John University.

Directed by Simon Toyne, with Paul Smith of VOCES8 as a special guest, the course brought together singers aged 15 to 21 for an intensive week of choral music-making. One of its highlights was a BBC broadcast of Choral Evensong from York Minster.

Congratulations to Douglas!

We have more stories to follow next week!

Trusts, Bursaries, Scholarships and Competitions

At the end of last term, Mrs Smith circulated information about the Agar Trust and the Helen Hopekirk International Online Competition for Pianists and Composers.

This is a good opportunity to remind everyone that a considerable number of trusts, bursaries and scholarships are available to young musicians. These can help with the cost of instruments, courses, tuition and other opportunities for musical development.

Mrs Smith does a wonderful job of gathering and sharing the information that is sent to ACMS. Families may also wish to undertake their own research, as there are many sources of support available. Becoming familiar with the application process can prove enormously useful, both now and throughout a musician’s career.

The same applies to competitions. ACMS regularly receives information about local and national opportunities, which Mrs Smith collates and circulates. Entering a competition gives pupils the chance to:

receive feedback from professional adjudicators;
develop confidence when performing under pressure;
hear other young musicians perform;
meet fellow musicians from across Scotland and the UK; and
present well-prepared repertoire in a new setting.

Competition entries do not have to be on a pupil’s principal study. Second-study instruments may also be suitable, while classes such as public speaking and monologues can be excellent ways to develop stagecraft, communication and presence.

Before entering, pupils should speak to their instrumental or vocal teacher about the competition and the repertoire they intend to perform. Competitions can provide a valuable platform for familiar pieces as well as newer repertoire, but careful preparation and good communication with teachers are essential.

For practical reasons, ACMS cannot organise school trips to external competitions, so travel arrangements will need to be made by pupils and their families. ACMS staff will, of course, be on hand to offer advice. Please remember, however, that these are independently organised events and their organisers do not consult ACMS before publishing entry requirements or schedules. Our guidance must therefore remain fairly broad.

Competitions are by no means the only measure of a musician’s progress, but approached in the right spirit, they can be an enjoyable and valuable part of a young musician’s development.

It is wonderful to have everyone back.

I hope you have had a wonderful weeked...and please do come and see us in Braemar on the 30th August.

Thanks to everyone involved in making this a great week to kick off the year.

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