Friday 21st November 2025 (96)

Specialist Weekend 4

Specialist Weekend 4 begins today and continues on Sunday, with Sunday’s theme being… SPORTS!

Times:

  Friday 21st Nov: 2.45pm – 5.15pm

    Sunday 23rd Nov: 10.30am – 5.15pm

I will be sporting the colours of my beloved Arsenal FC! We look forward to seeing everyone there.

Recital at Noon – Tomorrow

We send our very best wishes to Isabelle, Lewis, Alexis, Douglas, Aurora, Athena, Conrad, and Marta, who will perform tomorrow at St Andrew’s Cathedral in the Recital at Noon series.

Saturday 22nd November

 12.00–12.30

The programme features works by Brahms, Burgmüller, Naoko Ikeda, Pergolesi, Mozart, Sor, Gaubert, and Stewart.

✨ Free, welcoming, and the perfect musical pick-me-up for a Saturday afternoon. Do join us if you can!

Early Closing – Monday

A reminder that ACMS closes at 7pm on Monday 24th November.

Please note that on this occasion there will be no additional evening activity in Boarding.

Winter Weather

Now that snow season is officially upon us, a reminder that the best place for immediate updates is the ACMS online bulletin board. The main banner on the website’s front page will always be updated first if there are any changes to operations or timetables.

St Andrew’s Cathedral

Congratulations to our pupils and a former pupil who were involved in several services this weekend with St Andrew’s, including the collaborative Evensong with the Cathedral Choir, held at St Margaret of Scotland, Gallowgate. It was a beautiful service in a beautiful setting.

It’s wonderful to see so many of our pupils embracing the rich choral traditions at St Andrew’s Cathedral - an environment full of opportunities to grow musicianship, aural skills, sight-reading, and repertoire knowledge.

Scottish Opera – L’heure Espagnole & The Bear

Our vocal pupils were very fortunate to be offered tickets to Scottish Opera’s double bill of Ravel’s L’heure Espagnole and Walton’s The Bear at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre on Saturday evening. Two of our singers were able to attend, and by all accounts the orchestra was on exceptional form and the singers in fine voice.

The set design, courtesy of the ever-brilliant Scottish Opera team, was exquisite, and the direction wonderfully characterful. We are deeply grateful to the Scottish Opera outreach team for continuing to offer ACMS pupils such inspiring opportunities, and we very much look forward to our next collaboration.

Group Singing Competition

A big congratulations to Annorah, Aleina, and Olivia, who travelled to Scunthorpe with members of Holy Family Church, Mastrick to compete in a singing competition. They had a marvellous time - and we’re delighted they could take their music further afield!

Peter Stewart Composition

Our wonderful tutors all have exciting musical lives away from ACMS.

Peter Stewart, our guitar and theory tutor...AND celebrated composer has just had one of his pieces recorded by world-renowned guitarist Irina Kulikova.

If you have a spare 3 minutes and 57 seconds, this is an excellent way to spend it. 

Brass Band Success

Huge congratulations to Alaina, who performed in the 175th Anniversary Concert for Granite City Brass at St Machar’s Cathedral. She has only recently joined the ensemble, making this achievement all the more impressive. Well done, Alaina!

Donations – Thank You!

We are always grateful for donations of any kind, and this week we’d like to extend our heartfelt thanks to:

John and Linda Campbell, who have generously gifted us a digital keyboard - already proving incredibly useful in ensemble rehearsals.

Linda Urquhart, who has donated two accordions, a flute, and a clarinet. Pupils have wasted no time getting to know our new instruments, and everything has already found a loving home within ACMS.

NYCOS Success

Congratulations to Sophie, who has again been accepted into the National Youth Choir of Scotland Girls’ Choir. They meet several times a year to perform and also take part in a week-long residential course. A wonderful achievement - well done, Sophie!

The Real Books Arrive!

A lovely moment this week: Mr Birse took our pupils to the library to unveil our brand-new collection of Real Books.

For the uninitiated, Real Books are collections of jazz standards with melody lines and chord progressions...musical treasure troves! Having full sets in C, B♭, and E♭ means that almost every instrumentalist and singer can join in, allowing countless combinations and creative sessions. A brilliant resource for our developing jazz musicians.