The work, specially written by Muriel Gray and Jamie Sansbury will be recorded in the Mackintosh Library later this month.
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| One of the three "Tall Windows" that bring light into the Mackintosh Library |
The Glasgow School of Art Choir will be recording a brand new choral work, written about the Mackintosh Building, in the Mackintosh Library in June 2016. The piece, entitled “Light Through Tall Windows” was written as a response to the fire which partially damaged the Mackintosh Building in 2014, and is a collaboration between two GSA alumni: writer and broadcaster, Muriel Gray (lyricist), and Jamie Sansbury, founder and Musical Director of the GSA Choir (composer).
The work will be released as a CD single in early 2017 and will be sold to raise money for The Mackintosh Campus Appeal. It is available to pre-order now from the choir website www.gsachoir.comas a physical compact disc and as an mp3 download.
“The fire in 2014 was an emotional and traumatic event, not just for the School, but for its students and alumni,” says Musical Director, Jamie Sansbury. “If you haven’t studied or worked here it is hard to understand that the Mackintosh Building is so much more than just walls, a roof and windows. The ‘Mack’ was, and always will be, the heart of the GSA…something we all love and of which we are enormously proud. This piece is an attempt to set down, in a more tangible way, the joy the building instils in students and staff at the School, the enduring enlightenment it represents, and the impact that has upon them for the rest of their lives. The work is dedicated to the staff, students and alumni of the GSA.”
“This project has evolved as it’s progressed,” says Jamie Sansbury. “When we completed the piece we knew that we wanted the choir to premiere the work, and we hoped that it would be an important creative response to the fire, but it was only much later that the possibility of recording in the library itself - the very heart of the building - came about, and the idea of releasing a CD was suggested. By recording in the library in its damaged state, we hope that some of the sounds of the city will be audible in the background of the finished recording: the irony of course is that although the piece is called “Light Through Tall Windows” there aren’t any windows in the library just now.”
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| GSA Chair and choir member, Muriel Gray, has written the lyrics for the new work. |
“I first joined the GSA Choir when rehearsals were held each week in the stunning Mackintosh lecture theatre (the very place where, as a student, I used to shift uncomfortably during lectures.)” says Muriel Gray.“We took it for granted that we could make music as well as art in that lovely space below the library, and that we would always be able to do so. The devastation of the fire left us reeling in shock. Like most people that the GSA had fostered, the choir’s response was to try and create something positive out of it.”
“Together Jamie and I wrote a short piece for the choir to perform that would remind us about the gift Mackintosh had given all of us. Jamie’s score was beautiful so we all agreed that recording and selling copies would be a hugely appropriate way for us to contribute to the fund-raising appeal for our beloved building.”
“That we’ve been granted permission to record it in the library itself is thrilling and daunting in equal measure, and it’s something that each and every choir member will never forget.”
For further information on the GSA choir visit www.gsachoir.com
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For further information on the GSA Choir contact:
Kate Hollands on 0141 566 1446 / k.hollands@gsa.ac.uk
For further information on the GSA/ the Mackintosh Building and the Mackintosh Campus Appeal contact:
Lesley Booth, 0779 941 4474 / press@gsa.ac.uk
Notes for Editors
· The GSA Choir
The Glasgow School of Art Choir was formed in January 2012 by Jamie Sansbury, at that time a third year architecture student, to provide somewhere for people at the GSA to come together and perform. The ensemble has quickly gained a reputation for outstanding musical discipline and is committed to expanding its repertoire and the musicianship of its members. The choir is non-auditioned and comprises 65 members including past and present staff and students of the School.
In addition to performances twice a year, as part of The Glasgow School of Art Concerts Series, the choir has performed at numerous other GSA events – including Sauchieholiday, Degree Show 2012 and numerous Burns Suppers– as well as the EAIE 2015 Conference, and the opening and closing events of the ELIA 2014 Conference as part of a joint choir alongside students from The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
In April 2014 the choir performed the World Premiere of “Making It New” at the official opening of the Reid Building at the GSA. The piece was commissioned by the choir especially for the event, with funding from Creative Scotland and The Glasgow School of Art. The piece was composed by Ken Johnston with lyrics by the then Scots Makar, Liz Lochhead.
The choir has also recorded the backing-vocals for Glasgow-based, singer-songwriter, Raymond Meade’s album, ‘Whydolise?’, performing on the final track, ‘Shine a Light on Me’. The album was released in 2015.
In 2019 the choir will be performing a specially commissioned choral work by renowned composer Sir James MacMillan, CBE, which will be premiered in the Mackintosh Building as part of the re-opening celebrations once the building has been restored, following the devastating fire in May 2014. The project has been made possible with the help of funding from Creative Scotland and The Glasgow School of Art.
· The piece will be recorded and produced by Jud Mahoney.