A group of musicians have banded together to raise money for much-needed restoration work at a historic Fife church.
Oboist Steve Wiggetts’ newly-created St Andrews Ensemble will perform its inaugural concert on February 17.
The players are aiming to strike the right chord with the performance in the town’s All Saints Church, by supporting efforts to give the venue a revamp.
“I’m looking to work the ensemble into the musical fabric of the area in various different ways,” said Mr Wiggetts.
“All Saints’ Church have agreed to let us use their building as our ‘home venue’, and our first three performances will all be there in aid of their restoration fund.
“They’re actually looking to raise in the region of £200,000 over the next three years, so we’re contributing to what is a fairly massive task in a positive way.”
Mr Wiggetts, former principal oboe with the Orchestra of Scottish Ballet, intends the ensemble to have some flexibility, capitalising on the strength and depth of talent in the area.
The accent will be on music for wind ensemble, tapping into the repertoire of composers who might not be terribly well known.
“For the first concert, I’m going back to my roots as a wind player so we will be performing some fantastic works from the classical period for wind octet, including Mozart’s monumental C minor Serenade,” he said.
“After that, we’ll be exploring music for oboe quartet, and I hope to perform the recent oboe quintet by American composer Michael Fine.
“It could be a UK premiere, but I’ll confirm that with the composer.”
Having recruited the players and established a repertoire, finding the ideal venue was the third part of the jigsaw and here the piece fell more or less instantly into place.
Mr Wiggetts said: “Being a member of the congregation at All Saints, I presented my ideas to the Rector, the Rev Alasdair Coles, and we both thought the ensemble would make an important contribution to the restoration fund.
“The upside for us is that it’s given us a home, and it associates us directly with the town. For someone like me, who lives there, that’s incredibly important.
“St Andrews is a cultural centre with an international reputation, and my intention is for the ensemble to make a significant contribution to that.”
