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Jim Sutherland - Biography
“a musician renowned for his versatility and individualistic approach to thinking about and creating music.” MICHAEL TUMELTY, Music Critic The Herald “Conjurer of the ear” - John Berger
Award winning Scottish composer Jim Sutherland has created The TRUE NORTH ORCHESTRA (see below) in order to perform his own dramatic musical score for The production of Aisling's Children; Tales of the Homecoming which was performed at Edinburgh Castle Esplanade to a sell out audience of 9000 people on Saturday 25 July as part of The Gathering 2009. Seen by some as the signature event of Scotland’s year of Homecoming. He is now composing three new pieces for the TNO commissioned for the opening concert of Celtic Connections Festival 2010. La Banda Europa’s (see below) upcoming performance in Marseille will see them taking over the heart of the city performing in small groups on trains and in the station. They then form a procession out into the night to perform as full ensemble on a purpose built stage under the stars.
Jim Sutherland’s career has ranged across a vast spectrum of musical genres, as well as a string of major commissions for film, TV and theatre. In the past four years alone he has, composed scores for several film and TV projects including the multi award winning feature film Festival (Best film at the British Comedy awards) and the acclaimed Gaelic film Seachd premiered at Edinburgh film festival 2007. In 2008 Jim delivered a specially composed score for Trouble Sleeping (BAFTA Scotland new talent award and official selection at Edinburgh Film Festival 2008) which has a refugee theme and Jim brought in middle eastern and Balkan musicians to perform his score. 2009 saw Jim delivered a score for Wasted selected as best of the fest at the Edinburgh Film Festival. Jim composed the score for 10 New Commandments (2008) premiered
and selected as best of fest at the Edinburgh Film festival 2008. Jim
also delivered a score for Annie Griffin’s pilot for the new UK
BBC network series Purves and Pekkala.(2008) Jim has received commissions from theatre companies such as Boilerhouse - Sister Sister, The Bridge, Visible Fictions – Into The Dark and 7;84 Scotland. He has performed and recorded with such luminaries as The Chieftains, Plant and Page (Led Zepelin), The Buhndu Boys, Billy Bragg, Emmylou Harris, Maddy Prior and June Tabor, and the Shotts And Dyke Head Pipe Band! He has produced more that 60 albums including, Salsa Celtica (two albums 2000-2002, Shooglenifty (Three albums 1994-2000), Savourna Stevenson ( two albums), The Whistlebinkies, Cathy Anne McPhee and Alyth McCormack. He produced the debut album by hotly-tipped roots/pop combo Aberfeldy, Young Forever, out on Rough Trade (Summers Gone from this album was picked up and used for a Diet Coke advert in the USA 2007). He premiered a brand-new multi-media song suite, Cold Weather Dancing, featuring a nine-piece band and live video mixing, commissioned by Glasgow's world-renowned Celtic Connections festival. His influential folk tune compositions have been recorded on more than one hundred CDs by artists all over the world. In 2005 He was keynote speaker at the Musicworks, the UK's New Music Convention and Festival, where he was interviewed by professor Simon Frith Chairman of the Mercury Music Awards. As a founder member of pop trio The Lanterns, Jim was signed to Sony as a songwriter in 1997, with the group's debut single Highrise Town, from their wisely-praised album, Illuminate Yer Heid, earning a UK Top 40 place as well as a number two in the dance charts for Winter in my heart.
2006 2003 1998 1994 1992
Over the winter of 2006/7 Jim researched and put together La Banda Europa - an extraordinary orchestra of 35 virtuoso musicians, all of whom play the forgotten instruments of Europe (ethnic instruments indigenous to their own European country of origin). Bagpipes of 7 countries, Swedish nyckelharpas, Armenian duduks, Turkish drums, Hurdy-gurdy players from Hungary and France, brass players from Scotland and Serbia the list goes on... The project provides a unique opportunity to compose truly original music that explores the creative possibilities that occur when different cultures collide. The orchestra also serves as a pool of musicians that Jim can draw upon for specific compositions creating smaller bespoke ensembles. Examples of this include Jims work on the new film Trouble Sleeping where Jim combined members of La Banda Europa with middle eastern musicians in order to create an ensemble that would play the score for this film with a story of middle eastern refugees in Scotland.
The True North Orchestra is a new Scottish orchestra. This ensemble is made up of ‘hand-picked’ individuals chosen because of their affinity to and interest in the Scottish traditional idiom as well as for their ability to play together as an ensemble. I believe this is the first time that an orchestra like this has (with
strong Scottish cultural roots) ever been created in Scotland. I hope
to find a way to sustain the True North Orchestra and hope to
develop it into being a true National Orchestra that commissions new
music and develops repertoire. Old text from this site is archived here. |
LinksYouTube clips of my music for film For La Banda Europa music please visit myspace.com/labandaeuropa
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