My name is Aidan and I am a composer. I was born in Australia and was raised in my parents' restaurant in Sydney before moving to Scotland at age 4. I started learning music on my fluorescent green recorder at age 6 (which I have sadly since lost) and then went on to learn the saxophone, piano and double bass, all of which I performed on as a student at the Junior Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. It was here where I came to realise I preferred writing music than playing it and began learning to compose with Audrey McPherson. I then went on to study composition at the RCS with Dr Gordon McPherson and Dr Stuart Macrae. I am now working towards a PhD exploring the creative potential of working-classness in a folio of new interdisciplinary compositions with Dr Michael Wolters and Joe Cutler at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.
I have had the pleasure of working with a wide range of organisations including the Orkest de Ereprijs, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the Glasgow Barons Orchestra, the Riot Ensemble, Psappha Ensemble, Thallein Ensemble, and The Edinburgh Quartet. I have also worked with world-renowned performers Sinae Lee, Pascal Gallois, Milos Milivojevik, traditional singer/songwriter Ainsley Hamill, and conductors Jessica Cottis and Paul MacAlindin.
I am also the founder and co-artistic director for the new music group, The Hadit Collective, focussing on the 5% of contemporary repertoire that isn't terrible.
Some of my past project's include being the Composer/Musical Director for the show “Babes In The Woods: From Power To Pie” by Kieran McMath, performed at Into The New 2017, composer/songwriter for the musical film “Entertainment” directed by Adam Castle, the writer/performer of my talk "Why Can't Bach Wear Mascara?", looking at the absence of drag within classical music and how it may be implemented, the creation of a 'dragified' performance of my piece, “How to Own the Room” for Wind Orchestra (performed by RCS MusicLab and conducted by Raffaelle de Giacometti), and working with the BBC in creating "Last Futures" to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 2nd Paris Riots.
I graduated from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland with a First-Class Honours degree and the winner of the Patrons Fund Prize (Royal College of Music) in Composition in 2018 and the Craig Armstrong Prize for 2018/19. I am the recipient of two Dewar Arts Awards, two Scottish International Education Trust bursaries, a Cross Trust bursary and a scholarship from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in order to continue my studies at a postgraduate level. I am also a Yeoman with the Musician's Company, was an associate member of the LSO's SoundHub scheme (2017/19), and have had my work performed on the BBC Radio 3 New Music Show with Kate Molleson.
I believe the modern composer should work for the benefit of others. Classical music is an art form where it does not exist without a community coming together. As a composer, I try to establish this communal focus by creating work that explores the relationships between individuals and larger society, questioning the societal mechanisms that ostracise the other, and how we establish our identities.
I am currently completing a PhD exploring the creative potential of embodying working-classness in classical music. Upcoming projects include a new commission with the Glasgow Barons Orchestra exploring the gentrification of Govan, a new chamber concerto examining AI and classical music, and developing a new music theatre work about the spectacle of contemporary Scottish identity.
I have had the pleasure of working with a wide range of organisations including the Orkest de Ereprijs, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the Glasgow Barons Orchestra, the Riot Ensemble, Psappha Ensemble, Thallein Ensemble, and The Edinburgh Quartet. I have also worked with world-renowned performers Sinae Lee, Pascal Gallois, Milos Milivojevik, traditional singer/songwriter Ainsley Hamill, and conductors Jessica Cottis and Paul MacAlindin.
I am also the founder and co-artistic director for the new music group, The Hadit Collective, focussing on the 5% of contemporary repertoire that isn't terrible.
Some of my past project's include being the Composer/Musical Director for the show “Babes In The Woods: From Power To Pie” by Kieran McMath, performed at Into The New 2017, composer/songwriter for the musical film “Entertainment” directed by Adam Castle, the writer/performer of my talk "Why Can't Bach Wear Mascara?", looking at the absence of drag within classical music and how it may be implemented, the creation of a 'dragified' performance of my piece, “How to Own the Room” for Wind Orchestra (performed by RCS MusicLab and conducted by Raffaelle de Giacometti), and working with the BBC in creating "Last Futures" to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 2nd Paris Riots.
I graduated from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland with a First-Class Honours degree and the winner of the Patrons Fund Prize (Royal College of Music) in Composition in 2018 and the Craig Armstrong Prize for 2018/19. I am the recipient of two Dewar Arts Awards, two Scottish International Education Trust bursaries, a Cross Trust bursary and a scholarship from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in order to continue my studies at a postgraduate level. I am also a Yeoman with the Musician's Company, was an associate member of the LSO's SoundHub scheme (2017/19), and have had my work performed on the BBC Radio 3 New Music Show with Kate Molleson.
I believe the modern composer should work for the benefit of others. Classical music is an art form where it does not exist without a community coming together. As a composer, I try to establish this communal focus by creating work that explores the relationships between individuals and larger society, questioning the societal mechanisms that ostracise the other, and how we establish our identities.
I am currently completing a PhD exploring the creative potential of embodying working-classness in classical music. Upcoming projects include a new commission with the Glasgow Barons Orchestra exploring the gentrification of Govan, a new chamber concerto examining AI and classical music, and developing a new music theatre work about the spectacle of contemporary Scottish identity.
Photos by Giulia Gannon, James Sharif, and Alexander Kaniewski