The Scottish Arts Council is pleased to announce that international music producers Serious will generate a significant new pilot project designed to facilitate the continuing professional development of emerging jazz musicians living and working in Scotland.
Time Out: Jazz CPD Scotland is a professional development programme that intends to give jazz musicians a unique opportunity to take ‘time out’ to develop their musical output and their business skills. It will be a special opportunity for emerging professional jazz musicians who have exceptional creative talent and the potential to make a distinctive contribution to the local, national and international jazz community, the opportunity to discuss, explore and consolidate many aspects of their futures.
Five jazz musicians based in Scotland have been selected to participate in this programme:
Stuart Brown (drums)
Alyn Cosker (drums)
Martin Kershaw (saxophones)
Raymond MacDonald (saxophones)
Paul Towndrow (saxophones)
Ian Smith, Head of Music, Scottish Arts Council said:
‘I am delighted to work in partnership with Serious in developing this pilot scheme which will significantly benefit the careers of five of our finest creative jazz musicians in Scotland. We are committed to the personal and professional development of our artists and Time Out exemplifies all that we would seek to do to promote, support and enhance Scotland’s growing repute for creativity in music internationally. We look forward to seeing and hearing the full potential of these artists’ creative energies being realised.’
Time Out: Jazz CPD Scotland will take place between August 2009 and early 2010 and will incorporate a five-day residential period at the Tolbooth in Stirling in September 2009 as well as a series of interviews and future planning sessions in order to assist the participants to continue developing their careers as creative musicians living and working in Scotland.
The aims of Time Out are to provide:
SPACE to explore and develop creative and business ideas with peers and industry specialists;
TOOLS and INFORMATION to deal with creative and business opportunities;
SAFE HAVEN to network, experiment and explore opportunities and ideas in a supportive and creative environment.
John Cumming, Director, Serious added:
‘After many years of working with and following the progress of the multi-talented community of jazz musicians in Scotland and because of our belief in and commitment to providing professional development opportunities for musicians of all ages, Serious is delighted to be producing the pilot edition of Time Out: Jazz CPD Scotland. We are looking forward to working with Stuart, Alyn, Martin, Raymond and Paul and to seeing where their imaginations and ambitions take them in the years to come.’
Many of the industry’s leading figures contributed to the nomination and selection process, taking into account the following considerations for each participant: creativity, talent, future potential, style of music, range of influences, geography, cultural background and distinctive contribution to the community. The selection panel included representatives from Scottish Arts Council and Serious, as well as Louise Mitchell (Director Glasgow UNESCO City of Music), Laura Macdonald (composer, saxophonist and educator), Dave Milligan (composer and pianist) and Graham McKenzie (Programme Advisor, Glasgow Jazz Festival and Director of Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival).
Notes to editors
The Scottish Arts Council serves the people of Scotland by fostering arts of excellence through investment, development, research and advocacy. Our corporate aims are: to support artists to fulfil their creative and business potential; to increase participation in the arts; and to place the arts, culture and creativity at the heart of learning. The organisation was established by Royal Charter in 1994 and is a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) investing over £61m each year, including £12.4 million of National Lottery funding. A new organisation, Creative Scotland, will be established in 2010, subject to the passage of legislation.
Creative Scotland will grow out of the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen by working with those organisations’ staff.
Serious is a London-based international producer of live jazz, international and new music. An established innovator, Serious delivers consistently original events of the highest quality. We act as a catalyst, creating the conditions to inspire artists, audiences and communities and to shape inspirational experiences. Our projects range from large festivals to intimate clubs, from international tours to specially commissioned major events. We are also committed to learning and participation and artist and art form development.
For more information on this initiative or the organisations involved see www.scottisharts.org.uk and www.serious.org.uk
Contact email(s)
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