Orkney Music & Culture
Announcing the Orkney Youth Choir
There is a new initiative from Orkney Music and Culture....an Orkney Community Youth Choir, This will run on a Tuesday early evening during the academic term time from 5.30pm until 6.30pm for 10 to 14 year olds and 6.30pm until 7.30pm for 15 to 25 year olds. Watch the video below for more information.
Entries for the Composition Competition 2025 are now open.
Before entering your composition, please check the rules and conditions below to ensure your entry conforms.
Entries should be uploaded using this form.
As part of this year’s Orkney Music and Culture celebrations, we are launching a special composition competition to mark two remarkable milestones – the 80th anniversary of the first women’s Ba’ and the Centenary of its winner, Barbara Yule.
The competition has two categories: Under 18 and Over 18, and is open to works in any style. Each entry should be an original composition, approximate length between 3-8 minutes, the entry should include a short description of the piece and its inspiration. Submissions must include an audio file, with a score optional, and lyrics if it is a song.
The judging panel will consist of well known Orcadian musicians and composers. There is a cash prize of £250 up for grabs for the winning entries and the winners will have the opportunity to have their work performed in a concert after Christmas.
Submissions open on the OMAC website on 8th September with the deadline for entries to be submitted by 31st October.
Competition rules:
Each entrant should be a resident in Orkney
Compositions should be your own work with no copyrighted material included.
Submissions should last at least 3 minutes and no longer than 8 minutes.
An audio file of your composition (digitally generated is fine) + lyrics (if applicable) and a short description of your inspiration and process are required, a score is optional.
Please save all your files with the name of the composition, and your own name in the file title.
Any queries email: hannah@orkneymusicandculture.org
Data collected in the entry of the competition will only be held by Orkney Music and Culture for the duration of the competition, so as to allow entrants to be informed of the outcome of their composition and to arrange any consequent concerts.
OMAC will not contact you in regard to anything else, and will not share your details with any outside organisation.
Entering into this competition will be taken as acceptance of these conditions.
The Slow Sessions began in 2018 and encourage people to play together in a group, experiencing the complete joy of being a part of a bigger sound than we can ever make on our own!
Slow Sessions
Buying a musical instrument can be an expensive gamble, especially if you have never actually played that type of instrument before. The Bank has over one hundred instruments including keyboards, whistles, guitars, fiddles and ukuleles which can be borrowed, free of charge, for three months.
The Instrument Bank
About Us
Playing music together has been part of Orkney’s culture for centuries. Traditional tunes, old favourites and many recent pieces about the people and places of the Islands, are played and enjoyed by Orkney musicians young and old. Music on the Islands is inclusive and Orkney Music & Culture exists to give everyone a chance, and the confidence, to make music.
Contact
Feel free to contact us using this form. We are keen to get ideas for new activities to further the development of music and culture on Orkney. Also, if you are a music teacher and wish to be added to our register of teachers on Orkney please get in touch. This will be useful for those borrowing instruments and who are looking for some tuition during the loan period.
Email
info@orkneymusicandculture.org