Ctiy in Scotland. Bishop Elphinstone founded the University of Aberdeen in 1495 with stringently chosen prebendary priests to sing the daily Divine Office. From 1662 to 1720 John Forbes, printer to the town council, was Scotland's only notable music publisher, and during the 1760s and 1770s John Gregory, James Beattie and Alexander Gerard, all professors at King's or Marischal universities, were the leading British writers on musical aesthetics. From about 1890 to 1930 Aberdeen was the centre of Scots fiddle playing and folksong collecting, and the university library houses the Greig Duncan collection of north-east songs. Aberdeen's most distinguished native musicians are the operatic soprano Mary Garden, the tenor Neil Mackie, the percussionist Evelyn Glennie, the folksinger Jeannie Robertson and composers Martin Dalby, John McLeod and Judith Weir.
Aberdeen's earliest-known musical institutions are the St Nicholas, St Machar and King's College song schools, which were in existence at the beginning of the 16th century. During the course of the century the composers John Fethy, John Black and Andrew Kemp were employed as ‘maisters’ at the St Nicholas song school. As church schools the first two of these establishments survived the Reformation and continued to teach singing, theory and instrumental playing until about 1750, when they were eclipsed by the Enlightenment and by new standards of international professionalism. In 1748 the Aberdeen Musical Society was formed to give weekly aristocratic concerts, initially of Italian Baroque music, but later also featuring music by Handel, Arne, Haydn and works by the Scottish composers Lord Kelly, Robert Barber and John Ross. The society was disbanded in 1809 due to changes in popular taste. St Paul's Episcopal Chapel, opened in 1722, held services with Anglican cathedral choral music and organ music, both new phenomena for post-Reformation Scotland. St Paul's organists included Andrew Tait (to 1774), Barber (1774–83) and Ross (1783–1836).
Charles Sanford Terry, lecturer at the university from 1898 and professor of history from 1903, revived music there, and under his direction the choral society (instituted 1875) and orchestra gave several first Scottish performances. Terry founded an annual choral festival in 1909 to which many distinguished musicians, including Elgar, were invited. Since 1945 musical performance has rapidly increased with the formation of Haddo House Choral and Operatic Society (1945), Aberdeen Choral Society (1946), Aberdeen Bach Choir (originally 1912, re-established in 1956), the International Youth Festival (1973), Aberdeen Sinfonietta (1986) and other societies promoting classical repertory and newly commissioned works. The Alternative Festival (founded 1982) and The Lemon Tree (founded 1992) promote non-classical music, while the Doric Festival (founded 1994) and the university's Elphinstone Institute (established 1995) preserve and promote the distinctive cultural heritage of north-east Scotland. In 1995 the Yggdrasil Quartet of Aberdeen, funded by the city, the university and the Scottish Arts Council, was appointed as the first resident professional music group. Both city and university promote regular series of concerts, for which Weir, Dalby, McLeod, Cresswell and Peter Maxwell Davies have all written specially commissioned works. The North-East of Scotland Music School (established 1975) hosts visiting international tutors. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, BBC Scottish SO, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, BT Scottish Ensemble, Scottish Opera and Cappella Nova are all regular visitors to Aberdeen.
H.G. Farmer: Music Making in the Olden Days: the Story of the Aberdeen Concerts, 1748–1801 (London, 1950)
H.B. Watson: A Calendar and Evaluation of Musical Events in Aberdeenshire in the Late 18th and 19th Centuries (MMus thesis, U. of Aberdeen, 1974)
L.J. Macfarlane: William Elphinstone and the Kingdom of Scotland, 1431–1514: the Struggle for Order (Aberdeen, 1985)
A.I. Shiel: Aberdeen Bach Choir: its Origins and History (Aberdeen, 3/1996)
DAVID JOHNSON/ROGER B. WILLIAMS, CHARLES FOSTER