Lynda Cochrane and Judith Keaney
Lynda Cochrane and Judith Keaney
St Magnus Festival and Orkney Conducting Course
Pianists Lynda Cochrane and Judith Keaney perform together in June at the St Magnus Festival, which receives Flexible Funding from the Scottish Arts Council.
Lynda Cochrane and Judith Keaney have worked together for many years, first performing together in Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring with the Paragon Ensemble in 2002. The following year they were pianists for the inaugural Orkney Conducting Course, an event to which they have returned ever year since and through which they have built up a solid two-piano repertoire.
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Following a highly acclaimed duet performance of The Rite of Spring at the 2006 St Magnus Festival, they performed again as a duo in 2007 with a programme including Rachmaninov, Lutoslawski and Brahms. | This year they will perform in the Festival’s main programme, playing Messiaen’s two-piano composition, Visions de l’amen, and their work on two pianos in the Orkney Conducting Course will prepare conductors for rehearsals with the participating ensembles.
Lynda Cochrane is from Edinburgh and studied at the Royal Northern College of Music, University of Manchester and Indiana University. She plays principal piano with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Paragon Ensemble. She also guests as principal with the Philharmonia Orchestra of London, the Ulster Orchestra and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Lynda often appears as a soloist for Scottish Ballet. She was an Associate Artist of Chamber Music New Zealand in 2005 and is regularly in demand as an accompanist.
Judith Keaney graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in 1996 with BA Hons, MMus Perf in Piano Accompaniment. Whilst at the Academy, she won several prizes for chamber music, accompaniment and contemporary music. Judith works throughout Britain and Northern Ireland as a soloist, accompanist and duettist. She is also an experienced orchestral pianist, working regularly with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the Paragon Ensemble.
St Magnus Festival
The St Magnus Festival takes place annually on Orkney over the midsummer weekend. It is a celebration of the arts, and has a highly regarded music programme which represents a unique combination of world class performances and community participation. Since 2000, the Festival on Tour project has taken visiting artists and ensembles to Orkney's remote outer islands to give workshops and performances for schools and communities.
The Festival also hosts the Orkney Conducting Course and the St Magnus Composers' Course.
Orkney Conducting Course
The Orkney Conducting Course provides a stimulating and supportive environment in which conductors can share in an intensive period of study. Most importantly, as part of the St Magnus Festival, the course enables participants to work with outstanding orchestras, ensembles, conductors and soloists. In 2008 these include the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Hebrides Ensemble, conductors Sian Edwards and Charles Peebles, pianists Judith Keaney and Lynda Cochrane, composer Sir Peter Maxwell Davies and other Festival artists.
Lynda and Judith work with conductors on two pianos in the initial sessions, which focus on clarity of communication of musical ideas. The students' work is video-recorded and time is spent analysing these recordings. Judith and Lynda's two-piano work prepares students for two days of rehearsal with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Hebrides Ensemble.
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For more information visit the St Magnus Festival website. | |