The Nevis Ensemble; music and sustainability.
The Nevis Ensemble; music and sustainability.
Living sustainability is easy when you’re at home and in your routine, but what happens when you break out of that routine, and go - for example - on your holidays, or a big trip? This is when sustainability sometimes goes out the window! This is com thing which the Nevis Ensemble want to make sure doesn’t happen!
The Nevis Ensemble, conducted by their Artistic Directors Holly Mathieson and Jon Hargreaves Nevis, are giving 35 concerts in public spaces and community venues on Barra, Vatersay, Eriskay, South Uist, Benbecula, North Uist, Berneray, Harris, St Kilda, Lewis and Skye, as well as in Garelochhead, Inverary, Ardfern, Oban, Fort William and Glasgow this summer! This orchestra is doing it differently, during their tour of the highlands and islands! Performing between 19 - 28 August! Here are just some of the things they are planning on doing to cut their waste, and reduce their impact!
They are travelling together on one coach (all of the musicians, and their kit!), designing the tour efficiently to cut down miles and save fuel! While on their journey they will be combatting their waste, while ditching the disposables! They have stocked up on reusable water bottles, coffee cups, tote bags, bamboo toothbrushes and bars of shampoo and conditioner! It is amazing to have companies like Scottish Water and Save Some Green on board!
In Scotland we get a lot of midges. And if you dont know what they are…BE GLAD! They are tiny little beasties which in the height of summer can be a real pest! But the Nevis Ensemble will be midge free with their organic repellent, good for them, and for the environment - thank you Cubby’s Midge Salve!
They have appointed a ‘green officer’ to to monitor use of plastics and recycling when on the move, a great way to keep track of what works, and what doesn’t - always thinking of ways to improve! They have even thought about eating on the go, making their own oat milk, getting dairy milk delivered from McQueens in glass bottles, and baking biscuits for tea breaks during the rehearsal period rather than buying. They will be stocked up with Tupperware for ‘doggy bags’ when being hosted by community groups, and will be taking big boxes of nuts/dried fruit etc for plastic free snacking for when travelling!
Just after we heard from the UN that our diet can contribute greatly to climate change and reducing emissions, the Nevis Ensemble are going vegetarian for the whole trip! This will be both in their own cooking, and while in restaurants!
They don't stop there! They will be leaving everywhere better than how they found it…doing a big litter pick on Harris! Can’t wait to see how they get on promoting the 'Your Water Your Life campaign' with Scottish Water - the taps all around Scotland are creating quite the buzz already! When they come back, they will be working alongside Miraculous Mags, planting trees to offset the carbon the produce from their bus tour - a great way to make a lasting impact, and be held accountable for their emissions!
Music and nature have more in common than we think. They are both brilliant for our physical and mental health. Getting outdoors, and being immersed in music transport us to a different place, and escape for a while! It is great to see these brilliant musicians take it upon themselves to keep their world beautiful, while providing some amazing music throughout some of the most beautiful spots in Scotland! Can’t wait to keep a look out for their tour progress! All the best to you all! Break a leg!
You can check out where they are touring, and more information about them here: https://nevisensemble.org/hebrides-tour/
A little bit more about the Nevis Ensemble…There nothing else quite like it in Scotland. They have a vision; ‘music for everyone, everywhere’. Since their first performance in July 2018, the orchestra has given 130 performances to around 22,500 people all across Scotland, from a farm in the Scottish Borders, to the summit of Ben Nevis in the highlands – and everywhere in between. Concerts have taken place in venues as diverse as swimming pools and children’s parks, to homeless centres, museums and train stations. Removing barriers to accessing orchestral music means bringing it to where people are, and when they are there. Just think; 40 energetic musicians run out of a bus, instruments in hand, and less than five minutes later the intrigued crowd hears something incredible and unexpected. Everyone leaves feeling uplifted and inspired, proud of the place to which they belong. Full-scale, 40-piece orchestral performances of the best, most diverse music you can imagine: popping up and surprising commuters first thing in the morning; entertaining residents in oft-forgotten parts of the city; guerrilla-style appearances in swimming pools; generating huge public audiences in public spaces.
Living sustainability is easy when you’re at home and in your routine, but what happens when you break out of that routine, and go - for example - on your holidays, or a big trip? This is when sustainability sometimes goes out the window! This is com thing which the Nevis Ensemble want to make sure doesn’t happen!
The Nevis Ensemble, conducted by their Artistic Directors Holly Mathieson and Jon Hargreaves Nevis, are giving 35 concerts in public spaces and community venues on Barra, Vatersay, Eriskay, South Uist, Benbecula, North Uist, Berneray, Harris, St Kilda, Lewis and Skye, as well as in Garelochhead, Inverary, Ardfern, Oban, Fort William and Glasgow this summer! This orchestra is doing it differently, during their tour of the highlands and islands! Performing between 19 - 28 August! Here are just some of the things they are planning on doing to cut their waste, and reduce their impact!
They are travelling together on one coach (all of the musicians, and their kit!), designing the tour efficiently to cut down miles and save fuel! While on their journey they will be combatting their waste, while ditching the disposables! They have stocked up on reusable water bottles, coffee cups, tote bags, bamboo toothbrushes and bars of shampoo and conditioner! It is amazing to have companies like Scottish Water and Save Some Green on board!
In Scotland we get a lot of midges. And if you dont know what they are…BE GLAD! They are tiny little beasties which in the height of summer can be a real pest! But the Nevis Ensemble will be midge free with their organic repellent, good for them, and for the environment - thank you Cubby’s Midge Salve!
They have appointed a ‘green officer’ to to monitor use of plastics and recycling when on the move, a great way to keep track of what works, and what doesn’t - always thinking of ways to improve! They have even thought about eating on the go, making their own oat milk, getting dairy milk delivered from McQueens in glass bottles, and baking biscuits for tea breaks during the rehearsal period rather than buying. They will be stocked up with Tupperware for ‘doggy bags’ when being hosted by community groups, and will be taking big boxes of nuts/dried fruit etc for plastic free snacking for when travelling!
Just after we heard from the UN that our diet can contribute greatly to climate change and reducing emissions, the Nevis Ensemble are going vegetarian for the whole trip! This will be both in their own cooking, and while in restaurants!
They don't stop there! They will be leaving everywhere better than how they found it…doing a big litter pick on Harris! Can’t wait to see how they get on promoting the 'Your Water Your Life campaign' with Scottish Water - the taps all around Scotland are creating quite the buzz already! When they come back, they will be working alongside Miraculous Mags, planting trees to offset the carbon the produce from their bus tour - a great way to make a lasting impact, and be held accountable for their emissions!
Music and nature have more in common than we think. They are both brilliant for our physical and mental health. Getting outdoors, and being immersed in music transport us to a different place, and escape for a while! It is great to see these brilliant musicians take it upon themselves to keep their world beautiful, while providing some amazing music throughout some of the most beautiful spots in Scotland! Can’t wait to keep a look out for their tour progress! All the best to you all! Break a leg!
You can check out where they are touring, and more information about them here: https://nevisensemble.org/hebrides-tour/
A little bit more about the Nevis Ensemble…There nothing else quite like it in Scotland. They have a vision; ‘music for everyone, everywhere’. Since their first performance in July 2018, the orchestra has given 130 performances to around 22,500 people all across Scotland, from a farm in the Scottish Borders, to the summit of Ben Nevis in the highlands – and everywhere in between. Concerts have taken place in venues as diverse as swimming pools and children’s parks, to homeless centres, museums and train stations. Removing barriers to accessing orchestral music means bringing it to where people are, and when they are there. Just think; 40 energetic musicians run out of a bus, instruments in hand, and less than five minutes later the intrigued crowd hears something incredible and unexpected. Everyone leaves feeling uplifted and inspired, proud of the place to which they belong. Full-scale, 40-piece orchestral performances of the best, most diverse music you can imagine: popping up and surprising commuters first thing in the morning; entertaining residents in oft-forgotten parts of the city; guerrilla-style appearances in swimming pools; generating huge public audiences in public spaces.