Young local musician and Shetland College NC Music student, Eamonn Watt, will be releasing his debut album of computer-composed orchestral and piano music, entitled Virtually Conducted 1: Bonhoga, at Bonhoga Gallery on 27 June, 7.30pm – 9.30pm.
Eamonn, from Sandwick, has been playing drums in local bands for a number of years but also, more unusually, developed a passion for using computer software to compose symphonic scores.
Eamonn said: "While being a bit nervous, I really cannot wait to introduce my debut album to the people of Shetland. I've been composing with software since Advanced Higher and it has continued to develop up to the point where I will now be releasing this CD. I hope that my compositions will make a good impression on people and I look forward to seeing everyone at the CD launch at the Bonhoga Gallery."
Eamonn playing the keyboard
Recently Eamonn was contracted to compose music for a BBC Learning short film. He composed two tracks: a song in Moroccan style and an orchestral composition inspired by Scottish melodies called The Raconteur. The latter will also appear on his album.Bryan Peterson, Music Development Officer at Shetland Arts and lecturer on the NC Music course said: “Eamonn wrote, recorded and mixed the album himself as part of a college project, an amazing achievement given the complexity of his compositions. It’s fantastic for a young Shetland composer at an early stage of their career to be producing music for the BBC. A future as a composer bodes well for Eamonn.”
Eamonn will be continuing his studies as one of the first intake of the new Shetland College HNC Music students based in Mareel later this year. Other full time courses delivered in partnership between UHI Shetland College and Shetland Arts include NC Music and the new BA Music degree delivered as a networked course across the UHI region.
