Community Music Day sharing

soundfestival's community orchestra takes the stage at Cowdray Hall on Sunday 25 October, performing Metalization of a Dream by Duncan MacLeod. The piece is inspired by Aberdeen's landscape, so it's a local composition played by local people.

This is the 'Community Music Day sharing' part of the festival, and the orchestra is exactly what it sounds like: instrumentalists of all ages and abilities coming together to make music. It's a day of joyful music-making rather than a polished professional recital, so the focus is on the act of playing together as much as the finished sound. MacLeod's Metalization of a Dream is the work they've been building towards, and this is the moment they share it with an audience.

The sharing sits within soundfestival 2026, which they describe as Northeast Scotland's 'generous, all-inclusive' celebration of new and experimental music. It runs for ten days across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, with more than 30 concerts, recitals, workshops, installations and events. The festival brings together voices from Scotland, the UK, Europe and further afield, alongside a platform for local talent. This year's edition is shaped by the idea of 'Listening' — an invitation to audiences, performers and composers to explore what it means to listen differently, and to slow down and immerse fully in every aspect of sound.

If you're around on the Sunday, the sharing runs from 3:00 PM to 3:30 PM at Cowdray Hall on Schoolhill, in the heart of the city. It's a short half-hour, so you can pop in and out without losing your whole afternoon.