A PROJECT which was part of Cumnock Tryst 2017 has been shortlisted for a major music award.

Kaleidoscope, which brought together schools and community groups along with professional musicians, was chosen from more than 200 nominations.

The programme, which culminates with a Friday lunchtime performance at the festival, is in contention for the Education/Community Project of the Year category in the Scottish New Music Awards.

For the last three years the Cumnock Tryst festival has partnered with Drake Music Scotland, a leader in educational work with people with disabilities ensuring that they can participate fully.

In 2017 the collaboration was taken to a new level in a unique event - a four movement work, Kaleidoscope, which for the first time brought together pupils from three local schools, Greenmill Primary, Auchinleck Academy and Barshare Primary/Hillside school, as well as adults from the Riverside Centre.

Each group contributed one movement to this specially created symphony, providing the amateur performers with a rare opportunity to work with members of the renowned Scottish Ensemble and acclaimed percussion soloist, Colin Currie, all of whom also took to the stage with them for the performance.

Artistic director of the Tryst, Sir James MacMillan, said: “We are delighted that Kaleidoscope has been shortlisted for this prestigious award. The participation of local school and community groups is central to the Cumnock Tryst, and our Friday lunchtime concert in particular is always a very special event. Indeed it has become the emotional heart of the Tryst.

“Through our partnership with Drake Music Scotland we have been supporting young people and adults with special needs to find their own musical voice and articulate it.

“The projects have explored music of quite complicated dimensions and it is wonderful to see these participants playing at the top of their game alongside professional musicians.”

His thoughts were echoed by Drake Music’s chief executive, Thursa Sanderson, who said that Kaleidoscope shows how disabled young people and adults can develop their creativity, perform alongside their peers from other schools and share a platform with top class artists such as Colin Currie and Scottish Ensemble.

Greenmill PS head teacher, Simon Leitch said: “We have the Strings Project that is on-going within Greenmill and I think working with these acclaimed musicians and composers is fantastic for them. I think bringing everyone together with the different schools and different needs of different musicians is fantastic so I think the collaboration is great.”

Head teacher of Hillside School, Debbie Skeogh, added: “Our young people learn so many skills. The obvious musical skills they develop but also their ability to communicate with others and to express themselves in a way they don’t get the opportunity to do.

“The main thing for me is just the sense of community that this creates and that our young people are involved in that and have the opportunity to just be part of something that a really busy audience gets to see just exactly what they are capable of and that’s the most important thing for us.”

Meanwhile, Sir James was been nominated in three further award categories.

His critically acclaimed setting of the Stabat Mater has been shortlisted in the Large Scale New Work category and the recording of the work by The Sixteen and Britten Sinfonia is shortlisted for the EVM Award for New Music Recording of the Year. Meanwhile, Sir James is nominated for the RCS Award for Contribution to New Music in Scotland during 2017.

Winners will be announced at an event on Wednesday, March 7, in Glasgow, which will be hosted by music writer and broadcaster Kate Molleson.