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Records of Edinburgh Contemporary Arts Trust (ECAT)

 Fonds
Identifier: Coll-1993

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This fonds consists of the records of the Edinburgh Contemporary Arts Trust (ECAT). It includes the association's administrative papers and the promotional material used to advertise its musical events. It also contains recorded music, music scores, and photographs.

  1. Memorandum of Association. (1 folder)
  2. Company Registers, c 1989-2003. Include Register of members, minutes, "document lodged with register companies", director's reports, and accounts. (3 folders)
  3. Administrative files containing minutes, correspondence (in particular from and to Hazel Sheppard, the Company Secretary), invoices, grant documents. Arranged chronologically, 1988-2011. Also includes a folder entitled "SEMAS", 1988-1994, relating to the Scottish Electroacoustic Music Association. (3 boxes)
  4. Promotional material arranged by year: programmes, posters, and leaflets to promote musical events organised or sponsored by ECAT. Also include newspaper cuttings. 1986-2011. (2 boxes)
  5. Promotional material arranged by event and by year: Garth Vox (undated), Stockhausen's Kontakte (1987), Hebrides Ensemble Debut Concert (1991), Ensemble Exposé concert (1991), George Mackay Brown 70th Birthday (1991), Charity Concert in the aid of the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (1992), Iannis Xenakis 70th birthday celebrations (1992), Orkest de Volharding (1992), Piano Circus (1994), GotToBeHybrid (1995), Kreutzer Quartet (2001), "Exil" Mr McFall's Chamber (2002), New World Quartet (2002), Vertuoso Reeds (Harry Sparnaay, Silvia Castillo) (2003), Going Dutch/Hebrides Ensemble (2003), Camberwell Composers' Collective Bongo Club (2006), The Eye of Fire (c 2006), Richard Craig. Flutes, Aspects of Complexity (2007), Exaudi (2007), Jazz Now with Bourne Davis Kane (2007), Messiaen Day (2008), Bright Light and Cloud Shadows (New Zealand Quartet) (2008), Instant Composers Pool Orchestra (2009). Also two separate folders with material related to the Young Composers Forum (1995-1998), Musica Italia (1997, 2003) and Jon Rose - The Interactive Violin (1999). (1 box)
  6. Programmes, 1983-2011. (1 box)
  7. Recorded music: Kenneth Leighton (reel); Josip Magdić (reel; "ambient political electronic computer music", realised by author 19 Sept. 1993, and "smuggled" out of Serbia during the war); "ECAT YCF" (two DAT65 digital audio-tapes); ECAT concerts: Queen's Hall 2 February 2008: New Music for Scotland - The Female Music (Peter Evans, Ulrike Fenner, Su-a Lee), Queens Hall 27th September 2010 (Iannis Xenakis, Harrison Birtwistle, Giorgos Kyriakakis, Jake Spence, Claude Vivier, Steffen Reinhold, Wolfgang Rihm), Queen's Hall 27 April 2011 "Myth and Ritual" (Robin Michael, Peter Evans, Joby Burgess) (four CDs). (2 reels, 2 tapes, 4 CDs))
  8. Photographs: 28 colour photographs taken at an unidentified ECAT event. No caption or label. (1 envelope)
  9. Music scores, including of works by Rebecca Saunders and Galina Ustvolskaya. (5 folders + 1 outsize box)
  10. Concert posters (59 cm x 21 cm).

Dates

  • Creation: 1980s-2010s

Creator

Language of Materials

English

Conditions Governing Access

Most of the collection is open to the public (in particular the promotional material, the posters, and the music scores), however some of the administrative files are closed due to Data Protection restrictions, and some other files will require the reader to sign a Data Protection form. Please contact the repository in advance.

Due to format, there is no current listening access to the recordings.

Biographical / Historical

ECAT (Edinburgh Contemporary Arts Trust) was formed by Geoffrey King and Peter Nelson in 1979, and quickly became one of Scotland's foremost independent promoters of live contemporary music, with an emphasis on "classical" music and an enthusiasm for stretching the boundaries into jazz, electronic, and improvised music. Its aims and objectives were to present concerts of new music with musicians of international reputation, to explore contemporary "classical" composition, to commission new work, and to help deepen the appreciation and understanding of new music through learning initiatives.

ECAT presented an annual season of new music concerts in Scotland, with international artists, and was associated with a number of important figures including the composer James MacMillan.

ECAT continued until 2013, when its core funding was ended by Creative Scotland. Its remaining funds were donated to the Reid School of Music, University of Edinburgh, to support postgraduate study in music composition.

Full Extent

12 boxes (11 standard size boxes, 1 outsize box.)

Additional Description

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated by Peter Nelson, co-founder and artistic director, in April 2019. Accession no. SC-Acc-2019-0047.

Related Materials

Heritage Collections also hold the Minutes and papers of the Scottish Electroacoustic Music Association (SEMAS) (Coll-1963).

Processing Information

Catalogued by Aline Brodin in May-June 2024.

Related Names

Subjects

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Records of Edinburgh Contemporary Arts Trust (ECAT), 1980s-2010s
Author
Aline Brodin
Date
June 2024
Description rules
Isad(g)2
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections Repository

https://library.ed.ac.uk/heritage-collections
Contact:
Centre for Research Collections
University of Edinburgh Main Library
George Square
Edinburgh EH8 9LJ Scotland
+44(0)131 650 8379