Teen composer from Edinburgh chosen for prestigious musical project

Schoolboy composer from Edinburgh music chosen to accompany internationally acclaimed author’s new poem inspired by Olympic gold medalist Eric Liddell.
Young composer Alexander McNamee has been chosen to accompany an internationally acclaimed author’s new poem.Young composer Alexander McNamee has been chosen to accompany an internationally acclaimed author’s new poem.
Young composer Alexander McNamee has been chosen to accompany an internationally acclaimed author’s new poem.

The poem, written by Alexander McCall Smith CBE, will be read during the 40th anniversary celebration of the charity set up in honour of the famous sportsman.

Alongside the spoken word performance music created by 15 -year-old schoolboy Alexander McNamee will be played.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The talented musician from Craiglockhart is in his fourth year at George Watson’s College and was delighted to be picked to write the musical accompaniment.

The poem, written by Alexander McCall Smith CBE, will be read during the 40th anniversary celebration of the charity set up in honour of the famous sportsman.The poem, written by Alexander McCall Smith CBE, will be read during the 40th anniversary celebration of the charity set up in honour of the famous sportsman.
The poem, written by Alexander McCall Smith CBE, will be read during the 40th anniversary celebration of the charity set up in honour of the famous sportsman.

Tomorrow evening the two Alexanders will come together tomorrow as part of the virtual celebration of the Eric Liddell’s Centre 40th year of care in the Capital.

Mr Smith said: “The Eric Liddell Centre enjoys a special place in the affections of the people of this city. It is very much in the spirit of the man after whom it is named, and I am sure that there will be many people who will wish to join me in celebrating its achievements.”

The online evening will also feature talks from a range of internationally renowned speakers including Sally Magnusson and world-famous Scottish composer and conductor Sir James MacMillan.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Joining in via a link from her home in Canada, Eric Liddell’s daughter Patricia Liddell Russell will also participate to talk about her inspirational father.

Chief Executive of the Eric Liddell Centre John MacMillan said: “ It will be a wonderful evening broadcast via Zoom and provides me with the opportunity to celebrate the work and achievements of the centre over the last 40 years and the dedicated team who work here.”

A message from the Editor:Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.

Related topics:

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.