Naomi McGillivray

Biography

Born in Aberdeenshire (2000), Naomi's musical journey began at the age seven

studying the piano. At the age of 12, she gravitated towards percussion, and continued

her studies into university. Studying at the University of Glasgow, Naomi developed a

knowledge of a wide variety of musical areas including performance, under the tutelage

of Iain Sandilands, and composition with Dr Jane Stanley, Dr Drew Hammond and

Dr Iain Findlay-Walsh. She graduated in the summer of 2022 with a Bachelors

of Music (Hons), receiving a first in her composition folio. She currently studies

Composition at the University of Edinburgh under the tutelage of Gareth Williams,

kindly supported by The Cross Trust.

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Naomi has experience performing solo and with several different ensembles. She was selected for the percussion section in the National Youth Wind Ensemble of Scotland in 2017 and regularly performs with Bon Accord Silver Band. In 2020, Naomi took over the management of the University of Glasgow Percussion Ensemble - arranging and conducting all their music for concerts throughout her third and fourth years at University. She is currently a member of the Central Scotland Percussion Ensemble and continues to perform freelance in percussion around Scotland. She is available for any guesting requirements in Brass Bands.

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Naomi has an affinity for community music and works as a freelance workshop musician around Scotland. She worked as an Assistant Musician in 2022/23 for sound's Get Creative programme with primary aged children in creative music-making and led sessions in graphic scores and improvisation. Alongside Erin Thomson, she will be leading these sessions for the 2024/25 academic year. Collaborating with other creatives, she has worked in primary schools around Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire to deliver sessions in composition, and freelances with Soundplay Projects to deliver interactive installation sessions for children with Additional Support Needs.

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Naomi was awarded first prize for her composition 'Sounds of the Day' in the CoMA x KNM Campus Ensemble competition ​'Composing for all and by all' which premiered in Berlin in November 2023. This is available for purchase here.

 She is currently working on writing music for percussion as part of her Masters project.