Trinity College London Press to launch Sir James MacMillan’s new book ‘Creative Composition for the Classroom’ at Ayrshire’s Cumnock Tryst

Trinity College London Press is pleased to announce the launch of Creative Composition in the Classroom by Sir James MacMillan and Jennifer Martin at Sir James’ East Ayrshire festival, The Cumnock Tryst, on 1 October.

In a festival first, The Cumnock Tryst will host the launch of the new book, as the festival returns to East Ayrshire with a star-studded line-up, with concerts, events and workshops that put talent, community and young musicians centre stage.

The book will launch at a special event in the brand-new Barony Hall, located on the Barony Campus, during which the two authors will discuss the project with Stuart Pearce, Director, UK & Ireland Markets at Trinity College London and Gillian Moore, Director of Music and Performing Arts for Southbank Centre.

Creative Composition for the Classroom is a practical resource aimed at aspiring composers, those teaching creative music-making or composition, and instrumental teachers wanting to add more creativity to their tuition as well as those choosing to present an original composition of their own in Trinity grade exams. The authors draw on their wealth of expertise, offering the reader a window into their techniques and demystifying the concept of musical creativity. They provide the keys to unlock students’ imaginations, giving them the tools and confidence to develop their ideas and share them with friends, teachers and family. Critical thinking is encouraged through a range of individual and group activities, musical examples and analysis, with concise hints and tips, compositional techniques and suggestions for listening included along the way.

For the past three years, Trinity has been a sponsor of the Cumnock Tryst’s education outreach programme which takes Sir James, Jennifer Martin and others into local, disadvantaged schools in Ayrshire to encourage creativity in music and composition. This has culminated in a performance at the festival with professional musicians and young performers.

Stuart Pearce says “It gives both TCL Press and me personally, great pleasure to see this book published. We are very proud of our partnership with the Cumnock Tryst and its education outreach programme and this is another important step on the journey of supporting aspiring composers and young learners in their journey. Sir James and Jennifer have given this work much thought and dedication and we believe it will make an important contribution to nurturing creative talent across the world of music.”