The Wavell Ensemble

The Wavell Ensemble was formed in 2001 by members of the former TOTAL Aberdeen Youth Choir, which celebrated its 10th birthday last year. The Aberdeen Youth Choir was formed in 1992 by Christopher Bell and was closely associated with the Aberdeen International Youth Festival. From 1994, the choir bore the name of its major sponsor TOTAL Oil Marine plc, until their merger with Elf in 2001 when the sponsorship arrangement came to an end. The members of the Wavell Ensemble formed the group partly with the objective of creating an opportunity to sing together outside the Youth Festival period and partly in response to the sad news that the Aberdeen Youth Choir had not been able to secure a sponsor for the Aberdeen International Youth Festival in 2002. The group derives its name from Wavell House, one of the residential buildings in Hillhead Halls of Residence, in which the members of the TOTAL Aberdeen Youth choir were accommodated during previous Youth Festivals. The members of the Wavell Ensemble are aged between 16 and 25 and represent a diverse range of occupations, mixing students with those in full-time employment. All are resident in Glasgow or Edinburgh. The Ensemble rehearses whenever possible, although co-ordinating 10 singers between two cities is often difficult, and rehearsals take place in the members' living rooms. The group has no external source of funding for concerts and music. Despite these adverse circumstances, the Ensemble enjoys singing together very much and is committed to continuing the group far beyond this current concert season. The group has recently completed its inaugural concert series at the 2002 Aberdeen International Youth Festival, and hopes to be performing in Glasgow and Edinburgh in the near future. The Wavell Ensemble is honoured to have as its patrons Nicola Wallis, director of AIYF and Ben Parry, conductor of the TOTAL Aberdeen Youth Choir from 1998-2001, and are especially grateful to Ben Parry for the loan of sheet music for this season and for advice given during the conception of the group. The Ensemble would also like to thank John Hearne, composer of Contra Plagam (which is being premiered during this concert season) for his advice and inspiration.

St. Machar's Cathedral, where the group first performed in public

Hazel Mehta - Musical Director Hazel Mehta has attended the Aberdeen International Youth Festival every summer since 1995, when she participated in a tour of cathedrals of southern England with the TOTAL Aberdeen Youth Choir. Hazel has been involved in music from an early age. She began learning the cello and piano at an early age, and has enjoyed playing in youth orchestras including Strathclyde Schools' Symphony Orchestra and the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland. She has also played with the Edinburgh Quartet, joining them as the fifth player in Edward MacGuire's Guest Quintet. Hazel obtained an honours degree in music from the University of Glasgow, graduating in 1999. During her time at university she was involved in various musical ensembles, including Glasgow University's Contemporary Music Ensemble, UNISON, with whom she was involved as a cellist, conductor, orchestral manager and composer: the group premiered her work for solo soprano and orchestra, On the Edge. Hazel currently works as an administration manager in HM Prison Barlinnie, Glasgow. As well as being musical director of the Wavell Ensemble, she sings with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra Chorus under the chrousmaster Christopher Bell. Hazel hopes to continue to pursue her interest in music and to undertake a postgraduate degree in composition, possibly abroad.