Breathing Place
Aileen Sweeney
This piece was written for The Helensburgh Oratorio Choir as part of the "Adopt a Composer" scheme run by Making Music in partnership with Sound and Music, in association with BBC
Radio 3. It is funded by The PRS Foundation, Philip and Dorothy Green Trust and Creative Scotland.
Through getting to know the choir, it became clear that Helensburgh and the surrounding area of Loch Lomond is very important to the members and that this love for the area they live in, should be the main focus of the piece.
Unfortunately, the effects of climate change are causing a serious threat to the Loch Lomond. Soon, it may cease to exist as we know it. The rise in global temperature is causing flooding across The National Park and the oversaturation results in landslides in the surrounding areas. The changes in rainfall patterns and seasonal temperatures see species under dual pressure to adapt to warmer and wetter climates with new plant diseases emerging. Some species such as the Artic char are highly endangered due to the rise in water temperatures.
However, drastic measures are being taken to protect our National Park and Loch Lomond itself is a fantastic resource in the fight against climate change. The trees alone hold approximately 2.5 milion tonnes of carbon and the peatlands holding 20 milion tonnes. However we can't
rely on Loch Lomond alone to save itself. We must take small measures ourselves every day to fight climate change.
Instrumentation Genre Ensemble (with conductor)
Tag community
Duration 12 minutes
Instrumentation
Performances of this work
| Date | Venue | Performer | Link |
NMS opportunities
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- 28 Aug 2026, 11:00
[New Music Scotland 2026 Gathering and Celebration] *NMS event - 24 Sep 2026, 19:30
[BBC SSO: Zemlinsky's Lyric Symphony] - 08 Oct 2026, 19:30
[BBC SSO: Willem Jeth's 'Mors Aeterna'] - 09 Oct 2026, 19:00
[BBC SSO: Willem Jeth's 'Mors Aeterna'] - 29 Oct 2026, 19:30
[BBC SSO: Enrico Chapela's 'Antiphaser' (Concerto for electric violin and orchestera)]
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