Robin Tait
Conductor of people, preparer of scores, waver of wands
Robin was born in Dunfermline, Fife. He studied French and Music at St. Andrews University, and became interested in (or, more accurately, completely obsessed with) the music of Gabriel Fauré, neatly combining his two main interests. His PhD on Fauré’s musical language, also completed at St Andrews, was subsequently published in New York.
During this time he was co-musical director of two chamber operas and assistant conductor of the Scottish Universities Orchestra, deputising as a horn player with the Scottish National Orchestra. More importantly he met his wife Caroline while at university.
Taking up teaching, Robin in the classroom and Caroline as a piano teacher, the family moved to Bridlington in 1985, bringing up two sons, Tom and Joey. Robin composed music for many school groups, including a musical, pieces for orchestra, and choral and jazz numbers.
His song “Children are The Future” was performed as the finale of the 1988 Bridlington Arts Festival; a record was subsequently made, involving hundreds of young local singers, and this led to an appearance on the BBC’s Blue Peter programme.
Robin conducted East Yorkshire Brass from 1994 to 1999. The band became North of England area champion in 1996 and competed in the National brass band finals that same year, joining the coveted Championship Section – the Premier League of brass band music. On leaving Bridlington School, he became a music examiner for ABRSM, and now his time is divided between examining and music editing: he is part of a team working on a new edition of the complete works of Gabriel Fauré (who else?) for German publisher Bärenreiter.
Robin admits to knowing very little about the Commodore 64 (sorry..!) but since getting involved with this fascinating project he has learned a tremendous amount and has huge admiration for the brilliant musicians who produced such amazing music using only computer code. The way in which these scores have been adapted and orchestrated over the years is testimony to their enduring quality and ability
to bring back memories for thousands of gamers.
Overseeing the production of the conducting scores and orchestral parts has been a mammoth task –nearly 700 individual parts have been generated. The orchestral forces are huge – triple woodwind and a full brass section complement a large string section, with an equally impressive array of percussion instruments. A particularly time-consuming task was to make sure that all the scores and parts were
‘spelled’ correctly, with the appropriate sharp (#) or flat (b) signs assigned to retain the tonality required –something a computer does not always understand.
Robin feels privileged to have been involved in this amazing project – hopefully these scores will be heard again and again now that they are well and truly with us!
During this time he was co-musical director of two chamber operas and assistant conductor of the Scottish Universities Orchestra, deputising as a horn player with the Scottish National Orchestra. More importantly he met his wife Caroline while at university.
Taking up teaching, Robin in the classroom and Caroline as a piano teacher, the family moved to Bridlington in 1985, bringing up two sons, Tom and Joey. Robin composed music for many school groups, including a musical, pieces for orchestra, and choral and jazz numbers.
His song “Children are The Future” was performed as the finale of the 1988 Bridlington Arts Festival; a record was subsequently made, involving hundreds of young local singers, and this led to an appearance on the BBC’s Blue Peter programme.
Robin conducted East Yorkshire Brass from 1994 to 1999. The band became North of England area champion in 1996 and competed in the National brass band finals that same year, joining the coveted Championship Section – the Premier League of brass band music. On leaving Bridlington School, he became a music examiner for ABRSM, and now his time is divided between examining and music editing: he is part of a team working on a new edition of the complete works of Gabriel Fauré (who else?) for German publisher Bärenreiter.
Robin admits to knowing very little about the Commodore 64 (sorry..!) but since getting involved with this fascinating project he has learned a tremendous amount and has huge admiration for the brilliant musicians who produced such amazing music using only computer code. The way in which these scores have been adapted and orchestrated over the years is testimony to their enduring quality and ability
to bring back memories for thousands of gamers.
Overseeing the production of the conducting scores and orchestral parts has been a mammoth task –nearly 700 individual parts have been generated. The orchestral forces are huge – triple woodwind and a full brass section complement a large string section, with an equally impressive array of percussion instruments. A particularly time-consuming task was to make sure that all the scores and parts were
‘spelled’ correctly, with the appropriate sharp (#) or flat (b) signs assigned to retain the tonality required –something a computer does not always understand.
Robin feels privileged to have been involved in this amazing project – hopefully these scores will be heard again and again now that they are well and truly with us!