Biography
Gemma McGregor is a composer from Orkney who is interested in depicting consciousness and exploring images of time and place in layers of sound. In addition to writing choral and instrumental music, she has been part of interdisciplinary performances and collaborations, has created sound-art and written music for film.
Gemma graduated with a doctorate in music composition from the University of Aberdeen in July 2017. A recipient of the Ogston Postgraduate Scholarship, she has had commissions performed at the St. Magnus Festival, St. Asaph Festival and Aberdeen Sound Festival. Her choral music has been performed by the St Magnus Cathedral Choir, the Quodlibet Chorale, NYOS Girls Choir, the Corvus Consort & the BBC Singers.
Gemma’s chamber opera, The Locked Door, (for three singers and five piece ensemble), was commissioned by Aberdeen Sound Festival and performed in 2015. Her community opera, The Story of Magnus Erlendsson, (for ten soloists, double chorus and ten piece ensemble), was commissioned by St Magnus Festival as part of the Magnus900 anniversary celebrations in 2017. Two of Gemma's works have been nominated for New Music Scotland Awards - The Story of Magnus Erlendsson in 2018 and Drift for soprano and clarinet in 2023.
Edinburgh String Quartet performed four of Gemma's works that were inspired by poems on the 22nd November 2023. These included two new quartets: Ahint a Wheeshtit Chapel (inspired by Soondscapes by Christine De Luca) and Through All the Heavens of Ice (inspired by The Late Swallow, by Edwin Muir).