At a Glance
- Sir James MacMillan’s euphonium concerto Where the Lugar Meets the Glaisnock receives its U.S. premiere with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra Jan. 22-24.
- The work honors the composer’s coal-miner grandfather, George Loy, an amateur euphonium player who introduced MacMillan to music.
- Soloist David Childs, who commissioned the piece, joins the orchestra at the Meyerson Symphony Center.
- The program also includes Holst’s The Planets and Walton’s Coronation Te Deum arranged by Palmer.
**Why it matters: The concert fuses Scottish heritage, wartime brass-band tradition, and fresh orchestral colors, offering Dallas audiences a rare living-composer experience.
When Jan. 22-24, 2025, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra will give Sir James MacMillan’s Where the Lugar Meets the Glaisnock its U.S. premiere, the celebrated Scottish composer hears more than notes-he hears home.
The euphonium concerto, written as a love letter to Cumnock in Ayrshire, Scotland, pairs the instrument’s velvety voice with string orchestra, a deliberate departure from its usual brass-band habitat.
A Grandfather’s Gift
MacMillan dedicated the work to the memory of George Loy, his maternal grandfather and a coal miner who played euphonium in colliery bands during the 1920s-40s.
“In fact, my grandfather was a coal miner, but crucially, he was also a euphonium player,” MacMillan said. “He got me my first cornet, my first brass instrument, and took me to my first band practices.”
The composer never heard Loy perform, yet their early conversations forged a lifelong musical path.
“Some of my earliest memories are of my grandfather and I talking about music,” MacMillan said. “He loved that I was as interested in music as he was.”
Rivers Remembered
The title references the Lugar and Glaisnok rivers that converge in Cumnock, where MacMillan played as a child.
“I think there’s subliminal memory of place and also of community and the brass community and of indeed the coal mining community that shaped me,” he said.
Commissioned by euphonium virtuoso David Childs, the piece migrated from British brass band stands to the concert hall. Childs, now on faculty at the University of North Texas, will solo with the DSO.
Fresh Context
MacMillan scored the euphonium against strings to stretch the instrument beyond its comfort zone.
“The string sound is an interesting and compliant counterpart,” he said. “They actually blend very well, and the euphonium can be played as quietly as a string instrument.”
The composer previously led the world premiere with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and a subsequent outing in Estonia. When he conducts his own score, he approaches it anew.
“It feels like learning a new piece from scratch again,” MacMillan said.
Secret Royal Anthem
One MacMillan premiere eluded him entirely: Who Shall Separate Us?, the a cappella anthem written 11 years in advance for Queen Elizabeth II’s 2022 state funeral.
“I was asked to write the piece in 2011, so 11 years before she died and was asked to keep it very, very secret,” he said. “It went into a drawer for 11 years.”
He watched the live broadcast-viewed by an estimated four billion people-at home, experiencing the global debut on television rather than from the conductor’s podium.
Living Classical Culture
Whether in Westminster Abbey or the Meyerson, MacMillan insists new works keep the classical canon alive.
“It is a culture that values heritage, but it is still a culture in flux and still evolving with excitement,” he said. “My ideal listener is someone who is hungry for music that they have not yet heard.”
Concert Details
Program:
- MacMillan: Where the Lugar Meets the Glaisnock (U.S. premiere)
- Holst: The Planets
- Walton/arr. Palmer: Coronation Te Deum
Dates: Jan. 22-24, 2025
Venue: Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas Arts District
Soloist: David Childs, euphonium
For tickets and additional information, visit the Dallas Symphony Orchestra website.
