Largo Music Testimonials
Margaret Douglass
"Margaret Douglass has edited several scores of mine, some of them from original manuscripts. She is an exceptional editor in that she reads and understands the scores and can spot mistakes and anomalies. She is also extremely accomplished in the use of Sibelius software, and has realised some very complex scores of mine which use free notation and mobile boxes. Her work is always to the highest standard, and is used by my publisher, Norsk Musikforlag, as their final version for printing."
Sally Beamish
"We were lucky enough to have Margaret Douglass edit some orchestral scores for a concert of ours with Symphony Nova Scotia in March 2012.
We and the Orchestra were absolutely delighted with the flawless results!"
Chris Stout & Catriona McKay
"Richard and Margaret, thanks for the work you've done recently with Big Horns and with our local horn group. You've made exciting choices of music for everyone, brought masses of energy to each project, and shown a real talent for bringing musicians of different ages and abilities together and producing something for them all to be proud of. It's a great thing for the individuals and for our community. Marion can't wait for the next gig!
Christine Linton
"Margaret is an inspirational band-leader - she always motivates me to play better, even on charts that I don't personally like!! Her enthusiasm, understanding and love of music (in all its forms) shines through, and she has transformed the Inverkeithing Big Band, thank you.
Phil Piper
Our band had been ticking along steadily for some time, but when Margaret Douglas took over as Director of Music, the band sounded better by the end of the first session. Since then, her drive, enthusiasm, supportive encouragement, sense of humour, and relentless desire to improve, have made rehearsals exciting, and brought us standing ovations at gigs.
Malcolm Lappin, baritone sax, Inverkeithing Community Big Band
PERFORMER - Richard Ingham
"Especially sparkling - undoubted expertise"
The Times
"Brilliant versatile virtuousity"
Herald Insight, India
"Joyful, exhilarating, full of the energy of of a lively dance, requiring great skill and concentration from both soloists and orchestra - Richard Ingham and Mary McCarthy were excellent"
St Andrews Citizen
"Richard Ingham demonstrated his affinity with the collage of modernity, and illustrated pibroch and Celtic strains with no less immaculate delivery....Richard is always totally in command, still able to produce lyricism at any level throughout the range."
Clarinet and Saxophone
"Clearly they can play anything - excellent musicians"
Musical Times
"The quartet goes through its paces flawlessly"
Saxophone Journal, USA
CONDUCTOR - Richard Ingham
"If anything can be said to have a 'WOW' factor, then massed saxophones fit the bill, especially when presented with imagination and musicality by the National Saxophone Choir, amassed from far and wide. A shock tactic first entry for Bach's Toccata set the scene for a matchless evening. Bach would surely have approved, especially of subterranean depths from the monster contrabass sax. The first half tantalised with a tautly rhythmical lively reel, a fun Crazy Rag containing splendid solo spots, contrasting with subtly haunting lyricism in Piazzolla's Oblivion. Clever arrangements, many by the group's founder Nigel Wood, frequently emulated orchestral grandeur and magnificent organ sonorities. Conductor Richard Ingham did justice to Elgar's Nimrod sentimentality."
Birmingham Post
"Expertly directed by their principal guest conductor, Richard Ingham, the ensemble showed versatility from the start, with an arrangement by Nigel Wood of the famous Bach organ Toccata, followed immediately by Mrs Malcolm, Her Reel (Funky Freuchie), a fast-paced reel by Richard Ingham, full of bass riffs with attitude.....The ensemble performed with precision and conviction throughout."
Clarinet and Saxophone
COMPOSER - Richard Ingham
"The combination of solo instruments and orchestra led to marvellous textures...Ingham's beautiful soprano saxophone distinct and soaring...the third movement was excellent, an energetic sort of Gaelic bothy band medley that seemed simply relentless"
Dundee Courier
"Richard Ingham's Double Concerto for saxophone, accordion, strings and percussion was commissioned by Gillain Craig with funds made available by the Scottish Arts Council. The combination of instruments may be unusual but the resulting composition more than justifies its creation. In Evening in Hyderabad, the soloists and orchestra seem initially to be at odds with each other but they create a complete picture of the energetic hustle and bustle of a busy and, to us, exotic city. There is a strong sense of drive which underlines the musical structure. The second movement, Torridon Levels, is most evocative and colourful with very imaginative use made of the tuned percussion instruments. The final movement, Return to Kingsbarns, is joyful, exhilarating, full of the energy of a lively dance, requiring great skill from both soloists and orchestra. This is a new work which deserves to be taken into the repertoire of other orchestras."
Bela Simandi
"Richard Ingham's Taj Mahal (Monument of Love) is a meditative movement incorporating harmonic, melodic and rhythmic elements of Indian music .A downwards-building cluster chord introduces a decorated, quasi improvisatory solo over a drone for Sally MacTaggart on soprano, assured and communicative. After a rhythmic section and tabla solo, the music cuts out leaving just the drone, then high pitched pianissimo chords creating an ethereal ending, shimmering and heat hazy like the building itself"
Clarinet and Saxophone
AUTHOR of - The Cambridge Companion to the Saxophone, ed Richard Ingham (Cambridge University Press, 1999)
"It has always been puzzling why, until now, there has been no comprehensive reference book for players, students and enthusiasts of the saxophone, so this publication is therefore of tremendous value. Richard Ingham has provided three individual chapters, among them a survey of jazz from the perspective of the saxophone, which is both fascinating and well constructed.....an indispensable reference source for all those with an interest in the instrument"
BBC Music Magazine
EDUCATOR - Richard Ingham
"The course was fabulous and I am determined to keep the momentum going on the jazz side. I'm very much looking forward to going on the intermediate course."
ABRSM course participant
"How did sax maestro Richard Ingham and piano maestro Richard Michael, both of them internationally recognised jazz cognoscenti, find themselves stoking the jazz fires in one of Britain's most remote outposts? What brought them here? What's all the Big Noise?"
Music Teacher Magazine
"Just to let you know what a wonderful time we had with the Jazz workshop. What a wonderful performance they and our pupils put on for everyone."
Primary Head teacher
"We have had such great feedback from those who took part saying how they enjoyed the day and how truly inspiring it was to work with you and hear you play."
Saxophone day course
"A huge thank you for such an inspirational session. I thoroughly enjoyed the second session, and found clarity in your demonstrations and explanations that I have not often met."
Saxophone in-service day
"Excellent, very interesting, inspirational, very well-delivered."
Illustrated lecture on compositions
"Jazz education is a subject which raises some of the inherent paradoxes in an art form which depends on improvisation, freshness, and immediacy but calls on the shared listening experiences of the listener and the performer. Teaching jazz is therefore far more difficult than teaching classical music skills. Richard Ingham has a great and unusual talent for this of showing what can be done, helping his students with the techniques to do it themselves, and understanding history, the structure and theory which lies behind this, taking the fear out of innovation and encouraging self expression. His experience over several decades doesn't suppress his innate enthusiasm and ability to help students enter the world of jazz as performers. I am delighted to be one his current students."
Steve Wood
"Richard Ingham's long list of achievements in music, national and international, will be evident from his curriculum vitae. This reference relates only to his work as a teacher of jazz."
"I have known, worked with, and studied under, Richard Ingham for over fifteen years. During that time I have found him to be an inspiring teacher. I have observed him work with equal success in all settings: a jazz or saxophone master-class for experienced musician's; a short course for beginners at their instrument; mixed-ability groups; short-courses; and extended courses. In all cases he is equally effective. On several occasions, I have observed him working with groups of modest ability (and little or no experience of jazz) on a one-day course. At the end of the day, in a concert for parents, the group has provided a swinging ensemble performance with solos from all the participants. The solos may have been simple, but they have been, almost without exception, surprisingly convincing for students with such little experience. I also have experience of him working with groups of musicians with jazz experience. In these cases I have observed a remarkable development of the group and individual performance."
"In Scotland, the world of jazz is a relatively small one, and at intervals I come across colleagues, young and old, who have studied with Richard Ingham as personal students, or on the St Andrews jazz course, or in one of his various ensembles. I see them transformed from promising beginners to maturing jazz musicians. "
"The reasons for Richard Ingham's success as an educator are worthy of consideration. I am not sure I have the full answer. Much must be down to his personality. He is always warm and approachable, and he has an apparently effortless ability to relate easily to people, whatever their age and background. He always shows enthusiastic leadership when he is teaching, but does so with with a friendly manner and a lively sense of humour. However, I suspect that much of his success should be put down to experience and careful planning. For example, his choice of music for his courses (either from the jazz repertoire or music he has written specially for the group) invariably sets a challenge, but is such that at an end-of-course concert, the performance is one that is inspiring both to the audience and the performers. This is an exceptional talent. Also, he has an ability to explain esoteric jazz theory in a way that is not only understandable and memorable, but that illustrates how it can be used to advantage by the individual (in soloing, for example). I have observed that he invariably leaves students with material he encourages them to work on, or routines he encourages them to incorporate into their practice, so that even a one-off short course is part of the individual's ongoing development rather than an isolated event. It is this relentless commitment to the long-term development of the individual musician that characterises his teaching."
"I have always found Richard Ingham to be man of the utmost integrity. He is someone you can rely on. I would recommend him without hesitation. I am happy to be contacted if clarification or further information is required and I have provided my contact details below. "
Malcolm Lappin