Area: South Ayrshire

The Category South Ayrshire is a subset of Southern Scotland.

‘Ayr Jazz Club, founded in 2005, is a warm and friendly group of people with a common interest in keeping jazz alive. The club has over 100 members who ... have had the pleasure of listening to a varied range of bands from Dixieland to New Orleans and Trad, as well as music from the 1920 - 30's.’

‘An annual festival held in Ayr, celebrating music, dance and speech and drama through participation in competitive and non-competitive events.’ Held Mid March.

'Since 1955 people in Ayrshire have been given the opportunity to enjoy the exceptional talent of musicians from the UK, Europe and other parts of the world. This season Ayr Music Club is again presenting a series of concerts showcasing a diverse range of professional classical musicians, with a strong focus on home-grown Scottish talent.'

‘Although an amateur company, AAOC endeavours to present shows to a high standard. To this end our productions are performed in a professional theatre, scenery is hired from professional suppliers as are our costumes. The members of the orchestra are all professional musicians and the Director and Musical Director are both employed by the Company ... The Company's title is something of a misnomer because we no longer present opera or operetta and have for many years concentrated on musicals ... We are totally self-funding and if we do make some profit on a production, then that money is distributed to local and national charities.’

‘A friendly and enthusiastic choir of about 80 members, who meet weekly to rehearse, socialise and enjoy singing a wide range of wonderful choral music ... Our conductor ... enables us to achieve the highest standard of performance and enjoyment in the three concerts we perform a year, usually in Ayr Town Hall. In October, and at Christmas we are accompanied by organ, brass or jazz ensembles; and in the spring we enjoy working with a full professional orchestra Professional soloists join us for several of our concerts.

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'Membership is free and is open to all string and percussion players and the principle is that you learn “on the job”. Beginners are not expected to be able to fiddle at a fast and furious pace when they join – but it is amazing how they soon pick it up! The self-confidence that these young players acquire over a short period of months is incredible and they are soon seamlessly merging with the older players ... The Orchestra has several regular concerts and a large number of invitational performances throughout the year.'

'The ASO, originally named the Ayr Amateur Orchestra, was founded in 1920 ... The members of the Orchestra are mainly amateur players, though our number includes many who earn a living from music. We have members from a wide range of ages and from all walks of life. Players come from all over Ayrshire and beyond ... We hold concerts at Christmas and in the Spring each year in Ayr Town Hall and hope you will come along to listen and enjoy with us!'