James MacMillan

Sir James MacMillan is a Scottish composer and conductor, described as the pre-eminent Scottish composer of his generation. He studied music at the University of Edinburgh and composition at Durham University. He first attracted international attention with the acclaimed BBC Proms premiere of The Confession of Isobel Gowdie in 1990. His percussion concerto Veni, Veni, Emmanuel (1992) has since received over 500 performances worldwide. He has also pursued an international career as a conductor and held artistic positions with several orchestras. In 2014, he founded the annual Cumnock Tryst music festival in his hometown in Scotland. He was knighted in 2015 for his services to music. His musical language is flooded with influences from his Scottish heritage, Catholic faith, social conscience and close connection with Celtic folk music, and is distinctive for its rhythmic excitement and powerful emotional communication.