A pair of north-east musicians will have their work heard around the world after being selected to soundtrack a major marketing push.
Tarland fiddler Paul Anderson and Stonehaven-based composer Benjamin McMillan have created The Ballad Of Blue, Granite And Green, which will be used in an upcoming campaign by VisitAberdeenshire.
It was selected by a judging panel including royal composer Paul Mealor and Aberdeen Performing Arts chief executive Jane Spiers for its “emotive power” in reflecting the region’s sense of adventure, history and pride.
The 10-minute composition is broken into four sections, each inspired by the landmarks of Linn o’ Dee, Bennachie, Dunnottar Castle and Aberdeen itself.
It will be released in April to coincide with the launch of VisitAberdeenshire’s next advertising campaign, which will be rolled out locally and internationally.
Mr McMillan said: “We used three of Paul’s melodies, each of which we thought encapsulated different aspects of Aberdeenshire’s heritage, the fourth melody was my own composition, Aberdonia.”
Nikki Morris-Laing, from VisitAberdeenshire, said: “We realised last year that strong, evocative music was a missing ingredient from our award-winning promotional work, so we set out to address that through this competition.
“Research tells us that travel promotions score highly for empathy and emotive power when the right music is applied.
“There is no shortage of emotive power in what Benjamin and Paul have created.”
