Welcome to Voic:E Welcome to the November 2016 edition of our alumni ezine. We love to hear from our alumni to find out what you are doing now so if you have any news or stories you think would interest the rest of the Aberdeen family, please let us know. Read the latest news from the University here. Alumni event - Celebration of Carols in London The University is delighted to be staging its third Celebration of Carols at St Marylebone Parish Church, London on Wednesday 21 December 2016 at 7pm. Kindly hosted by Aberdeen alumnus Canon Stephen Evans and sponsored by HSBC, this festive event will once again showcase our world-class Chamber Choir under the direction of royal composer Professor Paul Mealor, Chair in Composition. In the company of acclaimed British actor Sir Tony Robinson, Classic FM presenter Bill Turnbull and celebrated Call the Midwife actress and Aberdeen alumna Laura Main, the event will be recorded by Classic FM and broadcast on the evening of the 23rd December. This wonderful celebration will also provide us with an opportunity to raise funds for the University's groundbreaking research in the fight against dementia, a subject we know is close to the hearts of our Aberdeen family and for which the University has an outstanding reputation. To book a place at this event please email us at [email protected]. 1 Alumni Focus Alumnae celebrate Burns in joint music project This year saw the launch of a debut CD album featuring Jillian Bain Christie (B.Mus. Hons.) singing Burns songs in settings by classical composers. It also saw the launch of a new record label, Luckenbooth Music, set up by Frances Milne (MA Hons. French and German) and her brother, John Milne. The idea behind the CD was to hear Burns songs sung by a classically trained singer, following the custom of early performances of his songs which took place in the drawing rooms of the New Town of Edinburgh. The settings of Burns songs are by classical composers, including Professor Paul Mealor, whose setting of Ae fond kiss is dedicated to Jillian. The beautiful and distinctive art work on the CD cover is by Jillian, who trained at Glasgow School of Art, before moving to study music at the University of Aberdeen. Further information on the CD can be found here; it can also be purchased at the St Machar Cathdral shop. Save the date: Jazz afternoon tea - Wednesday 15 February 2017 The wonderful Elphinstone Hall, right in the heart of campus, will provide the venue for this event. Enjoy a delicious afternoon tea whilst the sound of jazz fills the air around you. Entertainment will be provided by current students of the University. Tickets for the event will be priced at £20 per person. This event will provide the opportunity to highlight and raise funds for the Alumnus Association Scholarship, which is awarded to students from North East Scotland on the basis of academic merit and financial needs each year. Tickets will go on sale in the New Year. Aberdeen alumna elected new chairman of the representative body of the BMA University of Aberdeen graduate Anthea Mowat was elected as Chairman of the representative body of the British Medical Association in June 2016 in Belfast for a three year term culminating in June 2019. As RB Chairman, she is one of the Association’s three Chief Officers, with responsibility for Professionalism, and Equality and Diversity within the Association. She also sits on the NHS Staff Council for England. She is only the second ever woman to have held the post. 2 Alumni chapter launched in Beijing The University of Aberdeen launched its first alumni chapter in China on the 20th of September. The Principal, Professor Sir Ian Diamond, welcomed 69 members of the Aberdeen family to the British Embassy in Beijing. The evening was a great success and in addition to the chapter launch, the evening saw the debut of Porter's Gin in China. The gin, devloped by two Aberdeen alumni, uses Chinese botanicals, which accounts for its refined flavour. Photos from the chapter launch can be found here. Winter gathering and statutory meeting of the General Council All graduates of the University of Aberdeen are members of the General Council and are invited to take part in the annual statutory meeting of the General Council. This year's meeting will take place on Wednesday 7 December 2016 from 5pm in the Linklater Rooms (next to Elphinstone Hall), University of Aberdeen. The statutory meeting will include an update from Professor Sir Ian Diamond, Principal and Vice- Chancellor. The meeting is free and will start at 6pm, with festive drinks and nibbles from 5pm. Following the meeting, members of the General Council are invited to attend the University Carol Service at St Machar's Cathedral from 7.30pm. Click here to register or email us at [email protected]. Mike Will MBE elected President of YMCA Europe University of Aberdeen Theology and School of Education graduate Mike Will has been elected to the highest office of YMCA in Europe. Mike was elected as President of YMCA Europe at a General Assembly held in Madrid, becoming the first Scot to hold this international position with the continent's largest non- uniformed organisation. Mr Will graduated from the University of Aberdeen in 1994 with a theology degree and pursued a career in secondary education. He has since graduated twice from the University with Masters degrees in Education (2000) and Research (2016) and taught Religious, Moral & Philosophical Studies at St Machar Academy (1995-1998) prior to being appointed as Principal Teacher of the subject in Aboyne Academy. In 2003 he was appointed to his current post of Depute Head Teacher in Northfield Academy in Aberdeen City. As a Teacher Regent in school for student teachers from the university and as a member of the University's Business Committee for six years, he has been a strong supporter of his alma mater throughout his career. Commenting on his election Mr Will said: "having joined the local YMCA as a teenager, honoured as a local loon and Scot to be elected as president of the European YMCA movement. With so much happening in Europe, politically, culturally and socially, YMCA Europe is committed to empowering young people to make a positive difference for today and the future. I am inspired to share in the leadership of this change." 3 2016 Farr Institute@Aberdeen essay prize winner announced The winner of the 2016 Farr Institute@Aberdeen Essay Prize has been named as Emma Dorothy Mills, who graduated in July. Emma, now a doctor at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, wrote based her essay on the use of big data in the health service and the associated privacy and security issues. She has also been invited to present her work at the World Congress on Undergraduate Research in Doha in November. Emma said: “None of this would have been possible without the fantastic support and encouragement I received throughout my time at Aberdeen.” Got a story? Share it on the new alumni blog You can find out more about what some of your fellow alumni have been up to since graduating on our brand new blog. We have members of the University of Aberdeen family across the globe and many are now industry leaders, ground-breaking researchers or have other fascinating tales to tell. If you have an interesting story you'd like to share with the wider alumni community then get in touch with us at [email protected]. Our first post is the story of Jeremy Thompson, an agriculture graduate who has ended up as a Coconut Research and Development Advisor in Vanuatu! You can find the blog here. Well done to all our alumni on their fantastic achievements! University Focus Development Trust donors help reveal secrets of 800-year- old 'royal' book Funding from generous donors to the University of Aberdeen Development Trust has helped produce digitally enhanced photography of the Aberdeen Bestiary - the jewel in the crown of the University’s holdings within the Special Collections Centre. This has enabled this lavishly illustrated medieval book, which once belonged to King Henry VIII, to be made available online in incredible detail. The Bestiary, created in England in around 1200 and first documented in the Royal Library at Westminster Palace in 1542, is one of the finest surviving examples of a medieval illuminated manuscript and has been in the care of the University of Aberdeen for almost four centuries. It has now been digitally enhanced and made available online for the first time in high definition - returning the precious book to its original purpose of learning and revealing details previously unseen to the naked eye. More information on the new discoveries and the new high-resolution scans of the Bestiary itself can be found here. 4 Lathallan Pipe Band to join New York Tartan Week 2017 celebrations A pipe band from Lathallan School, a small independent co- education boarding school in Johnshaven on the North East coast of Scotland, will join University of Aberdeen alumni next year in the annual Tartan Week parade down New York's famous 6th Avenue. The Lathallan Pipe Band have a proud 50 year history and the 20 band members and four accompanying staff are very much looking forward to playing and marching alongside members of the University of Aberdeen's New York Chapter and helping to fly the flag for both the University and the North East of Scotland. The parade takes place on Saturday 8 April 2017.