Daniel's Beard. Not the name of a biblical artefact, a shaving emporium or the wish-fulfilment of a smooth-faced Harry Potter star – but an innovative chamber music collective in Glasgow. They take their name from the fantastically hirsute original architect of the newly revamped Cottier theatre in Glasgow's West End, Daniel Cottier.
The ensemble is about to host a series of 23 concerts as part of the city's West End festival. Entitled the Cottier Chamber Project, it starts on 3 June and will be the biggest chamber music series in Scotland. Daniel's Beard aren't hogging the whole series. They are a quixotic lineup, whose regular members include a couple of violins, clarinets, pianos and cellos, as well as horn-player Andy Saunders (who plays Lord Kelvin's – yes, the Lord Kelvin's – horn in works by Brahms and Eddie McGuire on 13 June). They'll be joined by the Dunedin Consort and the Red Note Ensemble, with programmes that take in everything from Mozart to Marsalis, William Sweeney to Thomas Wilson.
Brahms, though, is the focus; as their website reminds us, the composer was a "pub pianist" with a beard "every bit as impressive as Daniel Cottier's" Brilliantly, they say owners of Brahms-esque beards will get in for free, though whether that includes Brahmsian false beards is unclear. Either way, in a relaxed venue that includes a bar and restaurant, Daniel's Beard deserve support for their eye-catching programmes. And any series that includes the premiere of an intriguing new work called Justin Bieber Is Not Gay, a piece based on a snapshot of Twitter politics by Ian Anderson, alongside Ligeti and James MacMillan, has to be worth checking out.
