The Aberdeen and NE Scotland Music festival is a week-long annual traditional music festival in Aberdeen, Scotland, UK. The festival was created 1n 1909 by Professor Stanford Terry, to encourage music making and performance in the north east of Scotland. It was attended that year by well-known composer Sir Edward Elgar. The motto of the festival, "Not to gain a prize or defeat a rival but to pace one another on the road to excellence" continues to be relevant today.