At this stage in his career, before his theatrical partnership with Gilbert was established, Sullivan was a working composer and conductor, travelling throughout Britain.
On this trip north he had already conducted in Glasgow. The orchestra was a part-time organization, with players recruited from London for the season, so he would have known many of them already. There was a symphony orchestra based in Dundee, which normally played for the choir, so it may have been Sullivan's familiarity with the Glasgow players that led to their engagement. Perhaps they were able to rehearse this piece for its Scottish premiere before their arrival in Dundee.
The Dundee Amateur Choral Union normally worked under its founder, the emigré Prussian Henry Nagel. However he did bring prominent composers of the day to conduct their own works in the city, most notably Sir Michael Costa, Sullivan and Sir Alexander Mackenzie.
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