Woven

I've just about recovered from this weekend's performance of 'Woven', my New Voices commission, at Celtic Connections! A huge thank you to the festival for the opportunity, everyone at the Mitchell Theatre for helping it run smoothly on the day, and of course the band - Fiona, Mairearad, Ali, James and Phil - for all their hard work. I've really enjoyed the whole process, right through from the beginning of October up to the gig, and am thrilled with this Scotsman review today. Really looking forward to getting out and about to enjoy the rest of Celtic Connections, and also to hearing Lorne MacDougall and Rachel Newton's New Voices concerts, on 26th Jan and 2nd Feb respectively.  The New Voices strand to the festival is a really inspiring and worthwhile one; if you haven't already got tickets for these, check out the CC website for details.

Wading about in the murky waters of music composition

Celtic Connections have commissioned me to write a brand new piece as part of their annual New Voices concerts. I'm in very good company next year, with Lorne MacDougall and Rachel Newton also featuring. My concert is at 1pm on 19th January, Mitchell Theatre, Glasgow; here's the festival event page. I've got a lovely band playing with me: Fiona MacAskill (fiddle), Mairearad Green (accordion), Ali Hutton (guitar), James Lindsay (upright bass) and Phil Hague (percussion). It's a daunting but very exciting challenge; watch this space for updates...

 

 

Gateshead Old Town Hall gig

This Saturday 2nd November I'll be supporting Mairearad Green and Anna Massie in Gateshead. You can find more information here. I did my work experience at Folkworks when they were based at the Old Town Hall, ahead of their move to the Sage Gateshead a few years back. Really looking forward to playing there, and hearing Mairearad and Anna, too. I caught them in Glasgow earlier this year and they were fantastic. 

August

August 2013 has been filled with new musical experiences. I had a wonderful time tutoring at the Folkworks Junior Summer School - the children were just brilliant, and it was great to make new pals and catch up with some familiar faces too. I arrived back in Glasgow on the 12th. Dreams of the Summer School and even sleepwalking/teaching ensued, which just shows how much Folkworks takes a hold of you! 15th August saw an unusual last minute gig at Bellahouston Park with Admiral Fallow, opening for Kings of Leon. Special thanks to Jonny Scott of Olympic Swimmers for being our replacement drummer for the evening...

The following night I was really lucky to be involved in a special show at the Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh, with Tigerstyle's live presentation of their album Digi-Bhang. The night featured lots of great musicians, including Ishmeet Narula, Nav Sidhu, Iain MacLeod, Blair McMillan, Michael Bryan, strings from the Paragon Ensemble and more.

While Admiral Fallow were playing at Tønder Festival, I spent ten days in the northern California redwoods, at the Valley of the Moon Scottish Fiddle School. I had an amazing time, learned a lot from inspiring tutors, and don't think I've never met such a big group of genuinely nice people in one place! I'm definitely going to make a return visit one day.

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