Guest blog by Mark Sheridan
Karst. Sounds Gaelic but spelt in German. Karst. You can almost hear the sound of crumbling and cracking rock and grit in the word itself. It describes distinctive landscapes and rock formations created by the erosion of a soluble rock – limestone for instance – and is most evident in the mountains and glens of Assynt in the north west and round the coast past Cape Wrath to Durness.

Guest blog by Mark Sheridan

Karst. Sounds Gaelic but spelt in German. Karst. You can almost hear the sound of crumbling and cracking rock and grit in the word itself. It describes distinctive landscapes and rock formations created by the erosion of a soluble rock – limestone for instance – and is most evident in the mountains and glens of Assynt in the north west and round the coast past Cape Wrath to Durness.

These ‘Tolkienesque’ mountains are also found in other parts of the world. I am writing this blog from the El Torcal mountain region in Andalucia and its remarkable similarity to Assynt has made me think of the many other connections between the Scottish environment and the Mediterranean I have experienced this summer. Landscapes, rural communities, agriculture, ancient heritage, vibrant cultural treasures and, for at least July 2013, a brief but welcome similarity in weather!

In June I attended a series of seminars, workshops and discussions in Athens on EC music projects accompanied by colleagues from various organisations. I have been leading these ‘Leonardo’ and ‘Grundtvig’ funded projects for the last two years and the Athens event was the culmination of our work to date – on the professional development needs of musicians and creative entrepreneurs across Europe. We also signed the ‘Declaration of Athens’, launching a new EC organisation designed to strengthen networks, collaborations and transnational mobility. The EURICCA initiative (European Research & Innovation Agency for Cultural Clusters) aims to provide new tools and innovative training paths to strengthen cultural, educational and business activities related to the music through Cultural Clusters, combining theory and practice. Anna-Wendy Stevenson, Simon Bradley and two UHI students were present, along with Fiona Dalgetty of Fèis Rois and Carol Main, Live Music Now. (Unfortunately David Francis of the Traditional Music Forum was unable to attend – but is very much part of the team.)

On the 21st of June, Simon led our musicians in a performance at the Byzantium Museum with pipers and drummers from the Greek islands of Crete and Ikaria – and it was a real islands affair, just as if the Barra and Uist folk had rolled in! This sort of musical collaboration is something we take for granted but it is clear from my experience that many areas of Europe (including the Greek Islands) can benefit from greater exposure to the Scottish experience – in which the growth and flourishing of Fèisean nan Gàidheal, Fèis Rois, ALP, TMSA and the music courses at LCC, UHI to name a few – have defined a renaissance in education, performance and business development in traditional music in our country. With this in mind I have already started planning routes to collaboration with our EC partners in Hungary and the Czech Republic, Northern Italy, Croatia and Poland. The Scottish and Mediterranean environments inspire new creations and innovations, new collaborations and routes to learning and the design of new ways of working and developing our business in music. And the multi layers of the environment – natural and geographical, cultural and historical, communities, social and business intersections and the economy within which we operate are all interlinked in the mind and work of the creative musician.

Working with the University of the Highlands and Islands I have designed a new MA: Music and the Environment to support musicians and creative artists to develop new tools, skills, insights, research and creative activities in the pursuit of professional development and sustainable practice. And to create greater collaborations, mobility and access to EC markets and opportunities. If you are interested in the MA, the EC work and any other issues in the blog – contact me – mark@sheridanmusic.com

MA Music and the Environment. Starting September 2013.