Live Music Now Yehudi Menuhin Centenary

The New York-born violinist Yehudi Menuhin may be remembered best as a musician, but he was also a dedicated human rights activist and founder of Live Music Now. Branches of Live Music Now around the world will be remembering the man and his extraordinary legacy this year, as 2016 marks the centenary of his birth. … Continued

The Last Laugh Director Blogs on International Women’s Day

Shauna MacDonald is an experienced across a range of productions from Hollywood film (The Descent, The Mutant Chronicles) to major television drama (Taggart, State of Play, Spooks, Sea of Souls) as well as plenty of stage work, including the National Theatre of Scotland. We asked Shauna about directing The Last Laugh, with the backdrop to … Continued

Babel Med Scottish Artists Trade Stand, last chance

Showcase Scotland Expo will be hosting a trade stand at Babel Med Music in France next month (17th-19th March, more info on the event here http://www.dock-des-suds.org/babelmedmusic2016/en/).  Get items to Active Events this coming Monday for inclusion in the stand. This is a great opportunity to promote your music to the European industry at minimal expense to you. All you have … Continued

Exploring opportunities and challenges at the Storytelling Network Development Day

The 2016 Storytelling Network Development Day took place at Old Churches House in Dunblane last Saturday 27 February, bringing together a range of speakers and storytellers to explore the key opportunities and challenges facing the artform in Scotland today. The day’s events included a series of open discussions and guided workshops, ranging from advice on … Continued

People Dancing Summer School 2016

Tuesday 26 – Friday 29 July De Montfort University, Leicester   “Completely inspirational, I can’t wait to start delivering.” Hayley Earlam, Participant 2015. The People Dancing Summer School is back for 2016. This unique professional development experience offers the opportunity to develop your skills, and be inspired by great dance practice and renowned artists and leaders in … Continued

Storytelling on Film: creative opportunity, or contradiction in terms?

Storytelling on film: a creative opportunity or a contradiction in terms? According to an old Scottish traveller proverb, stories are told “eye to eye, mind to mind, and heart to heart”. Capturing a storyteller’s performance on camera might suggest a blockage between teller and listener; however, film can bring stories to audiences who otherwise would … Continued

In Memory of Angie Townsend 2016

Storyteller Angie Townsend recently passed away after brave and courageous fight with cancer. Her funeral takes place at St Michael’s Church in Inveresk today, followed by a celebration of her life which – as Angie wished – will see her old band ‘Seeing Red‘ perform in Musselburgh. Angie loved to tell stories to children, but was … Continued

ABC combine music with language learning in Scots and Gaelic

ABC Creative Music are an organisation aiming to produce programmes which engineer grown-up musical creativity into child-friendly resources. Their new programmes focus on Scots and Gaelic language (among others). ABC Favourites for Burns Night – ABC teamed up with leading folk singers Karine Polwart and Inge Thomson to produce resources that allow children to not only … Continued

New five week courses announced by Fun Fiddle

Five weeks of Americana fiddling and more, coming up Thursday 25th February! Following our hugely popular five week course into Scandinavian style and repertoire, tutored by Marit Falt, we are looking forward to a new run of classes on Americana with Rona Wilkie. This class is open to any instrument in C Clef and will … Continued

Tinto Summer School Registration Date Announced

Places at Tinto Summer School are highly sought-after and sell out quickly. Hands Up For Trad have announced the date registrations for 2016 will open: Registration for all the Tinto Schools of 2016 will commence at 10.00am on Saturday 27th February. I will be in my office on-hand to solve any problems as usual. The … Continued