Category: Uncategorized

Symposium: Beyond the Tune, 1st Nov

Lori Watson

Programme

Beyond the Tune: Traditional musicians creating new music

A knowledge-exchange symposium supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council

St Cecilia’s Concert Hall, Edinburgh.

10:00                      doors open, registration (refreshments provided)

10.30                     Panel 1

Chair: Dr Pàdruig Morrison

Welcome and the New Traditional School project

Dr Lori Watson, University of Edinburgh

Building the NTS Archive

Ceri Lumley-Sim, University of Edinburgh

The Blackbird Calls, The Concertina Answers

Short film improvisation from Simon Thoumire, Distil and NTS collection composer

Collections at the Scottish Music Centre

Dr Alasdair Pettinger, Scottish Music Centre

“The moment of composing is like a sea of freedom”: Improcomposing as a folk musician’s creative practice

Pauliina Syrjälä, Sibelius Academy, Uniarts Helsinki

12:15                     Lunch (provided in the Laigh Hall, V GF DF options)

13:15                      Panel 2

Chair: Dr Stuart Eydmann

Distil: Expanding Creative Horizons

Short film from David Francis, Distil and Traditional Music Forum

“A Sense of a Tradition”

Short film presented by Dr Lori Watson and Ruth Barrie, filmmaker

My Favourite Song: Beginning a tune, the very first energy and ideas

Artist Professor Timo Alakotila, Sibelius Academy, Uniarts Helsinki

Sounding, Improvising and Performing Beyond the Tunes

Dr Úna Monaghan, Queen’s University Belfast

15:00                     Discussion in the Laigh Hall (refreshments provided)

Coffee break plus a discussion in response to presenter provocations.

NB There will be soundchecks in the Concert Hall during this session.

  • What do traditional musicians have to offer through extended and experimental composition?
  • What and why are traditional musicians communicating through extended or experimental forms?
  • What aspects need to remain for new work to be thought of as traditional music?
  • How creative is traditional music practice?
  • What needs to exist for new work in this area to be considered experimental?
  • What does improvisation mean in traditional music?
  • What needs to happen for us to view performance in this area as improvisatory?

16:00                     Panel 3, performances with discussion

Chair: Dr Úna Monaghan

Improvisation

NTS Ensemble

Canongate

Aidan O’Rourke

Gleann Liadh, for string trio and piano

Adam Sutherland

Above and Below, for piano and fiddle

Jennifer Austin

It begins and ends with the breath, for four traditional musicians

Lori Watson

Breathing in Quoyloo, arranged for string quartet (orig. string quintet)

Corrina Hewat

Performers:

Mairi Campbell (fiddle/voice/MD)

Sally Simpson (fiddle)

Emma Tomlinson (viola)

Rufus Huggan (cello)

Jennifer Austin (keyboards)

Kirsty Law (voice)

Ross Blair (projections)

Joe Seal (sound)

Thanks to Ruth Barrie for filming the event.

18:00                     End