Perth Festival of the Arts 1972 to 2024

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2018

Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra 2018

Event Date: 26th May 2018

Venue: Perth Concert Hall

Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra

Conducted by Michael Sanderling

With Jennifer Pike (violin)

Programme
- Weber Euryanthe Overture
- Bruch Violin Concerto
- Shostakovich Symphony No. 5

Renowned for her dazzling interpretative flair and exemplary technique (Classic FM), violinist Jennifer Pike has taken the musical world by storm with her unique artistry and compelling insight into music from the Baroque to the present day. In 1989 at the age of 12 she became the youngest-ever winner of the BBC Young Musician of the Year and the youngest major prizewinner in the Menuhin International Violin Competition.

The Dresden Philharmonic can look back on a 150-year-tradition as the orchestra of Saxony’s capital Dresden. Ever since 1870, when Dresden was provided with its first large concert hall, its symphony concerts have been an integral element of the city’s cultural life. The Dresden Philharmonic has remained a concert orchestra to this day, with regular excursions into concert performance and oratorio. Its homestead is the state-of-the-art concert hall inaugurated in April 2017 in the Kulturpalast building at the heart of the historic district. The principal conductor of the Dresden Philharmonic since 2011 is Michael Sanderling.

18.30 Pre-concert talk by Stephen Johnson “How Shostakovich changed my Mind”. Free but ticketed.
BBC music broadcaster and composer Stephen Johnson explores the power of Shostakovich’s music during Stalin’s reign of terror, and relates how it gave form to the fears and hopes of an oppressed nation. Johnson writes of the extraordinary healing effect of music on sufferers of mental illness and tells of how the music of Shostakovich gave him unexpected strength after struggling with bipolar disorder since adolescence.

Through interviews conducted with surviving members of the Soviet orchestras, through his reading of philosophers, psychoanalysts, and neurologists, Johnson paints a compelling picture of one man’s music and its power to validate and sustain another man’s life.

‘What I’m talking about is not simply my personal ‘journey’: rather, it’s a testimony to the sustaining, uplifting, ultimately restorative power of Shostakovich’s music.’

Yet there is no escapism, no false consolation in Shostakovich’s greatest music: this is some of the darkest, saddest, at times bitterest music ever composed. So why do so many feel grateful to Shostakovich for having created it – not just Russians, but westerners like Stephen Johnson, brought up in a far safer kind of society?

Johnson draws on interviews with the members of the orchestra who performed Shostakovich’s Leningrad Symphony during the siege of Leningrad, during which almost a third of the population starved to death. In the end, this book is a reaffirmation of a kind of humanist miracle: that hope could be reborn in a time when there was only ‘hope against hope’.

Johnson explores recent findings on the subject of the ‘musical brain’ in which the profound effect of music on the brain is coming to light
Publication ties in with the high profile tour of the St Petersburg Symphony, the same orchestra who played during the siege of Leningrad
Planned collaboration with the Dresden Philharmonic who are performing Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 in the UK in May 2018

Author Bio: Stephen Johnson has taken part in several hundred radio programmes and documentaries, including Radio 3's weekly Discovering Musicseries. He is also presenter on the Classic Arts podcast series Archive Classics. Stephen has made numerous appearances on TV, contributing as guest interviewee on BBC4 coverage of The Proms, ITV’s The South Bank Show, and more recently on BBC1’s The One Show. He also made an important contribution, both as commentator and narrator, to Tony Palmer’s controversial film about the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, Oh Thou Transcendent, and more recently to Palmer's film about Gustav Holst, In the Bleak Midwinter.

David Jones "Song Cycle" - free ticketed concert 2018

Event Date: 25th May 2018

Venue: Perth Concert Hall

Norie Miller Room, Perth Concert Hall

This event is free but ticketed

En route from John O’Groats to Land’s End on his Brompton folding bike, prize-winning baritone David Jones pauses to perform Vaughan Williams Songs of Travel alongside folksongs from his journey. Song Cycle is in support of Yehudi Menuhin’s charity Live Music Now.

For more information about David’s thousand-mile musical journey, visit www.song-cycle.com or follow @davidjonesbari on Twitter

Song Cycle is firstly an exploration of Vaughan Williams’s song cycle Songs of Travel, with
words by Robert Louis Stevenson. How does the experience of a long and arduous journey
change the singer’s approach to these songs?

With their Scottish words and English music, the Songs of Travel are a quintessentially British
expression of the emotions associated with travel and being in nature. On his thousand-mile
journey, David will pass close to the birthplaces of both Stevenson and Vaughan Williams and
through the landscapes that inspired their work, developing and deepening his interpretation of
the songs as he goes.

Alongside the Vaughan Williams songs, he will perform folk songs from the regions he passes
through, in a mixture of existing settings and newly-commissioned arrangements, with a focus
on the region in which the concert is being given.

This second strand of the project relates to Vaughan Williams’s own work in collecting folk
songs across Britain in the early twentieth century. In addition to research at the English Folk
Dance and Song Society before the project, there are plans to open an online portal for people
to submit examples of their favourite local songs.

A prizewinner in the 2015 AESS Patricia Routledge
English Song Competition, David Jones is equally
at home in song, oratorio and opera. He has a
particular interest in new music, and has given
premieres of works by Nick Bicât, Stephen
Deazley, Louis Mander and Josh Spear.

Recent highlights have included Papageno in Die
Zauberflöte and Guglielmo in Così fan tutte for the
Lyric Opera Studio Weimar and Sharpless in
Madam Butterfly for the King’s Head Theatre. He
toured the UK as part of Joshua Sofaer’s innovative
Opera Helps project and is a soloist on Yehudi
Menuhin’s Live Music Now scheme.

Jools Holland 2018

Event Date: 18th May 2018

Venue: Perth Concert Hall

The Brewin Dolphin Festival Concert

Jools Holland & his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra

featuring GILSON LAVIS
with special guest MARC ALMOND

and guest vocalists RUBY TURNER, LOUISE MARSHALL & ROSIE MAE

With support Galia Arad

Doors: 7 pm.
Support act on stage: 7.30 pm - 7.50 pm.
Jools Holland on stage: 8.20 pm. Finish time approx 10.30pm

We are delighted that this concert will be recorded and broadcast on Radio 2 on Friday Night is Music Night as part of the BBC Biggest Weekend.

Pianist, bandleader, singer, composer, television presenter and multiplatinum recording artist Jools Holland returns this year accompanied by special guest Marc Almond and the unforgettable Rhythm & Blues Orchestra. This will be Jool’s ninth visit to Festival. He first came in 1998 to play in Perth City Hall. He is a great favourite with the Festival audience.

We also are delighted to welcome Marc Almond back. Marc first began performing and recording with the new wave duo Soft Cell. Some of their hits included Tainted Love, Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye. He has also had a diverse career as a solo artist and has sold over 30 million records worldwide.

Jools Holland with be performing tracks spanning his entire solo career as well as songs taken from his new duets album ‘Sirens Of Song’, released November 2014. With a catalogue that reaches through decades, a night with Jools Holland will bring you the greatest boogie-woogie party in town.

Also featuring the astounding vocal power of Ruby Turner, the soulful tones of Louise Marshall and the tireless drums of original Squeeze member Gilson Lavis, along with the inimitable musicianship of the Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, Jools’ boogie-woogie party is not to be missed!

Jools Holland OBE DL was born Julian Miles Holland on January 24, 1958 in Blackheath, South East London. At the age of 15 Jools was introduced to Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford; together they formed Squeeze, and shortly afterwards they were joined by Gilson Lavis (who had already played with, among others, B. B. King, Chuck Berry and Max Wall), who still drums with Jools. Up The Junction and Cool For Cats gave Squeeze meteoric success and their popularity rapidly extended to America, where their tour included performances at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

In 1987 Jools formed The Jools Holland Big Band, comprising himself and Gilson Lavis. This has gradually metamorphosed into the current 20-piece Jools Holland and His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, which consists of pianist, organist, drummer, three female vocals, guitar, bass guitar, two tenor saxophones, two alto saxophones, baritone saxophone, three trumpets, and four trombones.
Jools' career as a television presenter has run parallel to his musical career. He started in the early 1980s when he interviewed The Police for a documentary that was made while they were recording at George Martin's Montserrat studio. Jools then auditioned to become co-presenter (with Paula Yates) of The Tube, which achieved almost immediate cult status and discovered a whole new generation of musicians and comedians between 1981 and 1986.

As always, Jools continues to dazzle audiences across the UK with his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra and their exuberant live performances. They have just come off an extensive UK tour and, for the 21st year in a row, celebrated the dawn of the new year with the whole nation on BBC2’s New Year’s Eve TV Show ‘Jools’ Annual Hootenanny’.

ArTay 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th May 2018

Event Date: 17th May 2018

Venue: Perth Concert Hall

ArTay

Curated by Frames Gallery
10.00 - 19.30 Thursday 17th May
10.00 - 19.30 from Friday - Saturday 18th & 19th May
10.00 - 18.00 Sunday 20th May
Beside Perth Concert Hall
Admission Free

Perth Festival is delighted to announce the return of arTay. This large exhibition of Contemporary Scottish Art and Craft was a big success when it ran from 2000-2005 and it is with great anticipation that we have decided to bring it back.

See some of the 2018 paintings click ArTay

•    It is called “arTay” and consists of a very large marquee erected outside of Perth Concert Hall and will hold an exhibition of Scottish Contemporary Art and Craft.
•    It will feature the work of over 80 artists and makers drawn from all over Scotland and there will be around 300 works on show
•    This is quite a unique event as it’s not an art fair and is much bigger than any normal commercial gallery could hold.
•    It is on for four days and admission is free.
•    Using the contacts that I have built up over the 30 odd years that I’ve been involved in Scottish Art, we will have an impressive range of work on show. From RSA members such as Gordon Mitchell, Doug Cocker and Reinhard      Behrens, RSW members such as Sandy Murphy, Charlie MacQueen, Christine Woodside alongside lesser known but still excellent artists.
•    The main aim of arTay is to make Contemporary Art as accessible as possible to as many people as possible and all the work will be for sale.
•    Perth Festival first held this event in 2000 and ran it for five years and now in 2014 it has been re-instated. It was one of the Festivals most successful events with around 5,000 people visiting the tent over the four days.
•    Perth Festival has been running for over 40 years and is one of the biggest festivals outside of Edinburgh but it has a reputation for being mostly performance based so this very costly investment in visual arts is a big commitment for them.
•    Below is a list of the artists who have currently agreed to take part.
•    Please contact me for more information and images if required: Hugh Goring: hugh.goring@framesgallery.co.uk 01738 631085

10am - 7.30pm
Free Admission

2017

Jools Holland & his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra 2017

Event Date: 19th May 2017

Venue: Perth Concert Hall

Jools Holland & his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra

featuring GILSON LAVIS
with special guest CHRIS DIFFORD

and guest vocalists RUBY TURNER, LOUISE MARSHALL & BETH ROWLEY

Support Lewis and Leigh

Doors: 7 pm.
Support act on stage: 7.30 pm - 7.50 pm.
Jools Holland on stage: 8.20 pm. Finish time approx 10.30pm

Pianist, bandleader, singer, composer, television presenter and multiplatinum recording artist Jools Holland returns this year accompanied by special guest Chris Difford. He will be accompanied by the sound of Jools’ unforgettable Rhythm & Blues Orchestra.

Jools Holland OBE DL was born Julian Miles Holland on January 24, 1958 in Blackheath, South East London. At the age of 15 Jools was introduced to Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford; together they formed Squeeze, and shortly afterwards they were joined by Gilson Lavis (who had already played with, among others, B. B. King, Chuck Berry and Max Wall), who still drums with Jools. Up The Junction and Cool For Cats gave Squeeze meteoric success and their popularity rapidly extended to America, where their tour included performances at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

In 1987 Jools formed The Jools Holland Big Band, comprising himself and Gilson Lavis. This has gradually metamorphosed into the current 20-piece Jools Holland and His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, which consists of pianist, organist, drummer, three female vocals, guitar, bass guitar, two tenor saxophones, two alto saxophones, baritone saxophone, three trumpets, and four trombones.
Jools' career as a television presenter has run parallel to his musical career. He started in the early 1980s when he interviewed The Police for a documentary that was made while they were recording at George Martin's Montserrat studio. Jools then auditioned to become co-presenter (with Paula Yates) of The Tube, which achieved almost immediate cult status and discovered a whole new generation of musicians and comedians between 1981 and 1986.
As always, Jools continues to dazzle audiences across the UK with his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra and their exuberant live performances. They have just come off an extensive UK tour and, for the 21st year in a row, celebrated the dawn of the new year with the whole nation on BBC2’s New Year’s Eve TV Show ‘Jools’ Annual Hootenanny’.

'Tosca' English Touring Opera 2017

Event Date: 18th May 2017

Venue: Perth Concert Hall

Conductor: Michael Rosewell
Director: Blanche McIntyre

Designer: Florence de Maré

Lighting Designer: Mark Howland

Puccini’s Tosca is one of the world’s best-loved operas, brimming with lust, corruption and intrigue.

When the firebrand revolutionary Cavaradossi is imprisoned, Tosca is faced with an impossible choice: submitting to the desires of the sadistic chief of police, or letting her lover be executed.

Directed by award-winning Blanche McIntyre, and featuring a trio of powerful British artists for Tosca, Cavaradossi and the malevolent Scarpia, ETO’s new production is sure to be a night of passion.

A new production. Sung in Italian with surtitles.

There will be a pre-show talk at 18.30 in the Norie Miller Room. Please reserve a free ticket at the Box Office.

English Touring Opera will also be performing shows at Fairview School for Children with Special Needs and for Primary Schools while they are visiting Perth.

Read the 4 star review of this production from The Stage from Hackney Empire click here

English Touring Opera seeks opera fans for role in brand new production of Tosca

English Touring Opera are seeking opera fans to play the walk on role of the cardinal in the English Touring Opera’s new production of Puccini’s Tosca.

A classic Puccini opera, Tosca is the story of Floria Tosca, the wife to a painter who is called upon to hide an escaped political prisoner. The chosen cardinal will contribute to Puccini’s heart-breaking story of double crossings, love and betrayal. At the climax of act one, the chosen cardinal will lead the Te Deum procession, a group of young choristers, through Rome, fully kitted out in clerical vestments, in this new opera directed by award winning theatre director Blanche McIntyre and conducted by ETO’s Music Director, Michael Rosewell. Don’t worry, no singing is actually required!

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for an opera lover to tread the boards in one of the world’s most recognisable and much loved operas, where you will join an exclusive group of 31 first-time performers from across the country. If you’re interested in performing the role, whether you’re an opera star, an actual cardinal or have never been on the stage before, please email Rebecca at rebecca.ryan@englishtouringopera.org.uk with a short paragraph on why you should play the cardinal, and your choice of performance date.

Scheduled finish time: 10pm

Martin Taylor and Alison Burns - 100 Years of Ella Fitzgerald

Event Date: 17th May 2017

Venue: The Loft

Celebrating 100 Years of Ella Fitzgerald

to be held at The Loft in 145 South Street, Perth, PH2 8NY

Please note the venue is on the first floor and there is no lift.
Please note that seats are unreserved and the ones in the balcony have resticted view.

When you think of legendary singer Ella Fitzgerald, you think of the some of the greatest music ever performed. 2017 marks a very special year as one of the most loved entertainer of all time Ella Fitzgerald will be celebrated around the world with a series of commemorative centennial events.

As part of these celebrations multi-award winning guitarist Martin Taylor and Scottish-Canadian jazz singer Alison Burns will be touring the UK for a series of concerts highlighting the Grammy-award winning collaboration between Ella and jazz guitarist Joe Pass.

Taylor and Burns who have performed for Prince William and whose fans include Sir Michael Parkinson and Downtown Abbey creator Julian Fellowes, will present a concert inspired by the intimate 1960's duo recordings of Joe Pass and Ella Fitzgerald.

Martin Taylor

Collaborations with artists including Jeff Beck, Tommy Emmanuel, Jamie Cullum and Bill Wyman have seen him garner two honorary doctorates, a BBC lifetime achievement award, Top 10 albums in both the USA and Europe, a record 14 British Jazz Awards and in 2002 he was appointed MBE ‘For Services to Jazz Music’ by Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain. As one of the world’s most recognized online guitar teachers his innovative online guitar school with its headquarters in Napa, CA has been featured on NPR, BBC, Fox News and the LA Times and is subscribed to by guitarists in over 58 countries.

Alison Burns
There are singers and there are jazz singers. There are jazz singers and there are a few artists who bring more to the microphone – their life, love, heartaches and joy. Alison Burns is one of those artists. Her debut album, Kissing Bug, was received with universal acclaim and became the first album by a Scottish jazz singer to reach the Jazz Top 10. So far she has played in far-flung destinations such as Tokyo, New York, Cannes, Italy and Shanghai and guested with The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and BBC Big Band.

2016

The Halle - Beethoven's 5th May 2016

Event Date: 29th May 2016

Venue: Perth Concert Hall

The Hallé with Elena Urioste conducted by Jamie Phillips

Don Juan. Op. 20. Richard Strauss
Violin Concerto in D minor, Op.47. Sibelius
Symphony No.5 in C minor, Op.67. Beethoven

Finish time will be around 9.05pm.

The Hallé was founded in Manchester by Sir Charles Hallé in 1858 and is now resident at the Bridgewater Hall. It ranks among the UK's top symphonic ensembles, with a distinguished history of acclaimed performances in this country and around the world; award-winning recordings, radio broadcasts and educational outreach programmes; and a visionary commitment to building audiences and developing orchestral repertoire.

Elena Urioste, recently selected as a BBC New Generation Artist and featured on the cover of Symphony magazine, has been hailed by critics and audiences alike for her lush tone, the nuanced lyricism of her playing, and her commanding stage presence. Since first appearing with the Philadelphia Orchestra at age thirteen, she has made acclaimed debuts with major orchestras.She has performed recitals in such distinguished venues as Wigmore Hall in London, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Konzerthaus Berlin, the Sage Gateshead in Newcastle, and the Mondavi Center at the University of California-Davis.

Jamie Phillips, Associate Conductor of the Hallé Orchestra and Los Angeles Philharmonic Dudamel Fellow, has already developed a strong guest-conducting profile. With a clear, expressive technique and innate musicality, he demonstrates a natural authority and confidence on the rostrum.

Engagements in the 2015/16 season include debut concerts with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Nash Ensemble, Residentie Orkest, Philharmonie Zuidnederland, Kammerakademie Potsdam and Västerås Sinfonietta.

In recent seasons, Phillips has conducted the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Manchester Camerata, Ulster Orchestra, RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, Camerata Salzburg, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra and Brussels Philharmonic. In 2015 Jamie Phillips also conducted the Hallé in subscription concerts at the Bridgewater Hall Manchester in a programme of Glinka, Beethoven and Rachmaninov.

He is also Music Director of the Hallé Youth Orchestra and is heavily involved in many of the Hallé’s education programmes and concerts.

“Phillips already has little to fear from comparison with most visiting conductors on the circuit. That he can persuade the Hallé to play with such affection, energy and swing is equal tribute to their professionalism and his gifts.” The Telegraph

Jools Holland & his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra 2016

Event Date: 28th May 2016

Venue: Perth Concert Hall

Jools Holland & his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra
featuring GILSON LAVIS
with Pauline Black & Arthur “Gaps” Hendrickson from The Selecter

and guest vocalists RUBY TURNER & LOUISE MARSHALL

Supported by Purdy

Doors: 7 pm.
Support act on stage: 7.30 pm - 7.50 pm.
Jools Holland on stage: 8.20 pm. Finish time approx 10.30pm

Pianist, bandleader, singer, composer, television presenter and multiplatinum recording artist Jools Holland returns this year accompanied by special guests, The Selecter’s Pauline Black and Arthur ‘Gaps’ Hendrickson and they will be accompanied by the sound of Jools’ unforgettable Rhythm & Blues Orchestra.

The Selecter released their debut album ‘Too Much Pressure’ in 1980 and it still remains a milestone in British music history. Fresh from celebrating their 35th anniversary, vocalists Pauline Black and Arthur ‘Gaps’ Hendrickson return to the stage this year and will make a unique addition to the tour line-up.

Jools Holland OBE DL was born Julian Miles Holland on January 24, 1958 in Blackheath, South East London. At the age of 15 Jools was introduced to Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford; together they formed Squeeze, and shortly afterwards they were joined by Gilson Lavis (who had already played with, among others, B. B. King, Chuck Berry and Max Wall), who still drums with Jools. Up The Junction and Cool For Cats gave Squeeze meteoric success and their popularity rapidly extended to America, where their tour included performances at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
In 1987 Jools formed The Jools Holland Big Band, comprising himself and Gilson Lavis. This has gradually metamorphosed into the current 20-piece Jools Holland and His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, which consists of pianist, organist, drummer, three female vocals, guitar, bass guitar, two tenor saxophones, two alto saxophones, baritone saxophone, three trumpets, and four trombones.
Jools' career as a television presenter has run parallel to his musical career. He started in the early 1980s when he interviewed The Police for a documentary that was made while they were recording at George Martin's Montserrat studio. Jools then auditioned to become co-presenter (with Paula Yates) of The Tube, which achieved almost immediate cult status and discovered a whole new generation of musicians and comedians between 1981 and 1986.
As always, Jools continues to dazzle audiences across the UK with his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra and their exuberant live performances. They have just come off an extensive UK tour and, for the 21st year in a row, celebrated the dawn of the new year with the whole nation on BBC2’s New Year’s Eve TV Show ‘Jools’ Annual Hootenanny’.

KT Tunstall with support Stevie McCrorie, The Voice winner. May 2016

Event Date: 27th May 2016

Venue: Perth Concert Hall

Timings for tonight

· 19:30 Doors to auditorium open

· 20:00 Stevie McCrorie, 2015 winner of The Voice.
· 21:00 KT Tunstall onstage

· 22:30 end gig

KT Tunstall is back with a new album out in May, she will be playing a mixture of new and old hits.

BBC The Voice winner in 2015 Stevie McCrorie will support KT Tunstall.

There will be free entry into The Loft Nightclub in South Street for an aftershow party. Bring your ticket with you.

Seats and standing available. No under 14s in the standing area. 14-16s should be accompanied by an adult.

Way out in the desert KT Tunstall found herself. There she was, in cactus-country, Arizona, far from the adoptive London scene that provided the backdrop to four albums, 4 million sales, one Ivor Novello and one Brit Award, and further still from the Scottish folk heartland that had nurtured her. She was working with Giant Sand frontman Howe Gelb; maverick, desert punk spirit, a storied musician and producer. In Tucson’s Wavelab Studios, the pair were recording a set of songs that had bloomed into life, almost without Tunstall knowing it, and that foreshadowed two momentous events that would make summer 2012 a turning point in the 37-year-old singer/songwriter’s life.

“I’d always had this yearning to crack open my ribcage and be able to let everything out,” she reflects. She had attempted it through her personal journal writing, but had never had the confidence – the unselfconsciousness – to do it in song. “And then last year led to it all happening without even trying anymore,” says Tunstall. She’s referring to the death of her dad last August, then, the following month, her split from her musician husband. “But you know, the first half of the record was written before any of that happened, so there is a kind of weird savant quality to it.”

The result: an album of two halves, both temporally and physically. Invisible Empire//Crescent Moon straddles either end of 2012, the year KT Tunstall’s world was rocked from its axis before settling on a new emotional orientation. Each was recorded in Arizona, and both are swaddled with atmosphere, poignancy and, yes, hurt – but, also, hope. One, oddly, prefigures the losses that were to come; the other, beautifully, captures a new, reinvigorated state of being in the aftermath. Together, they combine to create the album of Kate Victoria Tunstall’s life.

At the beginning of last year, the Scottish singer, songwriter and musician had no immediate plans to make a new album. After touring the world in support of 2010’s Tiger Suit, she had intended to take things easy for a while. Circumstances, and frustrations, and desire, though, wouldn’t let her rest.

“The last record was the beginning, I think, of a bit of a rebellion. I’d spent at that point six years on a pretty full tilt ride…whilst doing what I was doing within a very pop formula. So while I wasn’t always producing typical pop music, the way I was recording it, and the way those albums were getting to people, were in a pretty standard fashion in terms of being a pop artist signed to a major label. I needed things to change.”

In the wake of the electronic-flavoured Tiger Suit, Tunstall decided to go “absolutely the other way”. In 2011 she recorded an EP, The Scarlet Tulip. Just her, at home, with a picked guitar. “So easy and so relaxed,” she beams. “It was great. And that fed into enjoying the idea of stripping back completely.”

Around the same time her old Fife musician friend King Creosote (Kenny Anderson) asked if she’d be a vocal partner as he and Jon Hopkins toured their Mercury-nominated album Diamond Mine (2011). Popping up on the occasional stage in support of an album she felt was “astounding” was another palate-cleansing experience for a singer who had been on an album-tour-album treadmill for over half a decade.

“Singing with Kenny again feels like a bit of a seminal moment for me,” she admits. Firstly she was honoured to help out on the Diamond Mine tour, having sung with Anderson on various projects for almost 20 years. And secondly, she loved travelling round the UK, experiencing these “totally silent and emotional” audiences. “Seeing people really desperate for something meaningful and something beautiful,” she elaborates. “And something executed passionately and with real craft. It was just such an antidote to a lot of stuff that’s out there at the moment."

Then came another collaboration: Jools Holland asked her to join his big band. It was her voice he was after, not just her personality. For the first time, Tunstall began to consider herself not just as a musician but specifically as a singer.

“So this album is about singing,” she states, and readers would here be directed towards the graceful, gently orchestral triumph that is the song Crescent Moon as evidence of Tunstall’s sublime on-mic skills, “and it’s about my voice. That was what I wanted to be the centrepiece of the album, which I’d not done before.”

Then, the third in a triptych of turning-point hook-ups. Robyn Hitchcock asked Tunstall to join a touring show called The Floating Palace. It was Hitchcock, Tunstall, Martin and Eliza Carthy, Krystle Warren and Howe Gelb. “Completely opposing musicians!” she smiles, “but we all played as each other’s band, and it was great.”

She and Gelb, whom she’d never met before, hit it off, “mostly over a bottle of whiskey at the Glasgow gig, actually. And he’s just such good fun. He’s mischievous and he’s a maverick and he’s got a great bad attitude towards convention and is musically very exciting.” It was a union of distant but, as it transpired, confluent minds. “It was like aliens from different planets meeting each other for the first time.”

Gelb invited Tunstall to record in his favourite studio in Tucson, Wavelab. Last February she travelled to Arizona for a two-week session. She laid down sketches for eight songs, based on “some pretty dumb guitar patterns and incredibly simple chord progressions”.

How You Kill Me emerged that spring, a woozy, hypnotic blues. “Lifting me up to those branches, letting me look on the world…” sings Tunstall, leaning in close to the mic. “Just as I sing like a bird, you, you shoot me down for your fun…”

“It’s about basically knowing your potential – knowing you’re great – but not being able to see it through because of your own insecurities and not feeling a support system around you."

Made Of Glass was another song from that period. As the title telegraphs, it’s a song about the fragility of life. “That was written way before my dad died,” she says of a composition about a friend who suddenly died from pancreatic cancer aged only 34. Just before he died he’d gifted her a cut-glass vase. The irony hit home afterwards. “I was like, you absolute bastard!” she laughs. “The one thing I’ve got that you’ve given me is the most breakable thing I own.”

Months later, before the loss of her dad, she would write Carried, a drifting, chamber piece that seems to bottle the desert atmospherics. It’s about being transported over the threshold of life, inspired by her fathers' physical struggle, but soon to be unusual in it's clairvoyant nature.

Feel It All, the album’s first single, is absolute torch-song and twang, and appears on the album in two versions; the original album version, with PJ Harvey collaborator John Parish on drumming duty and recorded at his Bristol studio and the ‘band jam’ version which was recorded live in Tucson. “It’s probably the most personal song for me on the album,” she says of a song that sits alongside Crescent Moon and rippling piano-ballad Yellow Flower as showcasing Tunstall’s best ever vocals, rich and intimate. “I started that just before dad died and I finished it just after my split. So it was absolutely birthed out of the intensity of those two things happening. It was real medicine for me, that song.

She offers listeners a tonic, too, on the closing No Better Shoulder, a surging acoustic number that builds and builds to a belting, squealing, country-psych rocker that should catalyse a cathartic outburst of emotion when Tunstall starts touring her new, split-but-united album later this spring.

“After the mood of the record I really wanted something that took you out at the end, and woke you up from this spell, if you like. Because I found that anything uptempo I was trying to fit into the tracklisting burst the bubble. And I wanted to stay within that. So No Better Shoulder is the way out at the end.”

For sure, Invisible Empire//Crescent Moon is an album coloured by melancholy. But it’s not a grief album, she insists, and nor is it a break-up album. Not one of the songs on the second half directly references her divorce. Still, it is, as she says, an album in which she self-administers open-heart surgery. “Invisible Empire is probably the most relevant in terms of what was going to happen,” she says of the album opener, a song that wheezes into life before settling into an unsettling jaunty rhythm. “In that song I think there was a subconscious realisation that things weren't as they should be – my subconscious was ahead of me, and I was catching up.”

The song, she admits with a laugh, could be her in a nutshell: a cloud on the horizon but a skip in her step.

“A big thing about the album for me,” concludes KT Tunstall, who – prior to a summer run of festival band shows – will be touring solo, unaccompanied, “is that I don’t care if it’s sad. I want it to be an emotional experience. But I don’t actually think it is a sad album. Melancholic is probably quite a good description of it. But it really is me now coming from a place where I don’t feel the need to please anybody but myself. I always liked to think that’s where I was before – but I don’t think I was."

Tickets on sale 10am Monday 28th March 2016.
Friends book 10am Monday 21st March only £10 join online.

Aquarelle Guitar Quartet May 2016

Event Date: 25th May 2016

Venue: Perth Concert Hall

Michael Baker, Vasilis Bessas, James Jervis and Rory Russell

Programme
Overture from L'Italiana in Algeri, arr. Richard Safhill
Opals - Philip Houghton
Lento, from Three Welsh Dances – Dalwyn Henshall, arr. Mike Baker
Quiccan – Andrew York
Themes from Frida - Elliot Goldenthal, arr. Mike Baker
Il Postino - Luis Bacalov, arr. Rory Russell
De Usuahia a la Quiaca - Gustavo Santaolalla (from Motorcycle Diaries), arr. Vasilis Bessas
Cumba-Quin - Carlos Rivera
Folias - Ian Krouse

Recognised as one of Britain’s leading chamber music groups, the Aquarelle Guitar Quartet is a dynamic and innovative ensemble known for its extraordinary ensemble in performance, expansive repertoire and ground breaking work in developing the guitar quartet medium. The quartet has performed extensively across the UK and abroad to critical acclaim, and is admired for its original arrangements of music from a wide range of styles, periods and cultures. The group also frequently performs new works by internationally renowned composers such as Clarice Assad (Brazil), Phillip Houghton (Australia), Stephen Dodgson (UK) and Nikita Koshkin (Russia) as well as drawing on existing repertoire.

Formed originally at the Royal Northern College of Music (in 1999), under the guidance of Craig Ogden and Gordon Crosskey, the quartet went on to study with renowned guitarists such as Sérgio Assad, Oscar Ghiglia and Scott Tennant. Since then, they have received many awards and in 2009 were signed exclusively to Chandos Records. The first two albums, “Dances” (released in June 2010) and “Spirit of Brazil” (March 2009) both received excellent reviews from the press. BBC Music Magazine awarded “Spirit of Brazil” five stars for both performance and recording, commenting: “With outstanding playing and infectious spirit, this is no mere niche guitar CD, but a luscious and lively general-appeal winner” and International Record Review said of the quartet: “If one guitar quartet can give a traditional string quartet a run for its money in terms of abundant technique and breathtaking artistry, it is the Aquarelle Guitar Quartet”.

Their subsequent disc ‘Final Cut’, featuring the group’s own arrangements of celebrated film themes, was chosen as Classic FM Drive’s CD of the week, on its release in June, was given a five stars review by Time Out Magazine and has since been given exceptional praise by Sinfini Music (Universal), International Record Review and American Record Guide.

Tickets on sale 10am Monday 28th March 2016.
Friends book 10am Monday 21st March only £10 join online.

The Unthanks May 2016

Event Date: 24th May 2016

Venue: Perth Concert Hall

Nominated for the Mercury Music Prize and the only British folk representation in The Guardian’s and Uncut’s best albums of last decade (worldwide, all genres), The Unthanks have an army of notable fans, including actor Martin Freeman, Elvis Costello, Colin Firth, Robert Wyatt, Ben Folds, Ryan Adams, Rosanne Cash, members of Portishead and Radiohead, Dawn French, Paul Morley, Ewan McGregor, Ade Edmondson and Nick Hornby. The Unthanks is a family affair for Tyneside sisters Rachel and Becky Unthank, with Rachel married to pianist, producer, arranger and composer, Adrian McNally. Using the traditional music of the North East of England as a starting point, the influence of Steve Reich, Miles Davis, Sufjan Stevens, Robert Wyatt, Antony & The Johnsons, King Crimson and Tom Waits can be heard in the band’s 8 albums to date, including Mount The Air, released to huge critical acclaim earlier this year.

There are no easy one-liners to capture who or what The Unthanks are. You might find them singing in a Tyneside folk club one night, and playing to 2000 Londoners the next, having performed to a primary school in the afternoon. You might find them collaborating with Adrian Utley (Portishead) one moment, and writing the score to an archive film about the shipyards the next. Or visiting Africa with Damon Albarn, Flea and Joan As Policewoman and then presenting a TV programme for BBC4 about traditional dance. Rubbing shoulders with Robert Plant, Adele, Elbow and Radiohead at the Mercurys, or in a bunkhouse on the coastline of Northumberland cooking for 50 fans on one of their residential singing weekends. Running singing sessions in the back of a pub on a Monday before heading off to tour America or Australia on the Tuesday. Signing licensing deals with EMI while continuing to record vocals in broom cupboards under the stairs. Spending 9-5 managing their own careers without agents or labels, and heading down the studio in the evening to write scores for a project with a symphony orchestra. Collaborating with Orbital while championing songs from the folk club floor singers of the North East and re-presenting them to anyone who wants to listen. You’ll find them played by the folk show on BBC Radio 2, but equally by cutting edge BBC6 Music, Radio 3 and Radio 1 DJs. You might find them on the cover of a folk magazine like fRoots or in the pages of NME. For every glamorous accolade, there is an act of grounded integrity.

Recent adventures beyond their central activity a brass band collaboration with national champions Brighouse and Rastrick, a reimagining of the work of Robert Wyatt and Antony Hegarty, and a soundtrack to a film about the shipbuilding industry - plus collaborations Orbital, Sting, Adrian Utley (Portishead), Martin Green (Lau), Martin Hayes, The MacColl brothers, The Voice Squad, conductor Charles Hazlewood, The Moulettes and German composer Werner Cee.

www.the-unthanks.com

Tickets on sale 10am Monday 28th March 2016.
Friends book 10am Monday 21st March only £10 join online.

Pascal & Ami Roge - Satie and Les Six.

Event Date: 23rd May 2016

Venue: Perth Concert Hall

Programme - Satie and Les Six

2 hands and 4 hands

SATIE: Parade

DEBUSSY: Petite Suite

SATIE: Morceaux en forme de poire

SATIE: Gnossienne No. 2

RAVEL: Ma Mere l'Oye

SATIE: 1st Gymnopedie

SATIE: Je te veux

MILHAUD: Enfantines

TAILLEFERRE: Images

DUREY: Carillons

AURIC: Adieu New-York

HONEGGER: Pastorale d'été

POULENC: Sonata for Piano Duet

Pascal Rogé exemplifies the finest in French pianism. Born in Paris, he was a student of the Paris Conservatory and was also mentored by Julius Katchen and the great Nadia Boulanger. Winner of Georges Enesco piano competition and 1st prize of Marguerite Long Piano competition, he became an exclusive Decca recording artist at the age of seventeen. His playing of Poulenc, Satie, Fauré, Saint-Saëns and especially Ravel, is characterized by its elegance, beauty and stylistically perfect phrasing.

Mr. Rogé has performed in almost every major concert hall in the world and with every major orchestra across the globe and has collaborated with the most distinguished conductors in history, including Lorin Maazel, Michael Tilson Thomas, Mariss Jansons, Charles Dutoit, Kurt Masur, Edo de Waart, Alan Gilbert, David Zinman, Marek Janowski, Sir Andrew Davis, Raymond Leppard and others. One of the world’s most distinguished recording artists, Pascal Rogé has won many prestigious awards, including two Gramophone Awards, a Grand Prix du Disque and an Edison Award for his interpretations of the Ravel and Saint- Saens concerti along with the complete piano works of Ravel, Poulenc and Satie.

Several years ago, Mr. Rogé began a new and ambitious recording project for Onyx called the Rogé Edition. With the Vienna Radio Symphony under Bertrand de Billy, he has recently recorded two CDs of both of the Ravel Piano Concerti and the Gershwin Concerto in F and Rhapsody in Blue.

Recently, Pascal  has  enjoyed  playing  recitals  for four-hands / two-pianos with  his  partner  in life and in music Ami Rogé.  Together, they  have travelled  the  world  appearing at  prestigious festivals and  concert halls and recorded  several  CDs  dedicated  to  the  French  2  piano  and  4  hands repertoire. In 2011 they have given the  premiere  of a  newly commissioned Concerto  for  Two  Pianos  by  the  composer  Matthew  Hindson  with  the Sydney  Symphony  Orchestra  conducted by  Vladimir  Ashkenazy.

Recently chairman of the Geneva Piano competition, Pascal Rogé is also dedicated to teaching and gives regular masterclasses in France, Japan, United States and United Kingdom.

Tickets on sale 10am Monday 28th March 2016.
Friends book 10am Monday 21st March only £10 join online.

The John Wilson Orchestra - The Broadway Sound with Julian Ovenden May 2016

Event Date: 22nd May 2016

Venue: Perth Concert Hall

The John Wilson Orchestra will make its debut at the Perth Festival on Sunday 22^nd May with a show celebrating the golden age of Broadway. The orchestra will be joined by special guest singer Julian Ovenden. The John Wilson Orchestra will be releasing its new CD for Warner Classics @Gershwin in Hollywood – Live from The Royal Albert Hall’ on May 6th.

The John Wilson Orchestra The Broadway Sound

Conducted by John Wilson

An evening of songs and orchestral pieces from the golden age of the Broadway stage musical. The orchestra has established an international reputation performing repertoire from the golden era of Hollywood and Broadway musicals and music for the big screen and appears regularly at the BBC Proms, at international festivals and concert halls and on television and radio. ‘Technicolour for the ears? You better believe it!’ - The Independent

Conductor and arranger John Wilson formed The John Wilson Orchestra in 1994. The orchestra has an international reputation as a unique hand-picked ensemble of some of the world’s finest musicians. The orchestra specialises in recording contemporary film soundtracks and authentic concert performances of classic film musical scores. Outside of the concert hall the orchestra has contributed to soundtrack recordings for films including The Gathering Storm and in 2007 was nominated for a Grammy Award for ‘Best Soundtrack’ for Beyond the Sea starring Kevin Spacey as Bobby Darin. .

The orchestra has recorded critically acclaimed CDs for Vocalion including This Is The John Wilson Orchestra, Orchestral Jazz, Shall We Dance?, Soft Lights and Sweet Music, Moonlight Becomes You, Film and Television Music of Angela Morley and Dance Date.

In addition the John Wilson Orchestra has collaborated on a CD recording for Sir Paul McCartney. The orchestra has performed on British TV, including Parkinson, and was recently invited to perform a concert for HRH Prince of Wales American Foundation at Buckingham Palace.

In August 2009 the John Wilson Orchestra made its debut at the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in a concert celebrating the 75th anniversary of the MGM film musicals. The concert was broadcast live on British television. In August 2010 the orchestra returned to the BBC Proms in a celebration of Rodgers & Hammerstein film musicals.

In the autumn of 2010 the John Wilson Orchestra performed its first national tour of the United Kingdom. The John Wilson Orchestra performed a Christmas special Swingin’ Christmas for BBC Television which was broadcast on Christmas night 2010. The John Wilson Orchestra records exclusively for Warner Classics.

2015

The Massed Bands of Her Majesty's Royal Marines 2015

Event Date: 31st May 2015

Venue: Perth Concert Hall

Combined bands of Scotland and Portsmouth - Festival of Music
This is the world famous programme performed at the Albert Hall in London
Compered by John Suchet
Finish Time 10.30pm

This programme shows the versatility of the Royal Marines Bands at its best with traditional marches, the spectacular Corps of Drums, highly talented soloists, classical works by Arturo Marques and Delibes, film music and much, much more. There is even a special tribute to 100th Anniversary of the First World WarGallipoli Campaign that leads into a traditional patriotic naval finale. This is a high class production from some of the finest military musicians in the country that would appeal to all ages and all the family.

Programme

Conductor: Lieutenant Colonel Nick Grace OBE RM – Principal Director of Music Royal Marines

The National Anthem Jacob

Opening Fanfare Heroic Return Keresztes arr. Powell

Introducing the Corps of Drums Victory in Europe Smallwood

Drum Display Invictus Paine/Thomas/Williams

Band & Drum Feature Cape Helles Young

Bugle March HMS Ocean Waterer

Quick March of the Royal Marines Sarie Marais Dunn

Overture Danzon No.2 Arturo Marquez

Conductor: Captain Andy Gregory RM – Director of Music, The Band of Her Majesty's Royal Marines Scotland

Clarinet Solo Puttin’ on the Marmalade Shields arr. Hodge

(Soloists: Musn Wright &

Musn Hudson)

Flute Solo Vocalise Rachmaninov arr. Hodge

(Soloist: BdCpl Merrell-Silk)

Percussion Exhibition Root Beer Rag Joel arr. McDermott

(Soloists: BdCpl Smith &

Musn Tompkins)

Pixar Blockbuster Symphonic Animation arr. Johnson

(Soloists: BdCpl Botham, trombone; Musn Woolley,

saxophone; Cpl Bug Sumner, vocalist; BdCpl Upton,

flugel and trumpet.

Conductor: Captain Daryl Powell RM – Director of Music, The Band of Her Majesty's Royal Marines Portsmouth

Opening March Sequence Parade of the Slave Children Williams arr. Waller

Evolution Blundel/Lee/Silk

Cavalry of the Clouds Alford

Popular Music Andrews Sisters Various arr. Hodge

(Soloists: BdSgt Trudgeon,

BdCpl Merrell-Silk & Musn Carnegie)

The King Various arr. Hodge

(Soloist: BdCpl Lloyd)

Conductor: Lieutenant Colonel Nick Grace OBE RM – Principal Director of Music Royal Marines

Music from the Ballet Les Chasseresses Delibes arr. Davis

Tribute to WW1 Gallipoli McDermott

Hymn & Sunset Sunset Ellerby

Patriotic Salute Britannic Salute Shillito

March Past of the Royal Navy Heart of Oak Boyce

Regimental March of the Royal Marines A Life on the Ocean Wave Russell

Red Priest - Handel in the Wind 2015

Event Date: 28th May 2015

Venue: St John's Kirk of Perth

9.30pm Finish Time

RED PRIEST
Piers Adams – recorders
Julia Bishop – violin
Angela East – cello
David Wright – harpsichord

HANDEL IN THE WIND
Music by GEORGE FREDERICK HANDEL (1685-1759) arranged by Red Priest
The Messiah Suite: Part 1
Overture - Comfort Ye - Every Valley
Sonata in F Major Op 2 No 4
Larghetto - Vivace - Adagio - Alla Breve – Allegro
Largo and Passacaglia in G minor
Vo Far Guerra (from Rinaldo) for Harpsichord Solo
The Messiah Suite: Part 2
Shepherds and Angels – Eternal Source of Light – Darkness – The Blind Man – The Recorder Shall Sound
Zadok the Red Priest
Recorder Sonata in B Minor
Largo – Vivace – Furioso – Adagio – Alla Breve
Lascia Ch’Io Pianga
The Harmonious Blacksmith Variations
The Messiah Suite: Part 3
Despised – Siciliano – Why do the Nations? – Breaking the Bonds – The Potter’s Vessel – Hallelujah

Red Priest is the only early music group in the world to have been compared in the press to the Rolling Stones, Jackson Pollock, the Marx Brothers, Spike Jones and the Cirque du Soleil. This extraordinary acoustic foursome has been described by music critics as “visionary and heretical,” “outrageous yet compulsive,” “wholly irreverent and highly enlightened,” “completely wild and deeply imaginative,” with a “red-hot wicked sense of humour” and a “break-all-rules, rock-chamber concert approach to early music.”
Founded in 1997, and named after the flame-haired priest, Antonio Vivaldi, Red Priest has given several hundred sell-out concerts in many of the world’s most prestigious festivals, including the Hong Kong Arts Festival, Moscow December Nights Festival, Schwetzingen Festival, Prague Spring Festival, Ravinia Festival, Bermuda Festival, and in most European countries, Japan, Australia, and throughout North and Central America. The group has been the subject of hour-long TV profiles for NHK (Japan) and ITV (UK) - the latter for the prestigious South Bank Show in 2005, which documented the launch of the Red Hot Baroque Show, an electrifying marriage of old music with the latest light and video technology.
In 2008 Red Priest launched its own record label, Red Priest Recordings, which is now the home for all of the recordings of the ensemble and its members, and has attracted much attention in the music press worldwide. Recent releases have included a swashbuckling collection entitled “Pirates of the Baroque” and the group’s all-Bach blockbuster, “Johann, I'm Only Dancing.”
To find keep informed about Red Priest’s concerts and recordings join the Red Priest mailing list at www.redpriest.com - or visit our fan-page on Facebook!

Piers Adams has been heralded in the Washington Post as ‘the reigning recorder virtuoso in the world today’.   He has performed in numerous festivals and at premiere concert halls throughout the world, including London’s Royal Festival, Wigmore and Queen Elizabeth Halls, and as concerto soloist with the Philharmonia, the Academy of Ancient Music, the Singapore Symphony and the BBC Symphony. Piers has made several solo CDs reflecting an eclectic taste, ranging from his award-winning Vivaldi début disc to David Bedford’s Recorder Concerto - one of many major works written for and premiered by him. He has also researched, arranged and recorded many classical, romantic, impressionist and folk-influenced showpieces, which are a mainstay of his recital programs.

Julia Bishop is one of the outstanding baroque violin specialists of her generation, with a virtuoso style described in the BBC Music Magazine as ‘psychedelic’.   She has toured the world with most of the UK's leading period instrument orchestras, including the English Concert, of which she was a member for six years. Julia has worked extensively as an orchestral leader and soloist, in particular with the celebrated Gabrieli Consort, with whom she has performed internationally and appeared on numerous discs for Deutsche Grammophon. She has also appeared as concerto soloist with Florilegium, the Brandenburg Consort and the Hanover Band.

Angela East is widely respected as one of the most brilliant and dynamic performers in the period instrument world, praised in The Times, London, for the “elemental power” of her cello playing. She has given numerous concerto performances in London's Queen Elizabeth and Wigmore Halls, and has performed as soloist and continuo cellist with many of Europe's leading baroque orchestras, as well as with her own ensemble, the Revolutionary Drawing Room. Among her impressive list of concert credits are La Scala, Milan, Sydney Opera House, Versailles and Glyndebourne.   Her long awaited disc of Bach’s Cello Suites was recently released on Red Priest Recordings, together with a recital disc of popular baroque cello sonatas.

David Wright was an almost entirely self taught musician before gaining a scholarship to the Royal College of Music, where he won several prizes, including the International Broadwood Competition, and graduated with distinction. Since then he has worked with some of the world’s leading musicians including Emma Kirkby, James Bowman and Steven Varcoe, and as a soloist with many groups of international renown. He has directed numerous concerts from the harpsichord, including the first modern performance of Arne's The Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green, and is guest conductor to several European orchestras. Much of David's time in recent years has been devoted to performing Bach’s Goldberg Variations, which he recorded in 2007 and has since toured extensively, and performed on TV and radio.   He joined Red Priest in 2011, taking over from his predecessor in a Dr. Who style regeneration event in BREMF 2010!

The Sixteen 2015

Event Date: 26th May 2015

Venue: St John's Kirk of Perth

The Choral Pilgrimage Flight of the Angels - Finish time 9.10pm approx

In 2015 The Sixteen takes a trip back to 16^th-century Spain and more specifically to one of the biggest, richest and most cosmopolitan cities on earth - Seville. It was during this Spanish ‘golden age’ when arts and culture flourished, that Francisco Guerrero and Alonso Lobo made their mark.
Between them these two composers capture an astonishing variety of moods within their music, from ecstasy and joy to despair, longing and devotional stillness.

‘There are surely few composers who can boast a pilgrimage to the Holy Land; Guerrero made his in 1558 and published a book about his incredible journey. He was reputed to have been a person of gentleness and charm and in possession of a beautiful high tenor voice, and it is that singing quality that comes across in his works - every line is a joy to sing. The acclaimed music scholar Robert Stevenson wrote that the moods he captured included ecstasy, gaiety, melancholy, longing, submission and repose, many of which are captured in ‘Agnus Dei I and II’ from his Missa Congratulamini mihi.
Lobo was a choirboy at Seville Cathedral where Guerrero was maestro de capella. His eight-part setting of Ave Maria is a technical tour de force, but one which in no way impedes its rich sonority and sheer beauty. However there is a single work, that in my opinion makes Lobo deserving of a lasting reputation, and that is Versa est in luctum. Written for the obsequies of Philip II in 1598, it is not only contemplative but also daring, with one of the most heartfelt dissonances I know in Renaissance music.

Both Guerrero and Lobo’s works were performed for nearly two centuries after their deaths, in cathedrals throughout Spain, Portugal and the New World. Let us ensure today that they can achieve the same renown.’ Harry Christophers

Harry Christophers conductor

Concert programme

Guerrero Duo Seraphim

A. Lobo Kyrie from Missa Maria Magdalene

A. Lobo Libera me

Guerrero Gloria from Missa Surge propera

Guerrero Laudate Dominum

Guerrero Maria Magdalene

Guerrero Credo from Missa de la batalla escoutez

Guerrero Vexilla Regis

A. Lobo Ave Regina coelorum

A. Lobo Ave Maria

A. Lobo Versa est in luctum

Guerrero Agnus Dei I and II from Missa Congratulamini mihi

Social Media links

Please follow us on Twitter - @TheSixteen

Please find us on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/The-Sixteen

Supported by Dunard Fund

Courtney Pine 2015

Event Date: 25th May 2015

Venue: Perth Concert Hall

Tickets also available on Ticketmaster. Finish time 9.30pm

COURTNEY PINE PRESENTS SONG (the ballad book)
Featuring ZOE RAHMAN on piano

In the 80’s he was one of the first black British jazz artists to make a serious mark on the jazz scene when his first album charted and some 20 plus years on (now with an OBE and CBE for services to music) Courtney Pine continues to break new ground with a string of highly acclaimed recordings and numerous prestigious Industry awards. In April 2014 he joined Herbie Hancock and a dazzling line-up of Jazz all-stars for UNESCO’S globally televised concert in Osaka to celebrate International Jazz Day and his name regularly appears on the list of Most Influential Black Britons.

2014 saw him touring sell out shows across the UK, US and Canada and mainstage performances at Bestival, Love Supreme and The London Jazz Festival with his award winning critically acclaimed 15^th studio album House of Legends.

Now with his latest project. his 16^th studio album to date, he plans to strip everything right back for the most intimate shows of his long and celebrated career as he takes to the stage playing bass clarinet accompanied only by fellow Mercury nominee and MOBO Award winning Pianist, Zoe Rahman. Described in The Observer as “a remarkable pianist by any standard”, Zoe Rahman has firmly established herself as one of the brightest stars on the contemporary jazz scene. A vibrant and highly individual pianist/composer, her style is deeply rooted in jazz yet it reflects her classical background, British/Bengali heritage and her very broad musical taste.

The Independent “ Courtney Pine was once hailed as British jazz’s saviour….he still is”

The Telegraph “Nothing short of breathtaking”

The Times “In a Class of His Own”

"I HAVE ALWAYS WANTED TO RECORD A COLLECTION OF MY FAVOURITE BALLADS AND THERE IS NOTHING LIKE PERFORMING IN A DUET FORMAT FOR BRINGING OUT THE INTIMACY OF GREAT SONGS.” Courtney Pine

In 1986 a 22 year old Courtney Pine appeared on the front cover of the NME, the last quote in a two page interview read “You know I’m doing this for a reason” –some 28 years later he still is…

Catch these two amazing Jazz stars on tour in 2015.

2014

Nocturne - The Romantic Life of Frédéric Chopin With Lucy Parham (piano), Dame Harriet Walter and Henry Goodman

Event Date: 30th May 2014

Venue: St John's Kirk of Perth

Tickets will also be available on the door on the night.

Finishing time 21.30

A programme of words and music scripted and adapted from letters and diaries by Lucy Parham chronicles the romantic life of one the greatest and most popular composers for solo piano – Frédéric Chopin. The narrative follows his turbulent relationship with the controversial literary figure George Sand, their time together in Majorca, his fragile health and his ultimate demise in poverty in Paris at the age of 39.

The readings, by Dame Harriet Walter and Henry Goodman, are interspersed with some of his most loved and poignant compositions. Nocturne received its London première in the London Pianoforte Series at the Wigmore Hall in July 2010 - the 200th anniversary of Chopin’s birth.

Lucy Parham first came to public attention as the Piano Winner of the 1984 BBC TV Young Musician of the Year. Having made her Royal Festival Hall concerto debut at 16, she has since appeared regularly at all the major concert venues in the UK.

"A passionate, humorous and deeply moving portrait of the relationship between Chopin and Sand" Music Web International 2010
"The Best Chopin of the Year" The Times 2010

Review from BBC Music Magazine April 2014
Lucy Parham's trailblazing evening concerts in which she fuses music and words with the help of some of our most distinguished thespians, have become one of the must -see events on the musical calendar. In an age that has seen the piano become increasingly objectified, Parham takes her listeners back to a golden age when music was a metaphor for life itself. Hers is playing that is not so much about the actual notes but exploring the elusive regions of expressive reverie that lie tantalisingly hidden between and behind them.
She paints the rich musical canvases of the ballades with a beguiling range of hues and colours and an exquisite feeling for rubato that appears to grow naturally out of the music's internal fabric.
Indeed, no matter how many times one has heard these captivating miniatures, Parham's velvet-gloved sonority and rare ability to impart a poetic coherence to Chopin's stream-of-consciouness flights of inspiration had one listening afresh.
Experienced in the context of Harriet Walter's and Samuel West's compelling exploration of the Chopin-George Sand love affair through their letters and diary entries, the music assumes a special sense of poignancy.

Performance ****(four stars)
Recording *****(five stars)
BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE
APRIL 2014

Scouting For Girls with support Sienna

Event Date: 30th May 2014

Venue: Perth Concert Hall

Tickets will also be available on the door on the night.

There are standing tickets and also balcony seats available.

Tickets are also available on ticketmaster.

The British pop band, who 6 years ago took the country by storm with their witty lyrics and catchy pop songs, will play at Perth Festival on 30th May.
The concert comes following the release their Greatest Hits album on 29 July 2013, a compilation which includes two brand new songs, including new single Millionaire, as well as favourites including She's So Lovely, Heartbeat, This Ain't A Love Song and Elvis Ain't Dead.
Over the course of three sparkling, life-affirming, Top 10 albums, Scouting For Girls have made the journey from playing pubs in Harrow and Ruislip to headlining Wembley Arena and the Albert Hall. This, then, is the tale of three friends who followed their dream, seduced a nation and sold two million records along the way. The band consists of childhood friends from London, Roy Stride on piano and lead guitar/vocals, Greg Churchouse on bass guitar and Peter Ellard on percussion.

After two years of hard touring, ‘Everybody Wants To Be On TV’ soared into the British top two, ‘This Ain’t A Love Song’ gave them their first Number 1 single (“a real turning point; we knew then we weren’t going to go away,” remembers Roy) and by 2011 they were headlining Wembley Arena a few miles but several light years away, from their modest beginnings. 2011’s ‘The Light Between Us’ made it three out of three Top 10 albums as Scouting For Girls evolved into a national institution.

SIENNA

Since forming in Summer 2012, six-piece Sienna have been quietly making quite a noise in their native Scotland. From Kinross, known to most as home of T In The Park – they are the first band from their hometown to have performed at the legendary festival, where they packed out the T Break tent (a feat unheard of for an unsigned band), following in the footsteps of fellow Scots Biffy Clyro.
Their debut EP “Give Me Your Love” released last year received vital support from Amazing Radio and In:Demand Scotland whilst they sold out Glasgow’s King Tut’s twice and also supported Nina Nesbitt. The band also performed at This Feeling Club Night in London, and have also performed a headline show at Camden’s Proud Galleries.
Sienna consist of singer/songwriter Danny McAtear, multi-instrumentalist Ross Mathieson, guitarist/songwriter Andy Clarke, Ben Watt on bass, and Calum Anderson on drums, with Ian Dunnett on sax.

The Sixteen - The Choral Pilgrimage 2014

Event Date: 27th May 2014

Venue: St John's Kirk of Perth

Finish time 21.20

Inspiring music in glorious buildings
The Voice of the Turtle Dove

For its 14th Choral Pilgrimage The Sixteen and Harry Christophers revisit the golden age of Renaissance polyphony with a stunning programme of music by English composers John Sheppard, Richard Davy and William Mundy.

John Sheppard (c.1515 - 1558)   Gaude, gaude, gaude Maria
William Mundy (c.1529 - 1591)   Adolescentulus sum ego
Richard Davy (c.1465 - 1507) O Domine caeli terraeque
Sheppard                                Libera nos I and II
Sheppard                                In manus tuas I
Davy                                        Ah, mine heart, remember thee well
Sheppard                                In manus tuas III
Mundy                                     Vox patris caelestis

‘For this year’s tour, I have returned to our grass roots to focus on the music of three exceptional Tudor composers. I am delighted to revisit a work we last performed at our first-ever concert and I recall the amazing review we had for it - “not only was the sound of the choir a revelation but so too was the music”. The critic was referring to William Mundy’s monumental work Vox patris caelestis, the text of which comes from the Song of Songs. It is full of pictorial imagery with such phrases as “Arise, my dove, my fair one” and “the voice of the turtle dove” to revel in.
Mundy is very much the youngest of our composers; he died in 1591 whilst John Sheppard only just managed to see in Queen Elizabeth I by a month or so. His setting of the “Inviolata” prose, Gaude, gaude, gaude Maria is simply glorious and is only bettered by one of the gems of Tudor music, Libera nos. I cannot think of a more sublime piece. However the most extraordinary music of all comes from the earliest of our trio, Richard Davy. He died in 1507 and the fact that his music survived the reformation is nothing short of a miracle. His remarkable work O Domine caeli terraeque was, according to the Eton Copyist, written in just one day at Magdalen College, Oxford. Each one of these works is a real gem just waiting to be discovered by a wider audience. This music is part of our great heritage and I look forward to you joining us on this pilgrimage of discovery.’

Supported by The Dunard Fund

The Brewin Dolphin Festival Concert - Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra with Vasily Petrenko

Event Date: 25th May 2014

Venue: Perth Concert Hall

Concert Programme

Prokofiev No 6

Elgar In the South

Stewart Copeland Percussion Concerto
The Scottish premiere of a brand new percussion concerto by Stewart Copeland – former drummer of The Police.

Vasily Petrenko was appointed Principal Conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in September 2006; in September 2009 he became Chief Conductor. He is Principal Conductor of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and Chief Conductor Designate of the Oslo Symphony taking up the baton in the 2013/14 season. In July 2012, he was announced as Principal Guest Conductor of the Mikhailovsky Theatre (formerly the Mussorgsky Memorial Theatre) in St. Petersburg, Russia, Petrenko’s native city and where his professional career began in the mid-1990s.He was the Classical BRIT Awards Male Artist of the Year 2010 and the Classic FM/Gramophone Awards Young Artist of the Year 2007.

Liverpool Philharmonic Premiere of new percussion concerto by Stewart Copeland, former drummer of The Police

Commissioned by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic from Stewart Copeland, composer, and co-founder member and former drummer of seminal 1980s band, The Police, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Chief Conductor, Vasily Petrenko, will give the world premiere performance of Copeland’s percussion concerto, Poltroons in Paradise on 23 May at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall and then at Perth Festival on 25 May.
Scored for timpani, three percussionists and full symphony orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra’s Principal Timpanist Adrian Spillett, Principal Percussionist Graham Johns and fellow percussionists Adrian Spillett and Henry Baldwin take centre stage for this scintillating work. All four soloists will demonstrate their virtuosity across the full, exotic range of percussion instruments digging deep into their timbral and rhythmic possibilities in an interaction with the orchestra.
Voted the seventh greatest drummer of all time in a 2010 poll in Rolling Stone magazine, Copeland was drummer with Curved Air before The Police, and subsequently with many major artists. He has also developed a highly successful second career as a composer for film, TV and the concert hall. He says of his inspiration for this new concerto:

“Poltroons in Paradise is the beginning of a story, the cheerful part, about those who ride in on the back of a revolution and then discover the temptations of those things against which they had revolted. I’m imagining a cadre of starving, hitherto excluded intellectuals swaggering through the palace of the fallen regime. The chandeliers, the brocades and the gilded furniture all inspire a grand buffoonery that hides a sneaking desire.

“Many composers would regard the mission of writing a percussion concerto as an opportunity to celebrate banging and clattering. A worthy cause no doubt, but there can be great beauty in things that are hit with a stick. And those satins really are quite beautiful…”

Following this concert, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall closes for a major refurbishment, re-opening in November this year. The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra will travel to Scotland to perform in the Perth Festival of the Arts on 25 May in the Brewin Dolphin Festival Concert that includes a second performance of Stewart Copeland’s Poltroons in Paradise.

STEWART COPELAND
Voted the seventh greatest drummer of all time in a 2010 poll in Rolling Stone magazine, Stewart Copeland was born in Alexandria, Virginia, the son of a CIA officer and a Scottish archaeologist. The family moved to Egypt when he was a few months old and he spent his formative years in the Middle East, something which is held to have contributed to his distinctive drumming style, which is said to combine reggae and Lebanese influences. Following his return to the USA, Copeland was drummer for the progressive rock band Curved Air from 1974-1976. After their demise he moved to London, seeking to enter the British punk rock scene, and in 1977 co-founded the three-piece band The Police with Sting as singer-bassist. The Police became one of most influential bands of the 1980s. At least in their early years, they largely played Copeland’s material, and though Sting took a progressively larger share as the band developed, Copeland continued to be responsible, or jointly responsible, for arranging the material on all of the band’s albums.

The Police ceased touring in 1984 (though they came together again for a one-off reunion tour in 2007), and Copeland has continued to appear with many major artists while he also developed a highly successful second career as a film-music and TV composer (his credits includeAirborne, Hear no Evil, See no Evil, Highlander II – widely regarded as ‘one of the worst films ever made’ – and Taking Care of Business). In 1985 he made a pilgrimage to Africa ‘in search of the roots of rock and roll’ which resulted in the album and film The Rhythmatist in which Copeland played a large number of native percussion instruments.

Since the 1980s, Copeland has also composed several ‘classical’ works, notably the ballets King Lear (1986), Emilio (1988) and Prey (1999) and the operas Holy Blood and Crescent Moon(for Cleveland Opera, 1989) and Horse Opera (for Channel 4, 1992). In 2005 he released an album of chamber music composed in Italy, Orchestralli. His orchestral composition Celeste, featuring violinist Daniel Hope, was premiered at the Savannah Music Festival in 2008. In the same year the Dallas Symphony Orchestra commissioned him to compose a piece primarily involving Indonesian percussion instruments: the result, premiered in 2011, was Gamelan D’Drum, which was also heard at London’s Royal College of Music in 2012. Copeland currently lives in Los Angeles.

Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
"All I can say - again - is lucky Liverpool."
The Sunday Times July 2010
The award-winning Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra is the UK's oldest surviving professional symphony orchestra and has been at the heart of Liverpool’s cultural life since 1840. The Orchestra gives approximately 70 concerts each season (September – June) in its home, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, as well as concerts in venues across the city, including Liverpool’s two cathedrals.

2013

Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour - paintings are for sale

Event Date: 26th May 2013

Venue: Perth Museum and Art Gallery

Perth Museum and Art Gallery

78 George Street,

Perth,

PH1 5LB

Monday–Saturday 10.00–17.00

Sunday 13.00–16.30

Free admission

A Sense of Place: RSW (The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour)

18 May-28 July 2013

Perth Museum & Art Gallery has invited members of the RSW to celebrate the inspiring nature of Perth & Kinross as a place to live, work and create art. The exhibition will bring together a selection of new and innovative works exploring the medium of watercolour. Many different themes relating to the landscapes and character of Perth & Kinross will be on show.

The display promises to be colourful, challenging and surprising. Many works will be for sale.

The RSW has a pedigree dating from its foundation in 1876. As the Scottish Society of Water-Colour Painters it staged its first public exhibition in 1879 in the rented premises it had acquired in West Nile Street in Glasgow, and its first elected President was Francis Powell RSW, already a Member of the RWS, one of the two earlier English watercolour societies. There were 35 Members and 10 Associate Members (the latter status was discontinued in 1885) and among the Founder Members in Scotland were such illustrious names as Sam Bough, William McTaggart RSW and George Paul Chalmers. The new Society had the blessing of the Royal Scottish Academy and was not regarded as being in conflict with its interests and across the span of the centuries very many of Scotland's most notable artists, including Academicians, have been RSWs. Today the membership of over 120 is replete with the names of painters who have international reputation, in Scotland and in Britain such as Dame Elizabeth Blackadder, Richard Demarco and Barbara Rae. Well known local painter Claire Harkess is also a Member.

Events

Friday 24 May at 12 noon-1pm John Inglis, the current President of the RSW will lead a gallery tour. Admission is free, but places are limited and must be booked

Friday 21 June at 12 noon-1pm Jim Dunbar RSW will give a talk in the Perth Museum & Art Gallery lecture hall called ‘Insight to On Site’. Tickets £5 (waged) and £3.50 (unwaged) available from the Museum Reception Desk.

Jim will talk about his experiences of painting his local landscape. This will include his watercolour methods, equipment and materials used in developing 'on site' and studio works. This promises to be a fascinating and amusing insight into artists' procedures.

Beloved Clara - Lucy Parham (piano), Martin Jarvis & Joanna David

Event Date: 23rd May 2013

Venue: Perth Theatre

Beloved Clara:
Robert Schumann, Clara and Brahms – a true story of passion, music and tragedy

Beloved Clara comprises the original letters and diaries of Robert and Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms interspersed with their piano music. It premiered in the Wigmore Hall Masters Series in 2002 and has since been performed over sixty times in concert halls, theatres and at festivals throughout the UK, USA and Europe. These engagements have included the Bergen International Festival, Cadogan Hall, BAFTA, Chichester Festival Theatre, Victor Hugo Festival, St John’s Smith Square, Schumann Anniversary Festival, Kings Place, Salisbury Playhouse and the Royal Hall, Harrogate. It returned to the Wigmore Hall in December 2010, receiving a 5 star review from the Independent – “A lovely entertainment – flawlessly performed”

The US debut took place in Los Angeles in December 2008 with performances for LA Theatreworks; this was broadcast nationwide on National Public Radio.

Actors who have appeared with pianist Lucy Parham include Martin Jarvis, Dame Harriet Walter, Juliet Stevenson, Joanna David, Rosalind Ayres, Samuel West, Alex Jennings, Edward Fox, Henry Goodman, Charles Dance, Robert Glenister, Henry Goodman, Timothy West, Malcolm Sinclair, Sebastian Koch and Gabrielle Drake.

Beloved Clara has been widely featured in the national press and media, including Woman’s Hour (Radio 4), the Times, Sunday Times, Observer, Classic FM Magazine, BBC Music Magazine, Independent, BBC Radio 3, Pianist Magazine and the Guardian.

The CD of Beloved Clara featuring Joanna David and Martin Jarvis was released on ASV to critical acclaim. It was “CD of the Week” in the Sunday Times, the Observer and the Independent on Sunday.

Beloved Clara’s creation was inspired by Lucy Parham’s lifelong passion for the music of Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms. Originally scripted and compiled from the wealth of existing correspondence between Brahms and the Schumanns by Lucy Parham and Jessica Duchen, Lucy has subsequently updated Beloved Clara with new material and it is constantly evolving through the many contributions from the actors involved.

2012

Jack Bruce & His Big Blues Band

Event Date: 26th May 2012

Venue: Perth Concert Hall

Herald Review 28th May 2012

Jack Bruce and his Big Blues Band, Perth Concert Hall

Rob Adams

Folk & Jazz critic

"It's still the blues," remarked Jack Bruce after he and his magnificent band had taken his classic Morning Story on a game-changing Latin American adventure.

Too true; there's hardly a note the legendary Cream bassist sings or plays that doesn't have the blues somewhere in its DNA, and there wasn't a song here that didn't find Bruce creating magic in the moment.

Partnered in the engine room by ultra-dynamic drummer Frank Tontoh and having his orchestrations brought blazingly to life by a horn section brimming with mischief and attention to detail, Bruce was in his element, going back to Graham Bond days with an opening First Time I Met the Blues trio joust with guitarist Tony Remy and waxing soulfully reflective in a piano-Hammond organ partnership on Childsong before unleashing a foundation-shaking bassline for a Spoonful that dug deep into the blues' gospel connections.

It's his power to excite and motivate others to do the same – another Bond favourite, Neighbour Neighbour had a sax solo that Richter might have struggled to measure – that makes Bruce such a fascinating, magnetic figure and one that Perth certainly responded to.

HHHHH

With support Wang Dang Delta

Jack Bruce, a Scot, was the founder member of Cream with Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker. Bassist, singer, composer, musician. Jack has travelled the world and the decades playing diverse musical styles but has now come home to the blues. The blues has always been the driving force, the root of Jack’s art- whether his compositions made eternal by Cream – Sunshine of Your Love, White Room, I Feel Free or his new songs, Jack lives the blues.

The band consists of guitarist Tony Remy, drummer Frank Tontoh, keyboardist Paddy Milner, fellow bassist Nick Cohen, trombonist Winston Rollins, tenor saxophonist Derek Nash, and trumpeter Paul Newton.Jacj will be handling bass, vocal, and piano duties throughout the performance.

Jack has performed with Alexis Korner, Graham Bond, Manfred Mann, John Mayall, Eric Clapton, Frank Zappa, Tony Williams, Lou Reed, Burt Bacharach, Ringo Starr, Carlos Santana, Gary Moore and Joe Bonamassa to name quite a lot! Now he wants to play for you.

Jack Bruce – probably the most musically gifted bass player there’s ever been... Roger Waters

Carol Kidd, Nigel Clark, Brian Kellock & Kenny Ellis

Event Date: 25th May 2012

Venue: Perth Theatre

Tickets will also be on the door on the night

Finish time 9.40pm

A Night of Jazz with Carol Kidd

with

Nigel Clark - Guitar
Brian Kellock - Piano
Kenny Ellis - Bass

Carol Kidd is acknowledged in jazz circles as ‘Britain's finest ballads singer' Jazz Review. She has secured the Best Vocalist title at the British Jazz Awards on four separate occasions and, in 1998, received the MBE for Services to Jazz.

Over a 25 year period, she has released seven studio albums and a ‘Best of...' compilation for Linn Records. In 2008, she has returned to the recording arena, following a seven year hiatus, with Dreamsville (AKD 325)- an exquisite album of hand-picked standards and self-penned songs which was ‘Recommended Release' on BBC Radio 2 (Russell Davies Show).

Kidd is renowned for her impeccable phrasing and delivery along with an innate ability to breathe fresh life into jazz standards. Dreamsville places a great singer, at the top of her form, back where she belongs - in the upper echelons of world class vocal jazz. Throughout her career, Kidd has cut a distinctive path through the Great American Songbook with orchestral and trio backing.

She is a singer who is admired by contemporaries and fans alike, who enjoys popularity in the Far East and has performed regularly in China and Singapore for over the course of three decades. Indeed, in 1994 she was the first western artist to be invited by the Chinese Government to perform there in 25 years.

Originally based in Glasgow, Carol Kidd began singing professionally at the age of 15 when she joined the West Coast Jazz Band. During a five year period she met, and married, their trombonist George Kidd, who is a formidable name in Scottish jazz circles. The band appeared along with many well known names such as Kenny Ball, Acker Bilk and the Alex Welsh band, and also made guest appearances on local radio.

During the 1970s a musical association with the pianist Sandy Taylor developed. Along with drummer Murray Smith and bassist Alex Moore the trio remained the mainstay of her backing for many years.

Kidd's self-titled Linn Records debut album was released in 1984 and it marked the beginning of a long and valued relationship which has helped establish her across the globe.

Her signature song, ‘When I Dream', was the theme in Korean movie Shiri and it held a chart placing in Asia for some thirteen weeks. This led her to ‘superstar' status in a part of the world where she now regularly performs to sell-out audiences. She has also performed for the Cambodian Royal Family. Further Royal approval is confirmed in the shape of Prince Charles who is a proud owner of all her albums!

A long line of admirers included Frank Sinatra, who invited her to open for him at a concert at Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow. During his performance he commented, ‘Carol Kidd is the best kept secret of British jazz.' This endorsement from Ol' Blue Eyes gave Kidd the confidence to truly make singing her career.

Almost immediately she was invited to appear at the internationally acclaimed Ronnie Scott's Club in London. Tony Bennett was singing in London at the time and he made a point of coming to hear her stating, ‘You are world class, where have you been?'. Later, she went on to record ‘A Place in My Heart' with one of Sinatra's favourite arrangers, the late Robert Farnon.

The late Sir Humphrey Lyttelton was also a fan from early on, commenting on her first album saying, ‘If this her debut, it's fantastic.' Earlier, Annie Ross had invited Kidd to appear on her TV show, stating, ‘I love this woman's voice.'

George Shearing, Georgie Fame, Annie Ross, Benny Carter, Joe Temperley, Bobby Watson and Martin Taylor MBE are among the many guest luminaries who have performed with Carol Kidd during her live concerts.

Awards

Four times winner - Best Vocalist, British Jazz Awards

Best Album - "Dreamsville", Scottish Jazz Awards 2009

Best Album - "The Night We Called it a Day", British Jazz Awards

Best International Vocalist, Cannes International Jazz Awards

Lifetime Achievement Award, 2007 Nordoff Robbins

1998 - MBE for Services to Jazz

"A throat kissed by angels" The Herald

"One of the best singers I have heard" Ronnie Scott

"Carol Kidd is the best kept secret of British jazz" Frank Sinatra

"Her control is thrilling....she is world class" Cleo Laine

"Her discography stands up as one of the strongest ever British contributions to vocal jazz" Jazz Review

"Dreamsville" is one of the most finely crafted collection of songs you'll hear this year" Jazzwise

Martin Taylor and Martin Simpson

Event Date: 22nd May 2012

Venue: Perth Theatre

TICKETS WILL ALSO BE AVAILABLE ON THE DOOR TONIGHT

Award winning Jazz guitarist MARTIN TAYLOR teams up with acoustic and slide guitar virtuoso MARTIN SIMPSON to play selected dates in the UK. The pair will share the stage throughout the performance – adding to each other’s songs and instrumental pieces and taking them to new levels.

Martin Taylor was name-checked on BBC Radio 2’s Breakfast Show in June this year as being considered THE best guitarist by no less than Jeff Beck – leading to a live session on the show the next morning. Although completely self taught, he has enjoyed a remarkable musical career spanning across four decades and during that time has invented and developed a way of playing the guitar that is admired, and often imitated, by guitarists all over the world. As well as being a true guitar innovator, he is also a master concert performer, dazzling audiences with his solo shows, which combine virtuosity, emotion and humour, with a strong stage presence. He spends much of the year travelling the world, playing in concert halls in Europe, North America, Japan, Asia, and Australasia. As well as his solo concerts and recordings, he has also collaborated with musicians from many different musical genre including, Stephane Grappelli, Chet Atkins, Eric Clapton, Bill Wyman, George Harrison, Dionne Warwick, Bryn Terfel and Jamie Cullum. In 2002,he was appointed MBE “For Services To Jazz Music”, in The Queen’s Birthday Honours List, which he received personally from Her Majesty The Queen at an investiture at Buckingham Palace.

There is no doubt that after 35 years as a professional musician Martin Simpson is, right now, better than ever. Widely acknowledged as one of the finest acoustic and slide guitar players in the world, his interpretations of traditional songs are masterpieces of storytelling. His solo shows are intense, eclectic, spellbinding and deeply moving. Martin has been nominated an astounding 23 times in the eleven years of the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards - more than any other performer - with 9 consecutive years as nominee for Musician of The Year, which he has won twice. 2008 saw an incredible 5 nominations for "Prodigal Son' and 2 wins, whilst in 2010 he had an unprecedented 6 nominations for his CD, "True Stories" and a win for Best Traditional Track, "Sir Patrick Spens". Whether playing American old-time music, blues, a Dylan song or his own material, Martin Simpson is unpredictable, individual and a guitarist of immense subtlety

This is an unmissable evening with two guitar playing legends working in harmony.

"Martin Simpson’s performances elicit powerful emotions and subtle, understated beauty” Guitar Player

“Martin Taylor is one of the most awesome solo guitar players in the history of the instrument. He’s unbelievable” – Pat Metheny.

Concessions - Registered Disabled, Registered Unemployed, Students, Young Scotcard Holders and Children under 16 - £2 off published ticket prices excluding Nigel Kennedy, Berlin Symphony Orchestra and English Touring Opera.

Festival Ceilidh - Skipinnish

Event Date: 19th May 2012

Venue: Perth Concert Hall

Finish time 11pm

If 6 people wish to sit together you can reserve a table.

Angus MacPhail (accordion), Andrew Stevenson (bagpipes, small-pipes, flute)

The band "Skipinnish" was formed in early 1999 when accordionist Angus MacPhail from Tiree and piper Andrew Stevenson from Achnacarry joined musical forces. At the time, they were both studying in their first year at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, and having played together at various impromptu sessions, they realized that both their musical styles and their outlook on Traditional Music were very similar.

After the formation of "Skipinnish", their popularity snowballed, and they very soon became in demand for festivals, concerts, dances, weddings and many other events throughout the U.K. and abroad. Since their beginnings they have consistently delighted audiences at a huge number of performances in many diverse and sometimes dangerous locations! From the Marine Hotel in Mallaig, to the Hyundi Hotel in Ulsan South Korea - from the main auditorium of the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall to Johnny Alec MacKay's kitchen in Torlum Benbecula - the list is endless, but everywhere Skipinnish have played audiences have been enthralled with their music.

In July 2001, "Skipinnish" released their debut C.D. This immediately proved extremely popular and gained considerable critical acclaim across a very broad range of listeners. The popularity of this recording and of their live performances increased Skipinnish's confidence in the marketing potential for their particular range of music. Accordingly, in early 2003 Skipinnish Records was born. The record company has continued to grow since 2003 and now has a wide range of well renowned musicians on the record label. Skipinnish’s most recent venture is The Skipinnish Ceilidh House in Oban; the opening night featured Skerryvore and Gunna Sound. The night was a huge success with the venue being filled to capacity. Gunna Sound will be recording their debut album with Skipinnish Records; this will be the 18th album on Skipinnish Record’s catalogue.

Since Angus and Andrew have begun working together, they have maintained their dedication to quality music, true to its roots in the Highland tradition. They do not self-consciously attempt to adapt and modernize Highland music to make it suit the ears of a non-Highland audience. No, these boys give their audience the real thing, and with both barrels! This approach is one of "Skipinnish's" trade marks, and one of the main reasons for their popularity - the connoisseur is refreshed by the authenticity of their music, while the uninitiated listener appreciates the honesty of it, and both groups, and everybody else in between who has heard "Skipinnish" are enthralled by the musical ability of these two tremendous musicians.

2011

La clemenza di Tito by English Touring Opera

Event Date: 20th May 2011

Venue: Perth Theatre

Sung in English with full size (26-30 piece) orchestra and chorus

Mozart is often regarded as the greatest composer of opera, and remains popular with audiences today. This is a rare opportunity to see a production of a less well-known Mozart opera, which was his most popular opera for many years. In this production, ETO has restored the opera’s original sung dialogue (recitative). It is a striking production set in glorious, fiery colours (flame red floor, brass walls). Costumes are from the late 1920s/early 1930s, though the action takes place in a “timeless” world that mixes classical imagery against a bold, chromatic backdrop. It has the feeling of a great epic.

Mozart's La clemenza di Tito - The Mercy of Titus - is one of the composer's final works, and one of his greatest. In the 18th century the great dramatic poet was Metastasio, court dramatist to the Holy Roman Emperors – and this drama, a passionate defence of the enlightenment, was so admired that it was set by over 40 different composers. Its epic story of terrorism, betrayal and forgiveness is set in blazing colours by Mozart, requiring fearless soloists and a very strong chorus. Mozart’s opera condenses the text somewhat but preserves Metastasio’s most dramatic confrontations, and finds moving characters in the generous ruler, his besotted friend, and the fiery woman who comes between them.

ETO favourite Mark Wilde will play the gentle king, Julia Riley his tormented friend, and Gillian Ramm the disinherited princess who sets them against each other. It will be directed by James Conway, and sung in the English translation of Andrew Porter.

Running time: Approximately 2 hours 35 minutes (including a 20 min interval)

Review from The Times

Hilary Finch

March 15 2011 12:01AM

Anyone not yet convinced that Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito is one of the great operas of all time should immediately book a ticket at one of the 15 venues up and down the country on English Touring Opera’s spring route. James Conway’s production bares the human heart of the opera; and Richard Lewis, conducting, makes it a pacy evening, releasing the true potency of Mozart’s music.

The austere classical setting and form of this opera seria, and its yards of “dry” recitative, made enemies for it for many years. Here the recitatives (not Mozart’s own — he didn’t have time) are substantially pruned and the costumes point away from ancient Rome to the Europe of the 1940s. But all that is neither here nor there. The real hero of this production is Andrew Porter’s fine English translation — and the commitment and skill of the cast in putting it over with passion and total clarity. Every word is heard.

Porter is faithful to the cadences and flavours of the original Italian, yet offers inflections so eloquently fitting to the English language, and to the placing of each voice, that it all sounds the most natural thing in the world.

Add to this a generally strong and well-coached cast, and even the random ugliness of Neil Irish’s set — with its designer opera seriacliché of a huge decapitated statuary head — can be forgiven. The small spaces of ETO’s touring venues bring an intimate intensity to the agonising twists and turns of this opera’s wonderful network of love, friendship, betrayal and forgiveness.

The triangle of Gillian Ramm’s strongly focused Vitellia, her soprano flaring with jealousy, Julia Riley’s ardent if a little vocally unstable Sesto, and Mark Wilde’s outstanding Tito is compelling drawn. The final anguished showdown between Tito and Sesto, and the sobriety of the shamed Vitellia’s Non più di fiori (No bridal garlands), with rose petals drifting out of her packed linen, is superbly done. Rhona McKail’s Servilia and Charlotte Stephenson’s Annio provide an emotionally engaging cross-current in the ever compelling ebb and flow of human relationships.

Tour: englishtouringopera.org.uk

Frederick Ashton's Ballet "Romeo and Juliet" by Peter Schaufuss, Denmark

Event Date: 19th May 2011

Venue: Perth Concert Hall

Tickets will be available on the door on the night. Balcony is now on sale too.

Scroll down to see beautiful video of the stunning production.

Danish dance legend Peter Schaufuss is steeped in tradition. Trained in Copenhagen, Denmark, in the hallowed Bournonville tradition, Peter’s unique virtuoso gifts and magnetic stage presence turned him into a global ballet superstar. Today Schaufuss, director and choreographer, is pushing the boundaries of his chosen art form, presenting to the world the wonder of classical ballet but with a modern twist.

Romeo & Juliet is the world’s favourite love story and British dance maker Sir Frederick Ashton created one of the most revered danced versions in 1955. His original creation was for the Royal Danish Ballet and his original Juliet was the mother of Peter Schaufuss. On his death in 1988 Ashton bequeathed the work to Peter Schaufuss. Ashton’s genius distils the essence of Shakespeare’s tale of devotion and death in medieval Verona: Schaufuss adds a fresh dimension to the star crossed lovers by recreating the work in 2010, faithful to the choreography and with 21st century staging.

“I knew Sir Fred very well,” recalls Schaufuss of the great artist who co-founded Britain’s Royal Ballet. “He was, above all, a man of the moment and though I am ever mindful of my great responsibilities as appointed guardian of his masterpiece, Sir Fred would be deeply intrigued by a flash of 21st century attitude on a work created fifty five years ago.”

Megumi Oki (Juliet) trained at Emikolkemoto Ballet School and Noboru Miyagi Ballet Studio in Japan, and at the John Cranko Schule in Stuttgart, Germany. From 2001 – 2006 she danced with Seachsische Staatsoper Dresden and Ballett Dresden. Oki joined Peter Schafuss Ballet in 2006, and has performed in Midnight Express and Hamlet, soloist roles in The Man Who Wished for a Sea View and Satisfaction, as well as dancing the role of Judy Garland in Language of Love.

Stefan Wise (Romeo) trained at the Royal Ballet School in London and has danced in many productions with Royal Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet. In 2000 he joined English National Ballet and in 2003 he joined the K Ballet in Japan. In 2003 Stefan joined Peter Schaufuss Ballet and has since participated in all the company’s performances. He danced the roles of Frustration in The King; Lord Mountbatten in Charles – The Prince; Jimmy in Midnight Express; and the title role in Hamlet.

Running time 1.Act 45 min. Pause 20 min. 2.Act 55 min.

2010

Bassoon-Shona Rae(S6)	Piano-Sam Mclellan(S6)
Violin-Erin Hull(S6) and Shona Rae(S6)	Organ-Lewis McGoldrick(S4)

Catherine Black	Allan Kelman	Alison James
Patrick Smyth	Phili Alexander	Willie McMullen
Ilse MacFarlane	Lyndsey Paterson	Jill Smyth
Joe Whiteman	Graeme Mulholland	Maureen Rutherford

Perth Festival of the Arts 1972 to 2024

Val McDermid in discussion with Fred MacAulay 2018

Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra 2018

Hannah Fisher and Friends 2018

Scottish Opera Roadshow 2018

An Evening with Donald Maxwell (baritone) 2018

Scottish Opera Trailer 2018

David Jones "Song Cycle" - free ticketed concert 2018

Perth Grammar School Concert

Between The Crosses 2018

An Evening of Eric and Ern 2018

Glenalmond School Concert

Elephant Sessions, Siobhan Miller and Fara 2018

Emma Johnson - Clarinet Goes to Town 2018

St John's Academy School Concert

Tenebrae Choir 2018

Perth High School Concert

The Rev Richard Coles 2018

Perth Academy School Concert

Festival Service

Ruby Wax Frazzled 2018

Royal Northern Sinfonia 2018

Grimethorpe Colliery Band 2018

Children's Classic Concerts 2018

The Nutcracker and I by Alexandra Dariescu 2018

Soapbox Art and Science 2018

Illustration Workshop with Jill Calder 2018

Rossini's Greatest Arias - English Touring Opera 2018

Jools Holland 2018

Perth & Kinross Schools

English Touring Opera - The Marriage of Figaro 2018

ArTay 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th May 2018

Schools Concerts 2018

Moscow Philharmonic

Scottish Opera Pop-up Roadshow 26th & 27th May

Children's Classic Concerts 2017

Justin Currie and The Pallbearers 2017

Stathallan School

Treacherous Orchestra, Adam Holmes and The Embers and Rachel Sermanni

Perth Academy

Swinging at The Cotton Club

Perth & Kinross Schools

Tenebrae Choir 2017

The View 2017

Jools Holland & his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra 2017

Perth & Kinross Big Band

'Tosca' English Touring Opera 2017

Perth High School

Martin Taylor and Alison Burns - 100 Years of Ella Fitzgerald

More Going on in Perth

The Halle - Beethoven's 5th May 2016

Scottish Opera Pop-up Opera Roadshow

Jools Holland & his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra 2016

The Allan Young Trio May 2016

KT Tunstall with support Stevie McCrorie, The Voice winner. May 2016

Nina Conti - In Your Face May 2016

Aquarelle Guitar Quartet May 2016

The Sixteen 2016

The Unthanks May 2016

Pascal & Ami Roge - Satie and Les Six.

The John Wilson Orchestra - The Broadway Sound with Julian Ovenden May 2016

Alex Horne & The Horne Section

Don Giovanni by English Touring Opera May 2016

The Massed Bands of Her Majesty's Royal Marines 2015

Beethoven The Man Revealed - John Suchet 2015

Ronnie Scott's All Star Quintet with Claire Martin OBE 2015

Scottish Opera Pop-up Opera Roadshow 30-31May

Jools Holland & his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra 2015

The Only Way is Downton 2015

Red Priest - Handel in the Wind 2015

Simply Gershwin - Music, Song and Dance 2015

The Sixteen 2015

Silent Headphone Disco

A Tribute to William Hannah featuring Luke Daniels (melodeon) & Neil Ewart (fiddle) 2015

Courtney Pine 2015

BBC Philharmonic with Tine Thing Helseth 2015

Andrew Forbes Organ Recital 2015

The Proclaimers 2015

Festival Ceilidh Jim Mackay Dance Band 2015

King Creosote and his 8 piece band 2015

Beloved Clara:
Robert Schumann, Clara and Brahms – a true story of passion, music and tragedy