Music To Pupils Ears As Edinburgh Quartet Visit

During a visit next week to the West Highlands, the Edinburgh Quartet will be meeting pupils from four primary schools to give them music lessons with a difference as well as performing a public concert at Torridon Village Hall on Monday 4th September.

Composer Kenneth Dempster will join the musicians to work with pupils from Applecross, Torridon, Shieldaig and Lochcarron.  He has written a piece of music based on a poem by George Mackay Brown called The Cold Dancer.  After discussing the piece with the children and listening to the Quartet play the piece, the children will spend the rest of the day creating and composing their own sound track to accompany the musicians before giving a short recital for family and friends.

The workshops will take place at Applecross Primary School on Monday 4 September, Torridon Primary School on Tuesday 5 with pupils from Torridon and Sheildaig and at Lochcarron Primary on Wednesday 6.

The workshops and performance has come about thanks to the Shieldaig Parents Association joining forces with The Highland Council’s Cultural Co-ordinator, Lisa O’Brien to apply to Awards For All for funding.

Lisa O’Brien said:  “These music workshops follow on from ceramic raku and street dance  workshops which ran earlier in the year.  We wanted to introduce the children to art activities led by professional artists that they might not otherwise have had the opportunity to enjoy. This year’s activities are a build up to a bigger project during Highland 2007, called the Salt Arts Project.  All the children have enjoyed the chance to try and learn about the different arts and in the coming year they will continue to have the chance to build on arts already provided in school combined with inspiration brought by artists, musicians and performers from the Highlands and further afield.”

The public concert on Monday evening starts at 7.30pm and tickets costing £5 will be available on the door.  The concert is part funded by Highland 2007.