Before the Festival recedes, like it does every year, into pleasant and sustaining memory, I am trying to gather my own thoughts about how Web 2.0 might interact with the Festival in particular, and events (in Orkney and elsewhere) in general.
David Rendall, in a previous post commenting on Joyce McMillan's review of Mixter Maxter (and other events) in The Scotsman newspaper, humorously suggested that we might aim to configure the Festival as an alternate reality game (ARG): this is probably at an extreme end of at least one spectrum!
If you are reading this, and have some views, PLEASE comment here!
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There are 2 official Festival online manifestations:
1. http://www.stmagnusfestival.com/
The official SMF website
2. St Magnus Festival friends
The official SMF Facebook page
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This year 2 "unofficial" Web 2.0 channels sprang up, experimentally:
1. http://www.stmagnusfestival.blogspot.com/
This blog!! An unofficial outlet for news, gossip, reaction and pictures from the Festival.
2. http://twitter.com/stmagnus
An unofficial information and alert feed from the Festival, trying to bring together and make visible any and all mention of the Festival, and its participants, on twitter
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As in previous years, various artists and projects appearing in (or part of) the Festival have online presences. This year, notably:
1. http://rsnoatstmagnus.blogspot.com/
The travel diary of the RSNO's participation in the Festival
2. http://www.kgsorkney.co.uk/mixtermaxter, http://www.youtube.com/mixtermaxter
The blog and YouTube channel for the Transform Orkney: Mixter Maxter project,
led by The National Theatre of Scotland Learn (see also NTS's Facebook page)
in association with SMF, Kirkwall Grammar School, Determined to Succeed and Scottish Power Learning
supported by 9 charitable organisations in addition to
Orkney Islands Council, the Albert Hotel, Kirkwall, Clark Thomson Insurance Brokers, Lows Orkney, McAdie and Reeve, JEP Robertson & Son, WHB Sutherland and Tods of Orkney
3. Psappha
4. http://twitter.com/RSNO,
http://twitter.com/elspethmurray (of the Puppet State Theatre Co),
http://twitter.com/cubecheat (featured in the Moulin Rouge show)
Twitter feeds of festival companies and artists
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Saturday 27 June 2009
Friday 26 June 2009
The day that the Circus left town
Wednesday was finale night with the Orkney Camerata concert followed by Kathryn Tickell.
The Camerata are a group of talented local musicians, most of whom teach in some capacity, which perhaps explains why young Orcadian musicians are beginning to pop up all over the place in the national music scene. This was a lovely concert. The Bach was great, with soloists Elizabeth Way Sullivan and Christina Sargent. I particularly enjoyed the John Rutter piece which finished the concert, with a lovely lush sound to the strings.
Then to the Arts theatre where Kathryn Tickell's band brought the Festival proper to a close in rousing style. Great fun.
Meanwhile at the Festival Club 'the Chair' were going down a storm with their high-energy set as the last Oiseau Rouge show finished up to leave the tent free for votes of thanks and the announcement of next year's programme: headline Nicola Benedetti. I finally got home from the Spiegeltent wrap party at around 3am.
Yesterday was spent emptying the Spiegeltent and returning the stuff that we begged, borrowed, hired and salvaged to make it all happen.
Today Klessens took down the tent. I had to go back to work although the first hour was spent on the beach at Billia Croo for EMEC in t-shirt weather, so don't feel too sorry for me. I dropped by the site for a last visit around 3.30pm, just in time to see the last couple of frames come down and wish Tom Klessens a safe journey back to Belgium. That's it.... now, I need a holiday.
The Camerata are a group of talented local musicians, most of whom teach in some capacity, which perhaps explains why young Orcadian musicians are beginning to pop up all over the place in the national music scene. This was a lovely concert. The Bach was great, with soloists Elizabeth Way Sullivan and Christina Sargent. I particularly enjoyed the John Rutter piece which finished the concert, with a lovely lush sound to the strings.
Then to the Arts theatre where Kathryn Tickell's band brought the Festival proper to a close in rousing style. Great fun.
Meanwhile at the Festival Club 'the Chair' were going down a storm with their high-energy set as the last Oiseau Rouge show finished up to leave the tent free for votes of thanks and the announcement of next year's programme: headline Nicola Benedetti. I finally got home from the Spiegeltent wrap party at around 3am.
Yesterday was spent emptying the Spiegeltent and returning the stuff that we begged, borrowed, hired and salvaged to make it all happen.
Today Klessens took down the tent. I had to go back to work although the first hour was spent on the beach at Billia Croo for EMEC in t-shirt weather, so don't feel too sorry for me. I dropped by the site for a last visit around 3.30pm, just in time to see the last couple of frames come down and wish Tom Klessens a safe journey back to Belgium. That's it.... now, I need a holiday.
Thursday 25 June 2009
SMF in the press and on the web #6
In contrast to the poorly-written critique from the Herald the other day, I found this review from Joyce Mcmillan for the Scotsman to be well-structured and written with some style. Although the author does fall into the Orkney = 'world according to George Mackay Brown' trap, the review of the Mixter Maxter installation is spot on, describing it as "one of the finest pieces of youth project artwork Scotland has ever produced". I particularly liked the following bit, which I don't necessarily agree with but is surely food for thought given the originality and artistic success of the multi-disciplinary high(ish) tech Mixter Maxter:
St Magnus needs to consign this sort of ageing crowd-pleaser to the bin; and strike out boldly into the newly-emerging borderlands between classical music and a dozen other art-forms less stuffy than mainstream poetry, and far less concerned about the old social hierarchy of art – from posh to popular – that the 21st century is scattering to the four winds, in Orkney as elsewhere
I can certainly agree with that last statement. Next festival as an ARG anyone...?
There are also a couple of reviews from Hi-Arts: a nice piece about Trio Medieval in the Cathedral which echoes the opinion of other people I've spoken to; and the Stromness Parish Church with Andrew Motion. Both reviews are well-written and manage to convey a more accurate sense of what Orkney is like, at least in my experience*: respectful of the place they live in, placing great value on local knowledge, but without all that mystical stuff about communing with nature and history.
* My experience: born and raised here. Went away for 20 years then came back.
Wednesday 24 June 2009
Super Tuesday
Three concerts today.
The lunchtime concerts at the Cathedral are often hidden gems of the Festival and much easier to get tickets for than in the evenings. This one featured Psappha and Kathryn Tickell with a varied programme from Mozart's Oboe Quartet, via a selection of pieces by György Kurtág to Max's 'Kettletoft Inn. The Quartet was only spoiled by a slight hiccup at the end, although no-one was hurt and it ended in smiles. The Kurtag pieces (which included works for Hungarian national instrument, the 125 string cimbalon) were very quiet and I wonder how they were heard further back in the Cathedral. Northumbrian piper, Kathryn Tickell played from her own repertoire before joining Psappha for Max's piece, composed for her. Very much in the vein of 'Orkney Wedding with Sunrise' thsi had a particularly lovely final section.
On the bus then to Birsay for Trio Medieval's folk concert, again with Terje Isungset. Sometimes the CD can sound very clinical because of the purity of their voices, but great warmth in live performance. I hadn't been to a Birsay concert before, but the excursion is completed with a picnic tea where we bumped into old friends from Norway.
Finally, having hung around Ivy Paige's establishment in the Spiegeltent all week I finally became a paying customer last night: the show has got tighter and tighter and Steve the Juggler no less funny as the week has gone on. Was given permission to take pictures so look out for (edited) highlights on Facebook.
UPDATED 7.25pm 26/06/09: St Magnus Composers' Course and Orkney Conducting Course Concert
[Updated: 1925 26 June 2009]
The last lunchtime Cathedral concert of this years Festival gave us Psappha performing brand new music for violin, viola, cello, double bass and percussion
from 7 composers under 8 conductors, including a collaborative theme and variations by all 7 composers!
All 8 pieces were composed during last 10 days, at the St Magnus Composers' Course, which was directed by Alasdair Nicolson & Sally Beamish, and included sessions with Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. The composers worked with Psappha in developing and rehearsing these new pieces, and much of this process has been open to the public to observe.
Each piece was conducted by a participant in the Orkney Conducting Course, which was directed by Martyn Brabbins, with Charles Peebles. The participants had sessions (many of them open to the public) with the RSNO, Psappha, & the Festival Chorus, with guests the Huddersfield Choral Society, along with Orkney Conducting Course pianists, Liz Burleigh and Michael Bawtree.
[Added 0800 26 June 2009]
Composer and flautist, Gemma McGregor, attended many of the public sessions. Her review of Psaphha's performance of Max's The Lighthouse appears in this week's Orkney Today. After the St Magnus Composers' Concert, Gemma provided the programme notes below for the blog, and commented:
Concert Programme
(Notes from Gemma McGregor)
Robert Baker: Sharp Edges
Christian Baldini, conductor
An intriguing study of texture created through the use of extreme dynamics. The bass marimba notes and double bass slap pizz notes cut through the cleverly interlocking sustained arco string sounds – an effect that worked particularly well in the cathedral acoustic.
Kirsty Blackwood: Automatic Oomph!
Gordon Bragg, conductor
A programmatic depiction of cogs in a machine – was greatly aided by the rhythmic precision of her conductor and the fine tuning of the string players. Marimba tremolos were an exciting backdrop to the repetitive string riffs.
Gareth Peredur Churchill: Echni
Simon Crawford-Phillips, conductor
Created a very beautiful sound world of sul pont strings and bowed cymbals that gave a suggestion of fragile desolation, with the melancholic phrases from David Aspin’s expressive viola finally meeting the other strings in a unison agreement at the end only to fade to nothing.
Lewis Forbes: Auld
Roger Kalia, conductor
Displayed a strong affinity with his Scots tradition containing hints of pibroch grace notes and a suggestion of drones that maybe linked with the piping of himself and his father before him. Lewis used complex groupings and cross rhythms that propelled the players through the piece – fortunately his conductor was masterful in allowing it freedom but keeping it under control.. The clock chimes of the tutti crotales and marimba added to the impression that this piece was a meditation on the nature of tradition passing and what it leaves behind.
Edmund Hunt: The Bright Sun Will Blacken
David McCallum, conductor
Used forte glissandi in opposing directions to create a nervous energy that contrasted well with the violent sound of the unison Bartok pizz and the querulous drumming of fingers on the stringed instruments. Psappha journeyed through the tones in their choice sections led by an intuition that only comes from people who have played together for long enough to replace the consciousness of the self with that of the group. An apocalyptic finale was suggested by the Varese-like flourishes on crotales.
Michael LaCroix: Ecliptic
Hans Petter Maehle, conductor
Was systems music of the pulse-raising variety that was shockingly energetic in performance – thanks no doubt to the dedicated perfectionism of Psappha and the faster tempo chosen by the conductor. Tim Williams was inspiringly masterful in his improvised four part marimba solo.
James Stephenson: The North Road
Juan Ortuno, conductor
Had a very complex part for bass drum with extremes of dynamic markings that worked surprisingly well in the resonant acoustic of the cathedral. The string writing was lyrical and compelling with effective use of harmonics. The sound world of each player was personalized by giving each instrument their own particular timbre – the violin had the hysteria of being at the extreme high end of its range with phrases initiated by neurotic leaping grace notes, the viola was also high but sweet, the cello was warm in its mid-range bowed phrases (lusciously played by Jennifer Langridge), and the double bass was menacing with its low pizz notes and pp sustained harmonics. The combination of these sounds amounted to an unusual but effective ensemble sound that appeared to describe a mood of anticipatory fear combined with a determination to continue.
Ae Fond Kiss
For Alasdair's Birthday
Robert Tuohy, conductor
Theme: Ae Fond Kiss, Gareth Peredur Churchill
Var. 1: Dancing, Lewis Forbes
Var. 2: Melancholic, Michael LaCroix
Var. 3: Con Fuoco, James Stephenson
Var. 4: Still, Robert Baker
Var. 5: Elegant, Kirsty Blackwood
Var. 6: Vivo, Edumund Hunt
The last lunchtime Cathedral concert of this years Festival gave us Psappha performing brand new music for violin, viola, cello, double bass and percussion
from 7 composers under 8 conductors, including a collaborative theme and variations by all 7 composers!
All 8 pieces were composed during last 10 days, at the St Magnus Composers' Course, which was directed by Alasdair Nicolson & Sally Beamish, and included sessions with Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. The composers worked with Psappha in developing and rehearsing these new pieces, and much of this process has been open to the public to observe.
Each piece was conducted by a participant in the Orkney Conducting Course, which was directed by Martyn Brabbins, with Charles Peebles. The participants had sessions (many of them open to the public) with the RSNO, Psappha, & the Festival Chorus, with guests the Huddersfield Choral Society, along with Orkney Conducting Course pianists, Liz Burleigh and Michael Bawtree.
[Added 0800 26 June 2009]
Composer and flautist, Gemma McGregor, attended many of the public sessions. Her review of Psaphha's performance of Max's The Lighthouse appears in this week's Orkney Today. After the St Magnus Composers' Concert, Gemma provided the programme notes below for the blog, and commented:
The honing of some pieces and the transformation of others through careful observation of the five musicians responses to the scores proved a challenging task that was ably accomplished by tutors, Alasdair Nicolson and Sally Beamish. The levels of expertise and experience varied greatly between the seven student composers but all were encouraged to focus on what they wanted to say with their piece and what would be the most effective way to dialogue with the musicians to bring about the sought after score and performance. “Psappha”, led by percussionist Tim Williams are an extremely accomplished group who were single minded and tireless in their devotion to creating this brand new music and assisting the composers with notation and techniques peculiar to their instruments. Workshops given by Tim Williams to describe cimbalom and James Crabb to describe button accordion were informative and well-received.
Concert Programme
(Notes from Gemma McGregor)
Robert Baker: Sharp Edges
Christian Baldini, conductor
An intriguing study of texture created through the use of extreme dynamics. The bass marimba notes and double bass slap pizz notes cut through the cleverly interlocking sustained arco string sounds – an effect that worked particularly well in the cathedral acoustic.
Kirsty Blackwood: Automatic Oomph!
Gordon Bragg, conductor
A programmatic depiction of cogs in a machine – was greatly aided by the rhythmic precision of her conductor and the fine tuning of the string players. Marimba tremolos were an exciting backdrop to the repetitive string riffs.
Gareth Peredur Churchill: Echni
Simon Crawford-Phillips, conductor
Created a very beautiful sound world of sul pont strings and bowed cymbals that gave a suggestion of fragile desolation, with the melancholic phrases from David Aspin’s expressive viola finally meeting the other strings in a unison agreement at the end only to fade to nothing.
Lewis Forbes: Auld
Roger Kalia, conductor
Displayed a strong affinity with his Scots tradition containing hints of pibroch grace notes and a suggestion of drones that maybe linked with the piping of himself and his father before him. Lewis used complex groupings and cross rhythms that propelled the players through the piece – fortunately his conductor was masterful in allowing it freedom but keeping it under control.. The clock chimes of the tutti crotales and marimba added to the impression that this piece was a meditation on the nature of tradition passing and what it leaves behind.
Edmund Hunt: The Bright Sun Will Blacken
David McCallum, conductor
Used forte glissandi in opposing directions to create a nervous energy that contrasted well with the violent sound of the unison Bartok pizz and the querulous drumming of fingers on the stringed instruments. Psappha journeyed through the tones in their choice sections led by an intuition that only comes from people who have played together for long enough to replace the consciousness of the self with that of the group. An apocalyptic finale was suggested by the Varese-like flourishes on crotales.
Michael LaCroix: Ecliptic
Hans Petter Maehle, conductor
Was systems music of the pulse-raising variety that was shockingly energetic in performance – thanks no doubt to the dedicated perfectionism of Psappha and the faster tempo chosen by the conductor. Tim Williams was inspiringly masterful in his improvised four part marimba solo.
James Stephenson: The North Road
Juan Ortuno, conductor
Had a very complex part for bass drum with extremes of dynamic markings that worked surprisingly well in the resonant acoustic of the cathedral. The string writing was lyrical and compelling with effective use of harmonics. The sound world of each player was personalized by giving each instrument their own particular timbre – the violin had the hysteria of being at the extreme high end of its range with phrases initiated by neurotic leaping grace notes, the viola was also high but sweet, the cello was warm in its mid-range bowed phrases (lusciously played by Jennifer Langridge), and the double bass was menacing with its low pizz notes and pp sustained harmonics. The combination of these sounds amounted to an unusual but effective ensemble sound that appeared to describe a mood of anticipatory fear combined with a determination to continue.
Ae Fond Kiss
For Alasdair's Birthday
Robert Tuohy, conductor
Theme: Ae Fond Kiss, Gareth Peredur Churchill
Var. 1: Dancing, Lewis Forbes
Var. 2: Melancholic, Michael LaCroix
Var. 3: Con Fuoco, James Stephenson
Var. 4: Still, Robert Baker
Var. 5: Elegant, Kirsty Blackwood
Var. 6: Vivo, Edumund Hunt
RSNO say farewell and thanks
The RSNO have posted a farewell video on their blog, expressing their thanks to SMF for a great trip. The series of videos have been very enjoyable, so thanks back at you RSNO. I must commend the presenter for her correct pronunciation of Sanday!
SMF in the press and on the web #5
A couple of reviews from the broadsheets have turned up in the newsfeeds today, both written by Rowena Smith. The Herald has an overview of the whole SMF, liking The Lighthouse and Andrew Motion, but not Jennifer Higdon or Wendy Cope (and personally speaking, I don't think you should describe someone else's writing as "doggerel" unless you're damn sure your own writing is up to scratch...) The Guardian has a short 4/5 review for The Lighthouse, praising the production but criticising the layout and the Pickaquoy Centre acoustic.
Tuesday 23 June 2009
Last Tango in Jewsons
Two concerts last night. Trio Mediaeval in the cathedral followed by the Tango Quintet in the tent.
CB is a big early music fan and we are both Norway fans, so when we heard TM on Radio 3 we got hold of a couple of their CD's: Stella Maris and Folk Songs: and they've been playing around the house, car and office ever since, so we were delighted to hear that they were coming to the Festival.
The cathedral concert featured their early music repertoire. Gorgeous transcendant tunes that soared in the vaults and, when they split up and moved around the building, seemed to vibrate and come at you from all directions at once. A surprise addition was their version of the medieval Hymn to St Magnus. I have heard it performed many ways and have even played Andy Cant's version for the Cathhedral Bells!) but I'm pretty sure that Magnus hasn't been better serenaded since he moved 'intae the toon fae Birsay'. We were given a taster in their encore of their folk repertoire with percussionist, Terje Isungset, on Jew's harp (is it still PC to call it that?). That's Tuesday's concert in Birsay.
From medieval Worcester to 20th century Buenos Aires for the music of Astor Piazzolla performed by James Crabb on accordian and members of Psappha in the Spiegeltent. It was hot, it was sultry, it was dangerous: it was like nothing I ever thought I'd be listening to in Jewson's Yard. A great contrast, which is what is wonderful about the Festival.
CB is a big early music fan and we are both Norway fans, so when we heard TM on Radio 3 we got hold of a couple of their CD's: Stella Maris and Folk Songs: and they've been playing around the house, car and office ever since, so we were delighted to hear that they were coming to the Festival.
The cathedral concert featured their early music repertoire. Gorgeous transcendant tunes that soared in the vaults and, when they split up and moved around the building, seemed to vibrate and come at you from all directions at once. A surprise addition was their version of the medieval Hymn to St Magnus. I have heard it performed many ways and have even played Andy Cant's version for the Cathhedral Bells!) but I'm pretty sure that Magnus hasn't been better serenaded since he moved 'intae the toon fae Birsay'. We were given a taster in their encore of their folk repertoire with percussionist, Terje Isungset, on Jew's harp (is it still PC to call it that?). That's Tuesday's concert in Birsay.
From medieval Worcester to 20th century Buenos Aires for the music of Astor Piazzolla performed by James Crabb on accordian and members of Psappha in the Spiegeltent. It was hot, it was sultry, it was dangerous: it was like nothing I ever thought I'd be listening to in Jewson's Yard. A great contrast, which is what is wonderful about the Festival.
SMF in the press and on the web #4
Couldn't resist linking to this story from the Independent - doubtless everyone's already heard elsewhere about PMD's plan to write a comic opera about MPs' expenses. It's also in the Times, Telegraph and Scotsman (the latter winning the prize for cheesiest headline).
Two new videos from RSNO: Absconding & Conducting, Camping with Katy. They also have a set of photos on Flickr.
Festival Visitors Tweet On - UPDATED
[UPDATE: 1730:] Links to reviews of Trio Mediaeval, and Andrew Motion Festival events by Morag McGill have appeared in HiARTS' twitterfeed :
The Royal Scottish National Orchestra keep twittering on, and regularly updating their RSNO at St Magnus blog (there is a quick link to there in the Links section on the home page of this blog now - thanks David!)
Elspeth Murray, (poet, and Tweeter in Residence at The Puppet State Theatre Co), has tweeted some impressions of Colin Currie's Phoenix concert on Monday night, as she waited with her colleagues to take The Man Who Planted Trees "tour without end" on to the next place!
To find all this (and the tweeting juggler, and the musician who played with Psappha for The Lighthouse, and others) follow @stmagnus #stmagfest on Twitter. If you are a twitter tweep yourself, tell us what you think, either there or on here!
[I just have to express my delight at last night's late Piazzolla Spiegeltent concert and the Festival Club last night! Both were fantastic! Bravo to the accordian, violin, bass, piano and guitar Tango Quintet, and also to Hadhirgaan and Saltfishforty!]
The Royal Scottish National Orchestra keep twittering on, and regularly updating their RSNO at St Magnus blog (there is a quick link to there in the Links section on the home page of this blog now - thanks David!)
Elspeth Murray, (poet, and Tweeter in Residence at The Puppet State Theatre Co), has tweeted some impressions of Colin Currie's Phoenix concert on Monday night, as she waited with her colleagues to take The Man Who Planted Trees "tour without end" on to the next place!
To find all this (and the tweeting juggler, and the musician who played with Psappha for The Lighthouse, and others) follow @stmagnus #stmagfest on Twitter. If you are a twitter tweep yourself, tell us what you think, either there or on here!
[I just have to express my delight at last night's late Piazzolla Spiegeltent concert and the Festival Club last night! Both were fantastic! Bravo to the accordian, violin, bass, piano and guitar Tango Quintet, and also to Hadhirgaan and Saltfishforty!]
Monday 22 June 2009
"Rock Salt & Nails write Wimbledon song"
One of this year's Festival Club bands, Rock Salt & Nails, are in the news after announcing a new song about tennis player Andy Murray. See the links here for more info. Rumour has it the band will make an appearance on one of the Scottish TV news programmes later this week. The band were certainly a big hit at the Festival Club: although the Club was relatively quiet last night, the dancefloor was still full by the end of the night. (One of the dancers was my partner Snow, who thoroughly enjoyed the gig.)
Outside the Tent #2
Two big concerts in Picky over the weekend.
The RSNO, Huddersfield Chorus and our very own Festival Chorus were on Saturday night. Now as CB is in the chorus I'm not exactly an independent observer but Vaughn Williams' Sea Symphony with 200 voices and the might of a full orchestra was pretty spectacular. Behold the Sea...
Just as well to have all that refreshing water crashing about: it was like an oven in the Hall. I met someone who had just returned from a trip to Bangladesh and even he was finding it a bit much.
Sunday night's concert had a centrepiece of Jennifer Higdon's Percussion Concerto performed by Colin Currie. The RSNO had four percussionists playing alongside him and the percussion instruments took up the full width of the stage both front and back: the orchestra had to bring an extra van. Fascinating 'conversations' between the five percussionists. The overture from 'West Side Story' set the American theme and the 'New World Symphony' rounding it off.
The weekend reminded me why I got into concert-going in the first place: there is just nothing like a big orchestra in full swing. I remember (hopefully correctly) a 'Pops' concert in the old Phoenix where the opening was the theme from Star Wars. Memories also of Festivals in the late eighties when 'Festival weather' was sun from a clear blue sky.
The RSNO, Huddersfield Chorus and our very own Festival Chorus were on Saturday night. Now as CB is in the chorus I'm not exactly an independent observer but Vaughn Williams' Sea Symphony with 200 voices and the might of a full orchestra was pretty spectacular. Behold the Sea...
Just as well to have all that refreshing water crashing about: it was like an oven in the Hall. I met someone who had just returned from a trip to Bangladesh and even he was finding it a bit much.
Sunday night's concert had a centrepiece of Jennifer Higdon's Percussion Concerto performed by Colin Currie. The RSNO had four percussionists playing alongside him and the percussion instruments took up the full width of the stage both front and back: the orchestra had to bring an extra van. Fascinating 'conversations' between the five percussionists. The overture from 'West Side Story' set the American theme and the 'New World Symphony' rounding it off.
The weekend reminded me why I got into concert-going in the first place: there is just nothing like a big orchestra in full swing. I remember (hopefully correctly) a 'Pops' concert in the old Phoenix where the opening was the theme from Star Wars. Memories also of Festivals in the late eighties when 'Festival weather' was sun from a clear blue sky.
Sunday 21 June 2009
SMF in the press and on the web #3
Orkney Today has a column about the Festival Chorus.
Here's a complete list of the posts so far at the RSNO blog:
I'm sure the SMF volunteers will be really pleased to hear the orchestra talking about how much they're looking forward to coming to Orkney.
Oiseau Rouge 2 & Mixter Maxter
Last night, Snow and I went to OR2 in the Spiegeltent. I can't really say too much without spoiling it for others, but I can say it was a very worthy sequel to OR1. I guess the differences were: more audience participiation - well done to local councillor Mike Drever (picked twice in a row!), Lord Wallace, Lisa and Owen, all of whom were excellent sports; the audience was a bit different too - with OR1 people had no idea what to expect, but this time they were more up for it I think; the humour was a *lot* more fruity than last time, so be warned! Snow and I laughed so much our sides were sore by the end.
There were two things which slightly dented my enjoyment. First was the drunken group of women near the front. They started off well, helping build a lively atmosphere, but gradually it descending into heckling of the kind which disrupts the flow of the performance. They were asked to leave. The second thing was more serious: the quality of beer on offer was very poor. For the kind of show this is, IMO people are going to expect a better choice than Tennents, Export or Budweiser. OTOH the prices were fairly reasonable and the bar staff were very nice.
So congratulations to the Magfest team. The tent looked brilliant, inside and out. The show was great. And it was warm!
After OR2 we went to the Festival Club to catch the end of Rock Salt and Nails. Not my cup of tea musically I have to admit, but I was firmly in the minority: the dance floor was full and people were shouting for encores by the end. Afterwards we entertained visitors until the early hours, so today was a late start ;)
We spent the afternoon at the Mixter Maxter exhibition in Garden Square. I was truly wowed by it. In particular the audio guide was very impressive, albeit I think it helped that I listened alongside my young cousin Connor and therefore saw the effect in part through a primary-school-kid's eyes. We were both genuinely spooked by the creepy story-telling (I hope they make a video of it and put it on the web). All the different parts of the exhibit were of a very high quality. When I think back to some of the "art installations" I've seen (both here in Orkney and during my many years in Glasgow & London), I can't remember seeing anything better. More than that, I think the techniques they used in the audio guide would be a brilliant way to engage kids at museums. Do not miss seeing this.
Inside the Tent #5
As already noted, being so far north the sun barely sets here on the solstice and thanks to the Festival and its tendency to stretch on into the wee small hours you can find yourself missing the hours of darkness altogether. Pictured: the beginnings of an amazing sunrise at 2.30am behind the spire of St Magnus with the less inspiring foreground of Junction Road.
No doubting what Ken Amer's picture scoop for Orkney Today will be: Lord Wallace of Tankerness on stage in the Burlesque show, Oiseau Rouge. He took to it so well that it does paint a rather worrying picture of life in the House of Lords...
St Magnus Festival Tweeting Visitors
The Royal Scottish National Orchestra have arrived (well we knew that after last night, and the Sea Symphony and all, but bear with me!). They have started the RSNO at St Magnus blog, with videos and everything! If I could properly work out how Blogger works, I would add a link here, in the Links section! [Link added. DR]
Elspeth Murray, Tweeter in Residence at The Puppet State Theatre Co, as they present "The Man Who Planted Trees", has found that Orkney *does* have some trees, and what partons are!
If you are in Orkney at the Festival, and if you are a twitter user, please follow @stmagnus, and use the tag #stmagfest to share your thoughts! If you are not in Orkney at the Festival, please do those 2 things anyway (and consider contacting the Festival Office at http:/www.stmagnusfestival.com to get on the mailing list or become a Supporter for next year
Elspeth Murray, Tweeter in Residence at The Puppet State Theatre Co, as they present "The Man Who Planted Trees", has found that Orkney *does* have some trees, and what partons are!
If you are in Orkney at the Festival, and if you are a twitter user, please follow @stmagnus, and use the tag #stmagfest to share your thoughts! If you are not in Orkney at the Festival, please do those 2 things anyway (and consider contacting the Festival Office at http:/www.stmagnusfestival.com to get on the mailing list or become a Supporter for next year
Orkney Wireless Museum on Radio 4's Broadcasting House
Interesting piece by Sandy Firth of Orkney Wireless Museum on Radio 4's Broadcasting House this morning as background to the national switch-over to digital radio, and the switch-off of FM broadcasting planned for a few years hence. Click here later on Sunday to listen again (it's about 40 minutes into the programme, immediately after the funny segment on humorously removing letters from Radio 4 programme titles, by newsreader and ukelele player Kathy Clugston).Look at the history of relatively-early adoption of technology in the Northern Isles - mains electricity, internal combustion, wireless (including CB radio), air-mail, telephones, broadband, and many more. Harbours, roads, airports, transmitters, cabling, interconnect the mainland with the islands, and are the things that tie us together as Scotland, and connect us with the other parts of Europe. Give us our share of national infrastructure (and appropriate legislation, licencing and regulation) and we will find a way to make new things work for the community, and to make a contribution for others to make of what they will. After all, where would Radio 3 be without the St Magnus Festival (hang on, is that the right way round?)? Where would the National Theatre of Scotland be without KGS and the other Orkney-resident components of its Mixter Maxter company? Where (literally) would the RSNO be without the roads, ferries, planes, piers and airports to get them here with their instruments? Where would Radio Scotland be without Tom Morton in Shetland? Where will Scotland safely and securely find it's energy in the future, except from the waves, tidal-flows and wind in Orkney and elsewhere?
If you have a few minutes between performances, make sure you visit the Orkney Wireless Museum, at the Shore St end of Junction Road (and also the Orkney Museum's "Captain E E Fresson: Pioneer Aviator" exhibition, at tankerness House, directly opposite the Cathedral).
If my rambling above does not provide a clear enough connection with the Festival, though, Paddy O'Connell said on air that our very own blog contributer, and Speigeltent-meister Les Burgher, suggested the story to them! Where does he find the time?
Saturday 20 June 2009
RSNO have a blog dedicated to their SMF trip
You can see the first post here. Hopefully there will be more to come. They're also on Twitter.
Inside the Tent #4
Another day of sorting out glitches and improving the site: particularly the lighting. Although it doesn't really get dark at all here at the moment, it was still a bit too gloomy at the front of the tent coming out of the late show and we want to show off the artwork as well. That should all now be better. The heater had another problem: this time with an electrical fault, but all is now well. I predict that the weather will now warm up so that it isn't needed.
Today we've had two shows by the Puppet State Theatre Company: a beautiful (and beautifully told) story of a French shepherd (and dog) who set out to plant a forest.
The first show was gatecrashed by a cat which was quite happy until thunderous applause broke out and the cat left the tent just short of the speed of light.
Today we've had two shows by the Puppet State Theatre Company: a beautiful (and beautifully told) story of a French shepherd (and dog) who set out to plant a forest.
The first show was gatecrashed by a cat which was quite happy until thunderous applause broke out and the cat left the tent just short of the speed of light.
The Festival Club
The Festival Club is a crucial part of what makes SMF unique. At most other events, performers and audience alike head home afterwards. Not so at SMF: it's very difficult to get out of Orkney when the ferries and planes have all stopped for the night, so everyone is "trapped" here together till the morning! So most folk naturally gravitate to the Festival Club, a late-night folk/pop music session featuring a variety of (often local) bands in the Albert Hotel. The Club is frequently *very* busy, so much so that it can be difficult to get in the door! Getting in a round of drinks can be a serious challenge. But it's all worth it because the Club is an essential part of the atmosphere of SMF. Artists and punters intermingle, and the distinction between them gradually loses any significance as the drinking and dancing carry on into the evening.Last night's Club featured local band Liberty (see photo) who were very good indeed - not surprisingly given the pedigree of the local musicians involved. Tonight's band are the internationally-acclaimed Rock Salt and Nails from Shetland, described as a contemporary take on traditional Shetland music.
An exciting, illuminating and animated day
About 24 hours ago I was at work. Since then I have chatted with visitors from the National Theatre of Scotland and other friends old and new at the opening Festival reception, heard a witty and informative pre-concert talk from Max, been chilled and gripped by Psappha's production of The Lighthouse chamber opera, had a (thankfully minor) audience-participatory role
in the overwhelming and fantastic Oiseau Rouge 2 circus cabaret hosted by the more than satisfactory Ivy Paige in a Belgian speigeltent, heard local musicians Liberty at the Festival Club and miserably failed to dance, slept briefly, had thought provoked by a talk on 200 years of activities of the Northern Lighthouse Board in Orkney by Bob McIntosh, eaten paella and then garlic prawns for lunch at the European Market outside St Magnus Cathedral, and staggered home for a cup of tea.What have you been up to?
Share your thoughts here, or (if you can express them in 140 characters) tag them with #StMagFest, follow http://twitter.com/stmagnus and tweet!Must dash: "Transform Orkney: Mixter Maxter" is only about an hour away. Hopefully there is *just* time to grab some bread, cheese and olives on the Kirk Green before that!
Outside the Tent #1
Lets start by saying I don't know enough about music to write a proper review, but I do know that I thoroughly enjoyed last night's concert by the Huddersfield Choral Society in St Magnus Cathedral. The Cathedral is a special place at any time, but filled with people and great music it is amazing and that was certainly the case last night. This was a great concert ranging from Brahms to Britten and Mendelssohn to MacMillan, and although only a third of the Choral Society were here, at times the whole building seemed to be resonating to their sound, combined with the Willis Organ under the control of Michael Bawtree.
Festival Synchronicity #1: Before leaving for the concert I caught part of 'Leonard Cohen in London' with him singing 'Hallelujah'. Tonight's encore was the 'Hallelujah Chorus'. (Yes, they did the 'Hallelujah Chorus' as an encore!)
Caught the end of the show in the Spiegeltent which seemed to have gone well and ended the evening at the Festival Club (of course).
Festival Synchronicity #1: Before leaving for the concert I caught part of 'Leonard Cohen in London' with him singing 'Hallelujah'. Tonight's encore was the 'Hallelujah Chorus'. (Yes, they did the 'Hallelujah Chorus' as an encore!)
Caught the end of the show in the Spiegeltent which seemed to have gone well and ended the evening at the Festival Club (of course).
Volunteers: Front Of House
Front of House is a large team of volunteers who steward each of the performance venues, checking tickets, guiding Festival-goers to their seats, answering queries and generally welcomiing people. They also sell programmes, artists' CD's and so on and sometimes they help with excursion buses and that sort of thing. Some of the venues (eg the Cathedral) have no fixed seat numbers; in such cases Front of House have to go through the entire hall, putting numbers on seats and letters at the ends of rows. As you can imagine, there is a lot of organisation involved in the run-up to and during the Festival.
This is the last of the posts about volunteers. If you have a look at Les' "Inside The Tent" posts, you can hear about the separate team of volunteers who work on the Magfest events. There are yet more volunteers who are part of committees organising the Festival Club and Publicity/Marketing. And the there's the Board itself, which oversees the whole enterprise.
So if you're here at the Festival as a performer or as part of the audience, do bear in mind that almost all the people you're dealing with, front- and back-stage, are unpaid and have often sacrificed lots of their personal time during the year running up to the SMF. Without all these volunteers the SMF could not happen, so be nice to them :)
Friday 19 June 2009
Inside the Tent #3
8.15am: Back on site. Last night's deployment of "Spence's Patent Spiegeltent Wrapper" has created a reasonable blackout which hasn't all blown away in somewhat blustery conditions: just some gaps to pick up later.
9am: The heating engineer is on site attending to the aforementioned heater: much headscratching. Lots of lighting cable to be taped in place. Performers starting to arrive for technical rehearsals.
10.30am: The heater is working! A leaking fuel pump connection apparently: now sorted.
1pm: Tom Macphail and Steven Cooper are putting finishing touches to the front of house: levelling trip hazards and laying a rather smart red carpet. Much debate about the best way to fix carpet to concrete and gravel. Signs to put up.
Lunch in the tent: a bacon roll and a doughnut with a private juggling show.
4.15pm: Afernoon spent running extra cables and swapping lighting connectors. Finally I am off to change for the Opening reception and leaving everybody to it. The bar stock is arriving: a good sign.
5pm: The Town Hall: Bump into Matthias McGregor who did the original design for Oiseau Rouge 1 and was very involved last time. He reminds me that he suggested blogging and Facebook two years ago, but none of us knew what he was talking about. Somebody mistakes him for a Norwegian conductor. Explain to the poet, Kenneth Steven, and his BBC producer that none of this entitles us volunteers to free tickets for anything (other than the opening reception): it's just good fun. He is waiting to interview 'Max' in a cupboard at Radio Orkney for a forthcoming Radio 3 programme on GMB. As usual lots of vague promises of 'see you in the club over the weekend' which will all come to pass.
There's an hour until the Huddersfield Choral Society concert in the Cathedral. Might swing by the Tent to catch the end of the show and/or club after it: and that's day one!
Good News: the sun is out again.
9am: The heating engineer is on site attending to the aforementioned heater: much headscratching. Lots of lighting cable to be taped in place. Performers starting to arrive for technical rehearsals.
10.30am: The heater is working! A leaking fuel pump connection apparently: now sorted.
Steve Moffat, our admirably calm stage manager and sound man with Tony on lights are getting their head round the acts and their varying requirements. Steve is a veteran of Oiseau Rouge 1 and Faring and although we have a much more complex lighting rig this time, there's much less feeling of stepping into the unknown.
1pm: Tom Macphail and Steven Cooper are putting finishing touches to the front of house: levelling trip hazards and laying a rather smart red carpet. Much debate about the best way to fix carpet to concrete and gravel. Signs to put up.
Lunch in the tent: a bacon roll and a doughnut with a private juggling show.
4.15pm: Afernoon spent running extra cables and swapping lighting connectors. Finally I am off to change for the Opening reception and leaving everybody to it. The bar stock is arriving: a good sign.
5pm: The Town Hall: Bump into Matthias McGregor who did the original design for Oiseau Rouge 1 and was very involved last time. He reminds me that he suggested blogging and Facebook two years ago, but none of us knew what he was talking about. Somebody mistakes him for a Norwegian conductor. Explain to the poet, Kenneth Steven, and his BBC producer that none of this entitles us volunteers to free tickets for anything (other than the opening reception): it's just good fun. He is waiting to interview 'Max' in a cupboard at Radio Orkney for a forthcoming Radio 3 programme on GMB. As usual lots of vague promises of 'see you in the club over the weekend' which will all come to pass.
There's an hour until the Huddersfield Choral Society concert in the Cathedral. Might swing by the Tent to catch the end of the show and/or club after it: and that's day one!
Good News: the sun is out again.
SMF in the press and on the web #2
The BBC News website has a mention of the start of SMF. @niltiac tells us via Twitter how difficult it is to find somewhere to stay in Orkney during SMF. The Herald has a piece about the summer concert season. There's an overview of this year's programme on the Press & Journal website.
Volunteers: Box Office
Box Office is a team of volunteers whose task during SMF is to look after ticket sales at the door - if there are any tickets left! They also make sure the cash "floats" are where they should be (so that people can get change) and deal with most ticket queries. Obviously, this can be quite stressful at times, especially as a performance is about to start. The box office task begins well before SMF starts: supporters' contributions and postal ticket bookings have to be processed long before that. Finally, for a couple of months before the start of SMF, the Festival office opens during the day for ticket sales to the public at large. This part of the job is unusual in that it is part-time paid: we cannot ask volunteers to give up weeks of their working-day time.
Thursday 18 June 2009
Inside the Tent #2
Home for tea! But still lots to do. A session this evening to sort out various bits and pieces so that the rehearsals can get underway tomorrow morning and then a long day to get everything ready for the show in the evening.
Guess I'll have to forego the Bill Viola opening in Stromness.....
Good news: (especially for those of you who froze two years ago) The heater arrived on time
Bad news: It's being temperamental
Good news: The sun was shining - Bad news: Then it wasn't (repeat)
Guess I'll have to forego the Bill Viola opening in Stromness.....
Good news: (especially for those of you who froze two years ago) The heater arrived on time
Bad news: It's being temperamental
Good news: The sun was shining - Bad news: Then it wasn't (repeat)
The Festival Chorus vs. Huddersfield Choral Society
The Festival Chorus is a key part of every Festival. The Chorus consists of about 120 singers, many of whom are involved in SMF in other ways - as hosts or committee members or whatever. Sunday night of SMF always features a choral piece where the Festival Chorus sing with the orchestra in residence (the RSNO this year). Rehearsals for the performance begin in the New Year, and in recent years the pre-Festival rehearsals have been part of the Conducting Course, giving the conductors a chance to test out their skills. This year is unique in that the Festival Chorus will be joined by over 60 members of the Huddersfield chorus for a performance of Vaughn Williams' Sea Symphony with the RSNO. Today I receieved a report from someone in the Festival Chorus describing last night's rehearsal with the Huddersfield chorus:
The first rehearsal of the combined Festival Chorus and Huddersfield chorus members was an outstanding success. The injection of 60-odd new singers brought the sound up to a symphony-orchestra-defying level, no more than is required for the mammoth Vaughan Williams Sea Symphony. After the lengthy process of allocating seats to each chorus member, the first massive 'Behold, the sea!' evoked a collective spine-tingling and not a few moist eyes. Such moments seemed to happen with alarming frequency throughout the rehearsal; God knows what it'll be like when the RSNO join us!
Volunteers: the Technical Team
Also known as the "all-blacks" because of the black clothing they wear while working at performances. They have the most physically demanding job, often building or dismantling stages or sets late at night after everyone has gone home or to the Festival Club. The core of this team has long experience of stage lighting, rigging, stage construction, etc. So the artists and public can have confidence in their comfort and safety. The effectiveness of each show in terms of its lighting and general stage dressing also depends heavily on the "all-blacks".
Indeed, they're already hard at work. One of the main venues for SMF events is the Pickaquoy leisure centre, which is constantly in use for sports and leisure events. It's impossible to leave the SMF staging in place because it would block other events. Last night the stage crew had to strike all the staging to accommodate a Junior Inter-county sports event; they will then have to put it up again after tomorrow's The Lighthouse performance in advance of Saturday's afternoon rehearsal and evening performance! So you can imagine how hard these guys have to work...
Weather a lot better today by the way - there's even a bit of sunshine right now.
Wednesday 17 June 2009
SMF in the press and on the web #1
Here's some SMF-related stuff which has recently turned up on the internet:
Organist Michael Bawtree is profiled in the Herald, plus they have a piece about The Lighthouse. (Why is SMF referred to as "The St Magnus"?!)
The Lighthouse is also featured in the Scotsman.
The Huddersfield Examiner mentions the Chorus' trip to Orkney.
The Baltimore Sun (is that the same newspaper as in TV show The Wire?) has an article on Robert Baker's participation in the Composers' Course.
Local newspaper Orkney Today has several stories: Celebrating all arts at the St Magnus Festival; Highlighting the best of the Festival; the return of the Spiegeltent.
Inside the Tent
Today the lighting is being installed in the Spiegeltent in preparation for the arrival of the performers, tomorrow.
Getting the Spiegeltent to this point has involved a whole parallel organisation to the main Festival over the last few months: including for example, negotiating use of the site, getting the necessary permissions, converting a derelict builders merchant's shop into acceptable dressing rooms and green room and organising volunteers to provide accommodation for performers and crew.
Last night the Fire Brigade visited to inspect the site. That was the point two years ago where I finally relaxed about the event. After weeks of dealing with officialdom which was, at best, nervous about the whole thing, the sight of the Kirkwall Fire Brigade marching onto site in full uniform to see what we were up to was not comforting. However, as soon as they walked in and saw the Deco splendour of the tent, the reaction was 'this is great, where can we get tickets'.
To be clear the Festival, or rather its upstart offspring 'Magfest', hires the Spiegeltent as a venue only. The shows are completely seperate and put together specially for us. ' Moulin Rouge' is one of a number of tents belonging to Klessens, a Belgian company who take them all over the world: you may have enjoyed a Highland Park in 'Moulin Rouge' at the Edinburgh Book Festival. To find out more about their tents see http://www.spiegeltent.com/en_home.aspx
Volunteers: Accommodation & Transport
SMF is almost entirely run by volunteers. Today the performers start arriving, so the Accommodation & Transport committee are about to be very busy. Available accommodation is so scarce during SMF that many of the performers are hosted (at no cost) by local residents in their own homes. As you can imagine, this sometimes leads to confusion when artists are expecting to be in a B&B or hotel. But SMF has run successfully on this basis for the past 30-odd years and it does create a very different atmosphere for the performers compared with what they're used to. The Accommodation & Transport Committee has the unenviable task of persuading people to host performers. This year has been particularly challenging since they've had to find hosts for the 60-strong Huddersfield Choral Society in addition to the usual array of performers. ** Today, the committee members will start collecting people from the airport and ferry terminals to take them to their lodgings. Best of luck to chairperson Karen and the rest of her team!
The Conducting and Composing courses are already well under way, having started on the 13th June. The Conducting Course has been going strong for 7 years now. This year's Director is Martyn Brabbins, who has directed every Orkney Conducting Course bar one. The newer Composing Course is directed by Alisdair Nicolson and Sally Beamish. More details here and here. Conducting Course participants get the opportunity to work with the musicians and conductors performing in SMF, plus they conduct one of the Festival Chorus rehearsals. Composers will have their new work performed next Wednesday.
** Many Huddersfield Choral Society members are being hosted by Festival Chorus members.
Tuesday 16 June 2009
"Mixter Maxter"
Community participation is a huge part of the St Magnus Festival. More will be said later about the volunteer force which makes SMF possible, plus the Festival Chorus. But in this post I want to mention the long-standing participation with Orkney schools. For many Orcadians, the school involvement is at the heart of SMF. It would be very easy for Orkney residents to disregard SMF as being a minor invasion of "musos" - such is the reputation of modern classical music unfortunately.** But because many Orcadians, or their children, have taken part in performances when they were at school, SMF is transformed into something (potentially, at least) more accessible.
This year's big school participation projects is "Transform Orkney: Mixter Maxter", which the website describes thus:
National Theatre of Scotland returns to Orkney with an ambitious theatre project examining the ‘mixter-maxter' of contemporary Orcadian identity.Young people from Kirkwall Grammar School along with local artists and community groups are collaborating with a creative team from the National Theatre of Scotland to devise enigmatic, site-specific performances and intimate storytelling encounters. This exciting theatre event involves elements of performance, movement, music, visual art and creative writing. Link
And they have their *own* blog, so I need say no more. Go here. (Thanks for the link Sweyn.)
** How can it be "modern classical" I hear you ask. I dunno, just couldn't think of any other phrase to describe it! I'm pretty wary of modern music myself to be honest. I really tried to find time to read my copy of "The Rest Is Noise" before this year's Festival, but I just couldn't manage it. I'll read it for next year, promise ;)
Weather Report
I've added a link to the Friends of SMF Facebook group. I see one of the members of the group - Leslie Burgher - has added another "under construction" photo of the Spiegeltent (above). When the Spiegeltent first visited Orkney for the SMF two years ago, it was hugely popular. It's a great counterpoint to the hushed halls of the other SMF venues.
Weather here is beautiful again today. You may wonder why I'd be worried about weather when all the concerts are indoors. Well, the weather here can be so bad - even in Summer - that you'll get windswept and drenched during the 2 minute walk from the Spiegeltent to the Festival Club! And the weather can change at the drop of a hat. Umbrellas are a total waste of time because of the strong winds. So if you're new to Orkney, take some warm clothes and waterproof coat - hopefully you won't need them!
SweynH has been tweeting up a storm on Twitter. He's posted some interesting info about this year's SMF and how it's organised (more on that subject here later in the week). Click the "SMF on Twitter" link on the right.
Back later with some info about the Conducting Course...
Light
Monday 15 June 2009
MagFest Spiegeltent under construction
Saturday 13 June 2009
Welcome
Hello and welcome to the St Magnus Festival "unofficial" blog. You're probably already familiar with the official St Magnus Festival website. So what's this blog for? We thought it might be fun to try to give a flavour of the Festival as it's happening. I'll be posting Festival-related words and pictures, maybe even try to get some quotes or short interviews. There'll also be some (not entirely serious) Orkney survival tips: what to wear, why not to bother with an umbrella, how to say "hello" in Orcadian, that sort of thing. Some of the posts will be very short or contain typos as I'll be posting in part from my mobile phone. If you've got any stories, pictures or other content you'd like to share, send them to blogsmf@googlemail.com
What's my connection with the Festival? Well, I was a performer in (I think) the second ever St Magnus Festival at the tender age of 10 years old, playing part of a computer in Ian McQueen's Time Flight. In subsequent years, as my parents became more and more involved in the Festival, our family home was a regular venue for performers to hang out until the early hours. The Festival has always had a strong association with the local schools, and I continued to take part in performances occasionally in the school orchestra or choir. In the 20 years I lived away from Orkney, I was kept well-informed about the increasing scale and renown of the Festival - many family & friends have continued to be involved through most of the Festival's history. So I hope my strong emotional and social connection to the Festival will make the content of this blog worthy of your attention, despite my less-than-stellar knowledge about the music and performers! My goal is to be more of a conduit than an authority.
I've also created a Twitter account (stmagnus)to accompany the blog. I'll tweet links to blog articles as they're posted. Maybe there'll be some other stuff too.
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