PATH of MIRACLES: Tenebrae at the National Museum of Flight’s Concorde Hangar
In Lammermuir Festival’s history, the 2024 programme marks the first time it will offer a rare returning event. And with the comeback of Path of Miracles and Tenebrae proving hugely popular with audiences, organisers have added a second performance on the night giving festivalgoers a second chance to grab a ticket this year.
Joby Talbot’s Path of Miracles, performed in the Concorde Hangar at the National Museum of Flight, is at the heart of the 2024 programme. Sung by one of the finest choral groups in the world, Tenebrae, for which it was written 20 years ago, the work is both ravishingly beautiful and hugely dramatic.
Last performed at Lammermuir back in 2017, the sold-out audience stood cheering when it finished. The tour de force is inspired by the famous pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela and performed alongside one of the technological marvels of modern travel in the Concorde Hangar.
Do you love playing the piano and a good sing along? Our over 60s singing group, Vocal Vibes is looking for a fabulous volunteer to join them on piano.
The group brings together isolated older people to build confidence and connections through the shared love of singing!
As a volunteer you will accompany the song leader in the sessions and performances and collaborate with the group to select songs from throughout the decades. Fab piano and musical skills are needed and experience working with singing groups would be great but not essential.
This is an in-person volunteering role. Vocal Vibes meet on the 2nd and 4th Friday of each month from 11am -1pm in an accessible city centre venue close to several transport links.
One of Edinburgh’s leading mixed voice choirs, Cadenza, celebrates sunny days, starry nights and air filled with birdsong, in works by Ravel, Elgar, Saint-Saens and more …
The internationally-renowned chamber choir from Pomona College, California, USA, are about to undertake a concert tour of the UK, including concerts in London, Cambridge, York and Durham as well as appearances in St Andrews and Edinburgh on the 27th and 28th May, respectively.
The concert in St Andrews will be in conjunction with another student choir, the St Andrews Madrigal Group.
SING GENTLY
A choral celebration of music from the Americas and Britain
Pomona College Glee Club, California, USA
Joint concert with St Andrews Madrigal Group
Holy Trinity Church
South Street, St Andrews KY16 9NL
Saturday 27th May, 7.30pm
ADMISSION FREE
ST GILES AT SIX
St Giles Cathedral
High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1RE
Sunday 28th May, 6pm
ADMISSION FREE
The Pomona College Glee Club, Pomona’s elite chamber choir, has been representing Pomona College both internationally and at home for over 100 years.
Recent tours have seen the choir singing in prestigious venues throughout Germany, Poland, Italy and the Czech Republic as well as the UK.
Their current tour will visit London, Cambridge, York, Durham and St Andrews, as well as Edinburgh, presenting the very best of unaccompanied choral repertoire, including music by Beach, Byrd, McMillan, Walton, Weelkes and Whitacre.
BBC Scotland are on a mission to create a unique choir led by vocal coach to the stars, Yvie Burnett, for her new series, ‘Scotland Sings’.
For the past 20 years, Yvie has worked with a range of stars from Katy Perry to Susan Boyle, Lewis Capaldi to Leona Lewis, and has appeared on The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent along the way.
Now, Yvie is taking on her biggest challenge yet – to form and coach a choir from some of Scotland’s hidden talents, those who have kept their vocal talents a secret, until now …
We need you to help us find our country’s finest ‘secret’ singers – those who’ve kept their talents hidden away, who lack the confidence to ever sing in public but would benefit both physically and mentally from coaching and singing in a group led by Yvie, even if this is the first time they’ve let their vocals be heard outside of the shower!
So if that sounds like you or even someone you know – a family member or friend – now is the time the act!
To be considered, all you have to do is record a video or send us the email address of your nominee by heading to this address: bbc.co.uk/scotlandsings and follow the instructions.
We can’t wait to hear all the unheard voices from across Scotland!
The closing date for applications is the 31st of October 2022 at midnight and all applicants must be 18 +.
A ‘virtual choir’ of ten blind and partially sighted people has recorded their own version of The Proclaimers iconic ‘I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)’, the chart-topping hit that became an instant classic of Scottish pop.
But this version [https://www.facebook.com/RNIB.Scotland/] has changed the lyrics to give a humorous take on the frustrations and difficulties that people with sight loss have experienced during lockdown.
Mike Holroyd, who brings the RNIB Scotland Connect Singers together over the phone, said: “When it comes to social distancing, too often sighted people think that others are being careless if they are getting too close to them. But the reality is that those who are blind or partially sighted can’t always fully see other people even when they are alongside.
“Singing has become an important pass-time during lockdown in many countries, and this has certainly been true for some of our members in Scotland.
“Our singers, who continue to meet over the phone each week, decided to write a song about some of the challenges they face as we emerge out of lockdown. They were all involved in writing and re-writing lines of the song until everyone was happy with the result.
“We asked Steven Johnson, an RNIB Scotland volunteer and himself a singer/song-writer, to record some guitar and vocals. We were then able to add piano and further vocals through sending audio-files backwards and forwards and even collecting some vocals via phone call.
“This has been a fun project. But it also highlights a serious issue. Many of us who are blind and partially sighted do not find social distancing easy, and so we will need the wider community to understand and maybe offer a bit of support if needed. We have heard stories of blind and partially sighted people being shouted at because they have not been aware of queues or been unable to judge distances. This song conveys a serious message in a light hearted way.
“The Proclaimers music publishers have been very generous in allowing us to borrow their tune for this song.”
The choir members come from Edinburgh, Stirling, Ayrshire and Glasgow.
A choir of blind and partially sighted people that first got together at the start of the year in Edinburgh is now harmonising over the phone-line.
Launched by sight loss charity RNIB Scotland in January, its members continue to sing defiance to the coronavirus blues.
Hazel Kelly (76) from Corstorphine, has experienced two degenerative corneal eye conditions which significantly affected her sight.
“I haven’t sung in a choir since I was a teenager in my church choir,” she said, “but I really fancied getting involved in some way and when I heard about this one I thought I would give it a go!
“It was originally held at the RNIB Scotland offices at Hillside Crescent in Edinburgh every second Tuesday with just four of us and a piano to start with. The numbers attending gradually increased and we all suggested a song we could potentially work on, which has included ‘Will ye go Lassie Go (The Wild Mountain Thyme)’, ‘Wind in the Willows’ and ‘Mull of Kintyre’.
“Of course, everybody has to memorise the words as, having sight loss, we can’t always read them, which is fine for the chorus but not so easy with a lot of verses! Our organiser Mike makes us work hard, including special singing warm-ups, and we had started to harmonise a bit, although this is more difficult now we’re all at home.
“We tried to all get together with Zoom while not particularly ideal , Mike is still working on the best solution for us. However, the good news is, that with the lockdown, more people have joined from other parts of Scotland, and I am now chatting and singing with a lady from Glasgow and another from Stirling among others.
“I don’t think we are quite ready to perform anywhere yet, but never say never is my motto! And it is good fun to find yourself at home singing the songs in the bathroom and while pottering around the house.”
The choir’s organiser Mike Holroyd, a community co-ordinator with RNIB Scotland, is a guide-dog user himself.
“I used to lead a choir of blind and partially sighted people for about 17 years when I lived in Bristol,” said Mike. “One or two people had been asking about starting a connect singing group in Scotland so we did.
“We started face-to-face in January, but when lockdown started folk were keen to continue – and in fact instead of every two weeks, we now get together every week.
“The emphasis at the moment is not so much on the sound we produce but on the learning and the fun of getting together. I’ve started encouraging people to sing solo verses – this helps to reinforce learning, but also works much better on the phone, and assists with building confidence.”
The RNIB Helpline is available to help blind and partially sighted people and their families and carers on 0303 123 9999.
