MORE than 2000 musicians from across the globe are set to fly into Scotland this month to take part in Celtic Connections at 300 events in venues throughout Glasgow.
Now one of the leading annual festivals of world, folk and roots music, it kicks off next week for 18 days of concerts, ceilidhs, talks, art exhibitions, workshops, free events, late-night sessions and a host of special one-off musical collaborations.
The opening concert on Thursday stars award-winning folk singer-songwriter Laura Marling who will perform the world premiere of orchestrations of her songs by Kate St John with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and special guests.
This begins Celtic Connections 2017’s celebration of inspiring women artists, with performances by Brazilian Roberta Sa, Olivia Newton-John, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Karine Polwart, and legendary singer Shirley Collins among the highlights.
The festival also focuses this year on artists who have lived through times of intense personal hardships and found success through their music and strength, such as world music star Aziza Brahim who grew up in an Algerian refugee camp.
WHAT ELSE IS ON?
THE 70th anniversary of the partition of India will be marked with a Celtic Connections premiere and commission, produced in India by Indianuance, for leading world percussionists Trilok Gurtu and Evelyn Glennie, and featuring classical Indian violinist Kumaresh Rajagopalan and top UK classical pianist Philip Smith.
The 70th anniversary of the founding of Pakistan will also be marked, with performances from artists such as Sanam Marvi.
In addition, Celtic Connections 2017 will bring celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the Confederation of Canada to Glasgow with shows by leading Canadian artists such as Martha Wainwright, Le Vent du Nord, De Temps Antan and Russell de Carle.
And to help audiences forget the chilly temperatures outside – for a few glorious evenings at least – Celtic Connections is this year working in partnership with the MIMO Festival to celebrate Brazil as the partner country for 2017, with performances by some of the country’s leading artists including Hamilton de Holanda and Baile do Almeidinha, Yamandu Costa, Renata Rosa, Carlos Malta, Baby do Brasil and Sa. The partnership is also supported by the British Council and the Brazilian Embassy.
ANY OTHER HIGHLIGHTS?
AMERICANA. Celtic Connections is once again welcoming leading American and Bluegrass artists. Margo Price, St Paul and the Broken Bones, Darlingside, Hurray for the Riff Raff, the Mark O’Connor Band and Calexico are among the stars who will be taking to the stage.
Arizona-based Americana, Tex-Mex and indie rock band Calexico will be joined by Guatemalan singer-songwriter and guitarist Gaby Moreno and special guests for a classic Celtic Connections collaborative concert, Crossing the Border, in the main auditorium at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on Friday.
Tradition Now Celtic Connections can also boast an exciting array of traditional and folk musicians to this year’s festival.
La Banda Europa, led by composer and musician Jim Sutherland, has been specially assembled for this year’s festival to perform on January 29 at the Concert Hall.
This extraordinary ensemble features 36 virtuoso musicians from 15 countries who play ethnic instruments indigenous to their own European country of origin, including hurdy-gurdys, nyckelharpas, the Armenian duduk, Slovakia’s two-metre fujara flute, the ancient Celtic carnyx and bagpipes from seven nations.
ARE THERE MORE?
STAR-STUDDED folk orchestra The Unusual Suspects of Celtic Colours will be lining up on January 25 at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.
They were the toast of last year’s 20th Celtic Colours festival on Cape Breton Island in Canada, joining forces and repertoires with leading local musicians for a barnstorming sellout show, and now return that transatlantic line-up to the project’s birthplace.
Other highlights are fiddle super-group Session A9, Edinburgh’s Dallahan, the premiere of piping project Tryst, Gaelic rockers Mànran, a 20th anniversary performance of Phil Cunningham’s Highlands and Islands suite and Ireland’s Sharon Shannon Band and Four Men and A Dog.
Shooglenifty and special guests will also come together for A Night for Angus, paying tribute to their friend, band member and inspirational fiddle player Angus R Grant who sadly passed away last year.
Other artists appearing at Celtic Connections 2017 include C Duncan, Pictish Trail, Fairport Convention, Liz Lochhead, Aidan Moffat, Seth Lakeman, Tom Paxton, King Creosote, Siobhan Miller, Orchestra Baobab, Robyn Stapleton, and Anna Meredith. During the middle weekend of Celtic Connections, musical directors and programmers of leading festivals and venues from around the world will attend performances by Scottish songwriters, bands and musicians as part of Showcase Scotland.
The concerts, along with a trade fair, provide invaluable opportunities for Scottish musicians to gain new worldwide opportunities.
ANYTHING FOR KIDS?
MORE than 11,000 children across Scotland will also take part in Celtic Connections’ education programme through five free morning concerts and school workshops led by leading Celtic musicians.
The programme has reached more than 200,000 children across the country since it began in 1999.
Its work is supported directly by membership fees from the festival’s Celtic Rovers patrons scheme which gives discounted rates on bookings and exclusive experiences during Celtic Connections 2017.
The always-popular programme of public workshops will give people of all ages the chance during the festival to learn new musical skills and have fun along the way. A new venture with the National Whisky Festival, which will offer a wide range of whisky tastings and music, will be hosted at a new venue for Celtic Connections, SWG3, on January 28.
“A breath-taking range of styles and traditions radiates throughout Celtic Connections 2017,” said artistic director Donald Shaw.
The festival is supported by Glasgow City Council and Creative Scotland, and delivered by Glasgow Life.
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