There's something wiffling in the Tulgey Wood...

Hello!  I thought I'd hijack Rosie's blog and add something about the family concert and workshop which fills in the spare hours of the opening weekend.  Rosie flatteringly described me as the 'head honcho' in her opening post - as well as co-ordinating The Cottier Chamber Project, I also play the horn in the host group, Daniel's Beard (what a stupid name for a classical music group...).

We've got 2 things happening in the opening weekend, which are linked together.  The first is a workshop for  children and parents (around the P5-7 mark) which is going to involve composing some new pieces.  In our family concert the following day, we'll be playing Complete Nonsense by Lenny Sayers.  It's a selection of Nonsense Poems by Edward Lear and Lewis Carroll, so our plan is write some more to go along with them.  I don't want to give too much away about it, but if you have a taste for adventure, danger and a bit of a swashbuckle, then this is for you!

We've done the workshop a few times now - once in last year's Aye Write Festival and 4 times up in Aberdeenshire for the Sound Festival, and it's great fun for us as well. It's amazing to see people letting their imaginations loose, in much the same way as Edward Lear and Lewis Carroll did, and results are amazing!  Some groups have written music, others gone for a graphic score type idea, others for something completely off-the-wall.  Some have played along, others sung or chanted - there aren't really any boundaries.  You don't have to learn an instrument (though if you do, bring it along) or feel that you're especially musically talented - as long as you're up for a challenge then all will be well!  And that goes for adults as well...

The concert will start off with a performance of Complete Nonsense, including the new pieces that were written in the workshop - this could be a good way to snag yourself a world premiere!  Lenny's music for the poems is brilliant - you can have a listen to three of them here (The Quangle-Wangle's Hat, Jabberwocky and The Owl and the Pussycat) and the new ones are brilliant.  We'll finish the concert with an arrangement of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, which is one of those pieces that can't fail to put a smile on your face.  We've got a bit of a celebrity turn here, with Kaye Adams joining us as the narrator.  There may even be a prize for the best wolf costume...!

It's the type of concert programme that can be though of as a 'children's concert', but we reckon that it's really for anyone of any age.  Think back to those poems, or to hearing Peter and the Wolf as a child - that wee moment of nostalgia and a little smile...that's what we're after!

The workshop will be held in Rockmount Nursery from 11-2 on Saturday 1st (but we'll meet over at Cottier's) - it's free, but places are limited, so book a ticket here.  And bring some lunch!  It will be worth staying on for Karel Dohnal's Stockhausen as well.

The concert is on Sunday 2nd at 2pm in Cottier's.  Any children performing will be free!

Hope to see you there!

Andy

PS I've got my wolf costume ready....