BENBECULA NIGHT AT CELTIC CONNECTIONS 2010

The evening of Friday, January 29 was a sell-out at St. Andrews in the square in Glasgow as the audience enjoyed celebrating ten years of  Traditional Music Courses at Lews Castle College's Benbecula Campus.  40+ students and tutors, past and present, came together for an inspirational feast of music from the Uists.

Will Lamb, the course leader, led the musicians and he was joined on stage by Anna-Wendy Stevenson, his fellow tutor, who hosted the evening.  Other tutors who joined the celebration throughout the evening were Iain MacDonald, Kathleen MacInnes, Mhairi Hall, Naomi Harvey, Paul McCallum and Rick Taylor.

A highlight of the evening was the first performance of a striking collaboration of the poetry of Paul McCallum which had inspired a painting by Michael Felix Gilfedder.  Words and images were then set to music by Anna-Wendy Stevenson.

The three winning compositions from last year's Ceolas competition were complemented by compositions form current and former students and the final set, conducted vivaciously by Rick Taylor, incorporated African and other global influences and had the audience dancing in the aisles.

Below is a video of one of Kathleen MacInnes' tracks from her CD,  "Og-mhadainn Shamhraidh", which shows the wonderful landscape of the Uists:-  

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