Piping Live! Showcase Emerging and Diverse Talent for 2024

Glasgow's internationally renowned piping festival Piping Live! will showcase five acts as part of the Emerging Talent strand of this year's event.

Article Source: Piping Live!
Last Updated: 19 July 2024 11:41

Taking place from Saturday 10th - Sunday 18th August, Piping Live! is the world’s biggest piping festival, attracting over 30,000 attendees to Glasgow each year.

The Emerging Talent competition allows UK-based acts to apply for a chance to perform on the Street Café stage as part of the festival. Aimed at musicians who are in the early stages of their career, applicants are judged on their originality and creativity as well as their musicianship, by a panel of industry specialists including Piping Live! Festival Director Finlay MacDonald.

This year sees piping tutor and competitor Emma Hill perform on Monday 12th August. Alongside performing as part of the Emerging Talent strand, Emma will also compete for the first time in the World Pipe Band Championships with the Glasgow Skye Association Pipe Band in Grade 2.

Glasgow group Sgòrr perform on Tuesday 13th August, playing traditional Scottish Music in addition to their own compositions. Sgòrr comprises Royal Conservatoire of Scotland students Camron MacPhail (Highland bagpipes), and Rachel Henderson (fiddle and Vox), Owen Stark (drums) currently studying at Riverside Music College, and MG ALBA Trad Awards ‘Up and Coming Artist of the Year’ nominee Ali MacQuarrie (guitar).

Blending together the traditions of Scotland and Ireland to create a vibrant, electric and inventive sound, McGarrity: MacPherson merge Highland piping traditions with Irish jigs and reels, culminating in enticing melodies and a rich texture of sound. With over 20 years of Highland piping experience, the duo push the boundaries of traditional music and will showcase the very best that both traditions have to offer at the Street Café stage on Wednesday 14th August.

New and exciting all-female band Dàna joined forces whilst studying traditional music at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and are set to perform on Thursday 15th August. The band's name, meaning “bold” or “audacious” in Scottish Gaelic, perfectly encapsulates their vibrant sound and approach to performance as they combine music from each of their respective home areas - Knoydart, Campbeltown, Oban, Edinburgh and Wales.

CAN Dubh, comprising Isle of Skye natives Noah Scott and Ciorstaidh Chaimbeul, are set to take their unique combination of the clarinet and accordion to the Street Café stage on Friday 16th August. The duo won a Danny Kyle Open Stage Award at Celtic Connections earlier this year.

Alongside the emerging artist performances at the Street Café, pioneering young accordionist Magnus Turpie will host a ceilidh on Friday, with his band the Magnus Turpie Combo, featuring Cameron Newell and Daisy McCormick on fiddle, Dominic Blaikie on guitar, Beatrice Blanco on piano, and Linda Campbell on accordion.

Magnus started playing in 2013, and over the past year has piloted “pathways” and inclusive programmes for both Live Music Now Scotland and the Feis Rois Ceilidh Trail. Magnus is a musician who has Down Syndrome. In March this year, Magnus and Dominic Blaikie joined Ester and Iseabail Strachan in their ‘Challenging Stereotypes’ tour of Skye, celebrating Downs Syndrome Awareness Week. He is also a member of the Traditional Music Forum and enjoys accordion and fiddle classes with Scots Music group in Edinburgh and plays snare and hi-hat with Ceilidh Calleerie, the SMG community ceilidh band. Outside of traditional music, he plays with Paragon Stride ensemble, RSNO ‘Altogether Now’ community orchestra, EJBF ‘GD Jam’ jazz combo and Drake music Scotland.

Alongside appearing in the final of the Battle of the Folk Bands competition at Celtic Connections in January this year, the Magnus Turpie Combo has also participated in the The Kist o' Riches Saturday evening concert at Girvan Folk Festival, as well as making regular appearances at Comunn Tir nam Beann Dun Eideann and Edinburgh Argyll Association Ceilidhs.

Magnus Turpie said: “As a musician with Down syndrome, I would like to see a traditional musical community which welcomes people with learning and communication disabilities as equal participants, able to access social and career opportunities unhindered by barriers & stereotypes. This opportunity to play with my band at Piping Live is very important to me. Thank you, Piping Live, Creative Scotland and all my fellow musicians, tutors and organisations for your friendship and support.”

John Mulhearn, Head of Piping Studies on the BMus Degree Course at the Piping Centre said: “We’re delighted to announce the winners of the Emerging Talent competition. With just over a month to go, the countdown is on for this year’s edition of Piping Live! and we can’t wait to welcome our up-and-coming artists to the stage. Piping Live! is committed to fostering a vibrant and inclusive musical community, and this competition highlights the diversity and creativity of the next generation. We believe in the power of music to bring people together and are excited to showcase these talented musicians. Our festival embraces and encourages emerging talent from all backgrounds, and we look forward to celebrating their unique contributions to the tradition.”

Piper Emma Hill said: “I am absolutely delighted to be part of the Emerging Talent showcase at Piping Live! Being recognised in such a prestigious festival, especially one that attracts over 30,000 attendees, is an incredible honour. I’m thrilled to perform on the Street Café stage, which brings together such a diverse array of piping styles and talents. This will be my first time experiencing Piping Live! and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to attend amazing gigs as well as perform alongside such outstanding musicians. This opportunity not only fuels my passion for the pipes but also allows me to share my love for this beautiful instrument with a global audience.”

Running from midday each day at the National Piping Centre, McPhater Street, the festival’s popular Street Café stage showcases an array of emerging talent, international styles of bagpipes, live podcasts, pipe band practices and showcases, all free to attend.

Run by the National Piping Centre, Piping Live! is now in its 21st year. The festival takes place from Saturday 10th - Sunday 18th August.

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