Melvich Gaelic Choir Heading For Pan Celtic Festival In Ireland

5th February 2007

Melvich Gaelic Choir have launched their plans to ensure that the Year of Highland Culture 2007 will be one to remember. They will be representing the North of Scotland at the International Pan Celtic Festival in Letterkenny, Republic of Ireland in April of this year.

Plans are afoot with the choir chartering Eastern Airways to fly them from Wick direct to Ireland for the celebration with five other fellow Celtic nations - Ireland, Isle of Man, Wales, Cornwall and Brittany in France. Choir leader Raymond Bremner, mod gold medallist, led another choir - Atomaig Piseag (Argyll Ladies Gaelic Choir) to success at the same festival last year and hopes that Melvich will ensure that the far North of Scotland will do the same for the Year of Highland Culture 2007.

Melvich Gaelic Choir are looking for supporters to accompany them on their trip and to enjoy the festival which celebrates all aspects of Celtic Culture. Promotional evenings and street concerts as well as competing in the main event before attending the final celebration of Scottish culture on the Saturday evening before flying home are all part of the programme. The choir fly out on Tuesday 10th April and return on Sunday 15th April from Wick Airport.

Some of the members of Melvich Gaelic Choir see this year of celebration in the Highlands 2007 as the catalyst year when they can re-ignite the interest of old and young in the Far North Coast of Caithness and Sutherland in Gaelic culture and song. This ignition will be through an exciting and inspirational series of concerts which will showcase Gaelic language through music and song, concurrently with a series of Gaelic song workshops to introduce and support new and returning involvement in Gaelic song. The workshops will be led by the concert artists which will give the highest level of tuition and the opportunity to network for those interested in developing their singing skills. Melvich Gaelic Choir will actively encourage representation and participation by all ages. Members of the choir will be working to share this opportunity with the schools by offering Friday afternoon workshops with the featured artists whenever possible. This opportunity will provide the youngsters within the Caithness and Sutherland Province of the Royal National Mod the chance to meet some of the Royal National Mod Gold and Traditional Medallists including the current medallists - Kirsteen MacDonald and Alasdair Whyte.

The organisers are hoping to draw people to the area for the concert and the classes and in the case of the June event - increase interest and attendance for the competitions held during the local Caithness & Sutherland Mod. The organisers feel the inclusion of the artistic programme prior to the Mod will draw people to stay in the north area and heighten the interest of the local communities of the two districts. The local Mod is returning for the first time in over 20 years to Thurso and is scheduled for 9th June 2007. The local Mod was last held in Caithness in Wick in 1999.

The workshops will offer the following:

- Support with performance of songs for the Mod
- Performing for adjudication
- Singing styles for Gaelic & Traditional music
- Gaelic Song at beginner level and for the more experienced speaker/performer
- Song selection appropriate to experience
- When appropriate, support material for personal work between workshops

Final arrangements of the planned programme of events are being made. The workshops and concerts are planned for Durness, Melness, Tongue, Melvich and Lyth Arts Centre leading up to the Provincial Mod in Thurso on the 9th June. Guest artistes will include current Royal National Mod Gold Medallists Alasdair Whyte from the Isle of Mull and Kirsteen MacDonald from Inverness with other National Mod Gold and Traditional Medallists Margaret MacLellan (Ardnamurchan), Calum Alex MacMillan (Isle of Lewis), Riona Whyte (Isle of Mull) and also James Graham (Sutherland) and many more.

Concerts will focus on the billed artists but with an opportunity for a number of community singers/musicians to perform.

More information will be forthcoming in the immediate future but for further details anyone interested in this series of music festivals should contact Alex Patience on 01641 531 355 or Myrtle Gillies on 01847 891 787.