Scottish Opera’s emerging artists’ online recital

FOUR young singers will perform an online recital to mark the end of their season as Scottish Opera’s emerging artists. Arthur Bruce, Charlie Drummond, Heather Ireson and Mark Nathan have put together a short, light-hearted programme of operatic highlights, which will be streamed live at 6pm on 23 July. The season marks the tenth anniversary…

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Aboyne Highland Games stages online piping contest

THREE of the piping competitions held by Aboyne Highland Games will shift online this summer. The open competitions for the piobaireachd, march, and strathspey and reel categories will be held virtually on 1 August. Two-thirds of the 32 competitors come from the UK, with the remainder from North America. Recordings of their performances will be…

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Scottish dancer returns with solo triple bill

AFTER five years behind the scenes, award-winning Scottish choreographer Rosie Kay will return to the stage this autumn with a triple bill of solo works. Edinburgh-born Kay expects to perform her Absolute Solo II show – which will consist of Artemis Clown, Patisserie and a new work, as yet untitled – in her current home…

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V&A names new Dundee director

V&A Dundee has unveiled Leonie Bell as its new director. Bell joins Scotland’s first design museum from Renfrewshire Council, where she was the strategic lead for its Future Paisley Partnership. She replaces Philip Long, who has taken over as chief executive at the National Trust for Scotland. Bell began her career at Glasgow 1999: UK…

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Leith Theatre stays shut to secure longer-term future

LEITH Theatre has announced it will stay shut until the spring in order to secure its finances – but will use the time to plan for the longer term. Managers have spent weeks planning scenarios and calculating financial risks and have concluded that they need to remain closed so the theatre can remain viable. Most…

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Some NTS sites stay shut to 2022 as £2.5m emergency plea opens

THE National Trust for Scotland has launched an “emergency appeal” to raise £2.5 million so it can reopen some of its properties – but warned other sites will remain closed until 2022. The conservation charity said the coronavirus lockdown has so far left a £28 million hole in its income for this year. Although the…

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Record your version of Auld Lang Syne for Make Music Day

BUDDING musicians have until 5pm on Friday to record their version of Auld Lang Syne and submit it to a massive online project. Videos of the public’s recordings will be made into a collage that will be broadcast on Make Music Day on 21 June. Make Music Day UK has commissioned composer Hamish Napier and…

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Fiona Kennedy releases ‘remembering’ EP

SINGER Fiona Kennedy drew on inspiration from Robert Burns, the Highland clearances, and the death of family friend for her latest extended play (EP), The Maple Tree (I’ll Remember You). The EP was produced by award-winning musician Calum MacColl, one of Kennedy’s friends and long-time collaborator. Kennedy said: “The theme of the EP is ‘remembering’ –…

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Glasgow artists turn tattie display into community food project

ARTISTS Angus Farquhar and Rudy Kanhye have turned what was intended as a display at the SWG3 complex in Glasgow into a community food project. As part of “An Empty Gunny Bag Cannot Stand”, 120 brightly-coloured hessian sacks have been distributed around the area, allowing households to grow potatoes on their doorsteps. The bilingual title…

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Leith Theatre gets £11,000 grant and support package

WORK to reopen Leith Theatre is taking a further step forward after the category B-listed building was awarded a grant from Theatres Trust. The theatre, which lay empty between 1988 and 2016, has been awarded £11,000 to support Leith Theatre Trust with business planning, leadership training and a package of consultancy work to strengthen its…

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