Post by Traditional Music forum on Mar 27, 2021 17:46:19 GMT
A weekly two minute catch-up for members from the
TMF Director's desk
These are some of the things that have caught my attention this week.
A reminder that the AGM of the Traditional Music Forum will be held online next Saturday, 27 June, at 2pm. As well as the usual AGM stuff there will be a report on the year's activities and space for a discussion on how we move on from the current crisis - and where to.
Every day since the lockdown started the folk at Horsecross in Perth have put up a daily post on their website with 'moments of culture and community for you to tune into from home'. Currently on day 93 (!), it's called Keep Going Together.
My wife, Mairi Campbell, runs a weekly Zoom event on a Sunday evening called Campbell's Ceilidh, which has attracted people from all over the world to take part. During the last one I was chatting to one of those, Judi Smitheram, who runs the Canterbury Folk Festival in New Zealand and she was describing her feelings at being at the first folk club night (actual, real, not an electronic pulse or string of binary code involved) that had taken place since restrictions there were relaxed. It was heartwarming to hear about, but then the very next day came the news of a fresh outbreak of Covid. The old Greek myth of Sisyphus comes to mind.
I lugged in on a webinar organised by the Music Education Partnership Group earlier in the week that was looking at the challenges on online music teaching, both one to one and in groups. Nicola Benedetti was the star attraction on a panel that included the heads of instrumental teaching for the Western Isles and Highland. Everyone was very positive - the experience had been 'shockingly positive' as Nicola put it - citing better engagement from young people and, perhaps surprisingly, a real sense of community. There are problems, chiefly with trying to play together. Other positive effects were the reduction in travel time and expense. Norman Bolton, from Highland, observed that everything was a lot calmer: 'everyone knows what room they'll be in!'
There hardly seems to be a day goes past without a request for information about how the Covid crisis is affecting people. It's essential to keep feeding it in though, as it's hard information that will get through to Government, which has to step up and do its part to rectify the damage caused by the lockdown. EventScotland is looking for information on the impact of Covid on the 'Event Sector Supply Chain'. That's us, or a lot of us at any rate, although that's not how we think of ourselves normally. Survey here.
The Stove in Dumfries does a lot of great work using the arts and creativity to build community. I mentioned the Government's Advisory Group for Economic Recovery a couple of weeks back, which has been gathering in ideas. Instead of pages of dry text the Stove sent them this.
Someone this week got in touch with TRACS, having noticed that TRACS followed J.K.Rowling on Twitter, to ask if that meant that TRACS agreed with her views on transgender issues. Absurd, I know. I watch Sky News occasionally, but it doesn't mean I agree with Rupert Murdoch. However, it prompted us to have a look at who we're following on our TMF Twitter in case there was anything controversial we might have missed. Musicians and bands, arts organisations, and various public bodies is about the size of it, as you might expect.
A questionnaire from a Masters student at Stirling University has prompted much pondering over the difference between heritage and tradition, but no clear conclusions. This is the kind of thing that keeps me awake at night...
My earworm this week is a really annoying one. For some reason I've had The Carpenters' 'Sing a Song' going round my head for days now. It is possibly the blandest, most saccharine, MOR piece of work ever recorded, so I wouldn't wish it on anyone. She's a fantastic singer though. My musical week, however, has been brightened by a lovely piece of work by Laura Beth Salter, Calum MacCrimmon, Innes White, and Kim Carnie, a version of Stephen Stills's 'Helplessly Hoping'.
I was saddened to hear of the death of Keith Tippett, the pianist and composer mostly known for his jazz work, although he appeared on a couple of albums by the Edinburgh folk singer, Shelagh MacDonald. When Simon Thoumire and I started the Distil project way back in 2002, Keith was one of the first people we invited to work with the group of trad musicians we had assembled. Wonderful musician.
All the best
DF
David Francis is Director of the Traditional Music Forum
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