North Highland Connections continues, this week and next, to promote cultural programmes with a strong youth bias. Following the highly successful mini-tour by Italian virtuoso pianist, Gesualdo Coggi, in Caithness and Sutherland, young people again dominate the promotions in the next two weeks.

On Thursday, 2nd June, a string quartet of students from the Royal Scottish academy of Music & Drama will be ‘in residence’ in Lairg and Rosehall, Sutherland. The group – the Maxwell Quartet – will work with young players from schools in the area on Friday and Saturday. On Saturday, 4th June, they will give a public concert in the Church of Scotland, Rosehall at 7:30pm. The concert will include quartets by Mozart and Mendelssohn, as well as more recent music. This will be the second Saturday in a row for music lovers in the area to enjoy music in the excellent acoustics of Rosehall church. NHC is grateful for the enthusiastic support of people in the village for help in promoting these events.

More young and gifted musicians will be presented the following week.

NHC has recently added St Mary’s Music School, Edinburgh, to its long list of partners organizations. At the moment there are eighteen such partnerships, including five Scandinavian countries. The short tour by St Mary’s is the first of its kind, but NHC and the school plan to make them a regular feature of the arts scene in the North Highlands.

Six young musicians will perform in Thurso and Dorncoh. Players include a string quartet, a pianist and a player of the tradition clarsach. The programme will therefore be a mix of classical and Scottish traditional music. The leader of the string group is 18 year old Matthew Field, whose family lives at Brough, near Thurso, and is well known in the area for its musical gifts.

On Tuesday, 7th June, they will perform in the High School Hall, Thurso. On Wednesday, 8th June they will perform in Dornoch Cathedral. Both concerts begin at 7:30pm. admission at Thurso is by programme; £8 (£6 concessions). At Dornoch admission is free, but generous donations are invited.

Source: North Highland Connections