Members of young celtic big band The Gordon Duncan Experience took time out from rehearsals to launch the September to December programme for Perth Concert Hall and Perth Theatre.

The 30 Perthshire teenagers performed their first headline gig on home turf in Perth Concert Hall on 3 August.

And Gordon Duncan Experience musical directors Corrina Hewat and David Milligan return to Perth Concert Hall in October with the exhilarating sound of The Unusual Suspects.

A top trad line-up celebrates the memory of Gordon Duncan in A National Treasure V in Perth Concert Hall in September.  Fresh from their 2011 Celtic Connections triumph, Love and Money are also in Perth Concert Hall in September.   Idlewild’s Roddy Woomble is in Perth Theatre in October and Eddi Reader and Dougie MacLean in Perth Concert Hall in November.  The MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards in December are a further endorsement of Perth Concert Hall’s status as a top class venue for Scottish traditional music.

Classical music fans have their pick from a wide and varied range of concerts in Perth Concert Hall.  Virtuoso trumpeter and brochure cover star Alison Balsom plays a programme which includes a Scottish premiere of a Horsecross Arts and Scottish Ensemble co-commission in September.  Schubertiad in October is led by singers in residence for the weekend The Prince Consort and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra kicks off Perth Concert Series with Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony.

Lunchtime Concerts include tasty performances by harpist Emily Hoile, Escher String Quartet and Hebrides Ensemble.

Perth Concert Hall’s celebrated Steinway continues to attract the best international pianists with concerts by HJ Lim, Alasdair Beatson, Alexander Romanovsky and Khatia Buniatishvili.  Susan Tomes and Erich Höbarth set out on a series of four concerts exploring Mozart’s music for piano and violin in November and pianist Paul Lewis performs the third concert in his acclaimed Schubert cycle.

Horsecross Arts music fellow Matthew Rooke presents a concert performance of Flyting, a musical exploration of Scotland’s links with Africa in September and Shakespeare in Song premieres new settings of Shakespeare by Conor Mitchell who is composing music for Perth Theatre’s Twelfth Night.

Directed by new creative director for theatre, Rachel O’Riordan, Twelfth Night launches an exciting theatre season which also features National Theatre of Scotland’s gritty tale of tenement life; Men Should Weep. Rachel directs the poignant and funny The Absence of Women and Communicado and the National Theatre of Scotland present the true story of one man’s visionary project in Calum’s Road.

Jack and the Beanstalk, Perth’s pantomime is fee, fi, fo, fun for all the family in December.  Other festive favourites include Phil Cunningham and pals with a sack full of seasonal songs just in time for Christmas in Perth Concert Hall, the return of Dunedin Consort with Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and children’s favourites The Singing Kettle.

Tom Toms and Tooters by Children’s Classic Concerts is musical mayhem for kids in October and theatre shows for young ones include the captivating Arthur, the Story of a King and the charming tale How the Koala Learnt to Hug.

Perth continues to attract the cream of comedians with shows from Jason Byrne, Reginald D Hunter, Chris Addison, Omid Djalili and Dave Gorman.

Comedy, magic and vocal harmonies combine with music, glamour and dance in the tantalising An Evening of Burlesque in Perth Concert Hall in October.  West End stars present Buddy Holly – A Legend Reborn and another legend – ex-Stones bassist Bill Wyman performs with his Rhythm Kings.  Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers in Perth Concert Hall in November weave thundering drum rhythms with delicate flute and athletic choreography.  The global phenomenon that is Rhythm of the Dance returns to Perth Concert Hall in October and Company Chordelia combines dance, music and theatre in Miranda in Perth Theatre in November.

Budding singers, dancers, actors and musicians can get in on the act with Horsecross Arts Join In programme, and there is also a range of talks, exhibitions, contemporary art and films.

For tickets and information call Horsecross Arts Box Office on 01738 621 031, visit www.horsecross.co.uk.

Source: Horsecross