One thing I didn’t expect when I came to live in Edinburgh in 1999, was that I would start learning music from the other side of the world which would some years later lead to a Masters in ethnomusicology. Yet soon after I moved in, I saw a notice in a local shop about an African drumming and dance class. I thought it sounded fun, went along and so began a metaphorical journey, letting music and dance take me around the globe. Since then I have joined in Brazilian samba drumming and dance, Indian sitar and tabla classes, a Chinese orchestra, a Kunqu class and an Indonesian gamelan – a small sample of the music and dance happening here in Scotland.
Last year, many of these diverse groups took part in a series of concerts in Edinburgh’s St Cecilia’s Hall. The series ‘Music Across Borders’ was devised and organised by Alec Cooper and Chen Qinhan with the aim of bringing together music-making from different countries, enabling musicians and audiences to meet and exchange ideas. There was music from Morocco, India, China, Spain, Japan, Brazil, West Africa, the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean. The fourth concert was planned to feature collaborations between musicians from each of the groups but unfortunately it had to be cancelled because of Covid-19. Instead there was an informal gathering of musicians outdoors playing together some of the music they had been preparing before lockdown.
To find out about this project which will resume once it is safe to rehearse together, have a look at the website:
https://www.musicacrossborders.uk
and the following short documentary filmed by Adam Howells.
Liv's Music World 