International Cultural Connections

By Maxim Cormier

This year, I've been very fortunate to get to take part in this great new partnership, travelling in June 2014 to Australia for the National Celtic Festival. My stay down under started with a week in Melbourne, where I got to work on and perform John Somerville's new piece of music "The Voyage of The Hector"; a Multi-movement suite of music commissioned by Fèis Rois to celebrate the voyage of the Hector - a boat that sailed from Ullapool, in Wester Ross, to Pictou, Nova Scotia in 1773 carrying over 200 people from the Highlands and Islands - as well as the 15th anniversary of the Ceilidh Trail project and the year of homecoming in Scotland. The piece was premiered at the National Celtic Festival, where I also got to do several duo performances with Cape Breton fiddler, Rachel Davis. On August 5th, I'll perform "The Voyage of The Hector" at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with a different group of musicians. Then, in October, we'll take this piece of music to Celtic Colours in Cape Breton to perform it there, where so many emigrants from that time settled, with local young musicians.

I'm really excited to show the people from home what I've been up to this summer! It's been an amazing experience to collaborate with musicians from Australia and Scotland on such a project. I've made connections with many like-minded people; maybe some more music will come out of these friendships in the future!

Fèis Rois's Ceilidh Trail projects gives young musicians the opportunity to come together and do a 5 week tour. This year, being the 15th anniversary of the Ceilidh Trail, Fèis Rois has put together a special touring group called the the Commonwealth Trail, which comprises a lucky Canadian (guess who!) and Jack Wilson, a fiddle and piano player from Australia. Our touring schedule includes the Cambridge Folk Festival, the Calendonian Club in London, events during the Commonwealth Games such as the launch of the Glasgow 2014 media centre and a Gaelic Arts showcase hosted by Creative Scotland the Edinburgh Fringe, and visiting the Western Isles of Lewis and Harris, to name but a few stops along the way. The Ceilidh Trail is a truly amazing project; I really wish we had something similar at home to encourage more young Cape Bretoners to get involved in traditional music.

July 14-18 was our 'training week' for the Ceilidh Trail - 18 young musicians from across Scotland (and myself and Jack) spent a week rehearsing and taking workshops at the Old Brewery in Cromarty on the Black Isle just north of Inverness. On July 14th, I met the other members of my Trail: Charlie Grey, Lucie Hendry, Josie Duncan, Micheal Steele and I had already met Jack Wilson in Australia. By July 18th, we were expected to have two 45 minute concert sets ready, be able to play for a 3 hour ceilidh and be comfortable setting up and operating a PA system. It seemed a bit overwhelming at first, but these 5 musicians are extremely talented and keen to get this project together. It's been an absolute blast to learn a bunch of new music with them.

I can't wait to see more of this lovely country.

So I'm four weeks into my internship at Fèis Rois here in Dingwall, Scotland. It's hard to believe that it was over a month ago now that the National Celtic Festival was in full swing and the gang from Scotland and Canada were Australia! The time has flown by.

I jumped straight in the deep end in my first week, end-of-year concerts for the after school classes in Ullapool and Evanton, a board meeting and a trip to Skye in addition a full week of work. Fiona and the Fèis Rois team have been so welcoming, helping me to get a grasp of the broad range of projects and programs Fèis Rois runs around Scotland.

In my time at the Fèis Rois office, I've been reviewing the organisation’s Gaelic Language Policy, looking to develop a strategic plan to strengthen our work in promoting the Gaelic language and encouraging its use at Fèis Rois into the future. I have also been working on an upcoming Gaelic immersion fèis weekend for university students across Scotland, which allows fluent speakers to come together to hang out, speak Gaelic and take workshops in Gaelic song, drama, step dance and group work.

I spent the week last week down in the Central Belt, looking at language planning in these urban settings, where many of the country's Gaelic speakers are concentrated. I had the amazing opportunity to work with the Gaelic Officers at the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, Fiona Dunn and Bria Mason, looking at the various programs they run at the universities and discussing the writing and implementation of Gaelic Language Plans. I was also lucky to meet Linda NicLeòid, the Arts and Culture Development Officer at An Lòchran, an organisation which works to develop and promote Gaelic arts and culture in Glasgow and engage with the city's large Gaelic community. After having read so much on the topic, it was a treat to see the theory in practice, and to discuss language planning issues in the Scottish context.

As the launch of Fèis Rois' Ceilidh Trails approaches, I've been assisting in the preparation for the program, particularly with media and publicity. A number of other fèisean also have Ceilidh Trail programs for young musicians over the summer. These programs play an important role in Gaelic language promotion; in addition to its role in young musicians’ professional development and growing Scotland’s cultural tourism, it is a great way to showcase Gaelic language and culture on a national scale.

There's also been time for fun - as all work does make Jack a dull boy. I got to witness my first ever Shinty match - a brutal mixture between hockey, hurling and lacrosse - at Bugh Park in Inverness, I've had a few tunes and drinks around town and during my time down in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

This Friday Maxim Cormier from Cape Breton Island and myself will be joining local young musicians from Fèis Rois to perform for the arrival of the Queen's Baton Relay in Dingwall, Ross-Shire. The training week for the Ceilidh Trail starts on Monday in beautiful Cromarty on the Black Isle, just north of Inverness. Things are really gearing up!