Tune Up - Music Touring Across Scotland

Tours: Patsy Reid's Bridging The Gap

Wed 28th Apr 2010 - Wed 5th May 2010

Patsy Reid's Bridging the Gap was originally commissioned by Celtic Connections 2008.

Composer and fiddler, Patsy, combines her love of traditional and classical music, successfully marrying the two genres in more ways than one.

While studying at the Royal Northern College of Music she recalls, "I would put on my 'classical hat' during the week, and at some point between the commute between Manchester and Friday night's gig, that hat would be flung aside to reveal the more rebellious 'traditional hat'.'

Whilst carrying out this transformation on almost a daily basis, Patsy experienced first hand not only the obvious stylistic differences between the two disciplines, but also the sheer contrast in the musicians she was working with. Bridging the Gap sets out to transcend such divisions and whilst the musicians have been specially chosen for their ability to cross these barriers, the composition aims to develop a genuine musical, stylistic and social collaboration between the two genres.

Harmonically, Bridging the Gap is a journey and Patsy is joined onstage by Greg Lawson, Natalie Haas, Mairi Campbell, Michael Bryan, Mhairi Hall, Peter Tickell, Duncan Lyall and Iain Copeland.

And Patsy is joined on stage by on an exceptional line-up of international-renowned instrumentalists including Natalie Haas on cello, Mhairi Hall on piano, Mairi Campbell (Scots singer of the year 2007) on fiddle and vocals, Greg Lawson (Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Moishes Bagel) on fiddle, Mike Bryan (The Treacherous Orchestra and Box Club) on Guitar, Duncan Lyall (The Treacherous Orchestra, Box Club) on Double Bass and Iain Copeland (The Peatbog Faeries) on Drums.

A concert of two halves, Bridging the Gap will be joined by local young people who have worked with Patsy for several weeks to establish a truly exceptional performance.

After popular demand, the live recording from the Celtic Connections debut performance, was released on Vertical Records in November 2008, to great acclaim.