France Bleu Isère Interview 26.08.2017 (extracts)

Scots Wha Hae in festival, how does it work?
Look at Berlioz Festival:

The Festival Berlioz has begun its history in Lyon in 1979 before being settled in Berlioz hometown, at La Côte Saint-André (F-Isère) in 1994.

The 2017 edition has been entitled Berlioz in London in the time of the World Expos or more simply So British: it has ended with a new record crowds with more than 30 000 visitors during the fortnight.
The festival Director has chosen the Scots Wha Hae show during the all event for musical wanderings, concerts, gigs, etc… in connection with the very British programme and the multiple orchestra coming from the United Kingdom and playing on the remarkable stage of the Castle Louis XI.

Connecting classical music and Celtic music can appear at first as a risky bet, despite of the British theme: the wonderful welcome of the audience has validated this choice.
By the way, one can remember that Hector Berlioz has used a traditional Scottish tune in his Rob Roy overture (1831): “Scots Wha Hae” to discover on this site.


Press-book : Scots Wha Hae at Festival Berlioz

FESTIVALS

The Scots Wha Hae show is ideal and original for festivals, regardless of their theme (*):
- in its unplugged version: a simple performance with bagpipes and the great Scottish outfit to welcome the public, ensure original musical interludes, participate in the promotion of the festival through spectacular performances in the streets of the town that hosts the festival, etc...
- in concert: on a festival stage with a complete show integrating many Celtic instruments (bagpipes, bombards, Irish whistles), a presentation of Scottish outfit and renowned Celtic tunes (Amazing Grace, Flower Of Scotland, Auld Lang Syne, Tri Martolod).

(*) we certainly think above all of Celtic-dominant festivals but why limit ourselves? The proposed formulas fit into several genres thanks in particular to the power and originality of the timbre of the Scottish bagpipe, the mobility of the show in its acoustic version and the rich and authentic heritage conveyed by an artist with more than twenty years of experience and concerts.
For example, this page is illustrated by a participation in the Classical Music Festival dedicated to Hector Berlioz, a native of La Côte Saint André in France (Isère): the Scotts Wha Hae performance was thus given 21 times during concerts, pre-concerts, walks, public reception, interludes, etc...
Now it's up to you (and then to me)!