Last Saturday night two young acts were chosen to represent the Celtic & Scots languages at the Liet International Song Competition for European minority languages. Ten acts from the various Celtic and Scots languages travelled from far and wide to Eden Court Theatre, Inverness, Scotland, to perform in front of an enthusiastic audience. The event was also broadcast live over the internet.
The live audience as well as the global internet audience voted for their favourite act and ultimately chose the young Isle of Lewis rock act Sunrise Not Secular singing their song Lasair an t-Oidhche (Flame of the Night) in Scottish Gaelic. Lead vocalist, David Nicolson said David said "Nòs Ùr was one of the most incredible experiences to date for Sunrise Not Secular. Winning the vote was incredibly humbling, a great victory for the Gaelic language and a testament to the fans' overwhelming support. We couldn't be happier."
Five independent jury members, representing the various language groups, decided to give the jury winners prize to the respected Dublin singer-songwriter Fiach who's song was titled Sea Táim (So I) in Irish Gaelic.
The event was hosted by TV star Tony Kearney and acclaimed singer-songwriter Karine Polwart who enthralled the audience after the intermission with her own newly composed song in the Scots tongue.
Micheal Russell MSP, the Minister for Culture, External Affairs & The Constitution, gave a rousing speech at the prize-giving stating “In Scotland, we need to make sure, in every circumstance, that Gaelic and Scots is spoken, particularly on stage, in music, for audiences who wish to hear it. The songs you heard tonight are a celebration of all the Celtic and Scots language nations.”
Event organiser, Brian Ó hEadhra said “Nòs Ùr grows year on year and the positive feedback from the audience and artistes has been incredible. The event challenges old fashioned notions some folk have about minority language speakers and we aim to demonstrate that there is a vibrant and healthy future for our indigenous languages.”
This weekend Eden Court Theatre, Inverness, will be a hive of Celtic and Scots language activity with a number of events celebrating new song-writing and developments in these ancient tongues.
The main event is Nòs Ùr on Saturday night which is a new song competition for all the Celtic and Scots languages. There are ten selected acts travelling to Inverness who will perform a diverse range of music from rock, rap, pop and folk. The local Gaelic youth group Canntaireachd will perform before the competition and Michael Russell MSP, Minister for Culture, External Affairs and the Constitution, will be present to officially launch the competition. The MC's for the evening are acclaimed singer-songwriter Karine Polwart (who will also perform with Kim Edgar after the intermission) and television star Tony Kearney.
For those who are not lucky enough to be able to be present at the competition, Nòs Ùr will be broadcast live over the internet from 7:30pm British Summer Time. www.nos-ur.eu. The audience will be able to vote in the hall and the public will be able to vote online. These results will be combined to select the public winners of Nòs Ùr. An international jury will select the jury winners of the competition who, along with the public winners, will perform at the pan-European minority language song competition – Liet International, in Friesland in October. Entry to Nòs Ùr is free for under 16's.
On Friday night three teenage bands have been chosen to play at Nòs Òg which showcases young up-and-coming acts. They are Fionnar from the Highlands of Scotland singing in Scots Gaelic, The Stilletoes from North Wales singing in Welsh and The Temporary from the west of Ireland singing in Irish Gaelic. This event starts at 7:30pm is free entry.
To augment the Nòs Òg and Nòs Ùr events on Saturday morning there will be a music industry panel discussion controversially titled: “Do you have to sing in English to be successful?” Start time 11:30am at Eden Court.
Event organiser Brian Ó hEadhra says: “We are very excited about this second year of Nòs Ùr. We have added the Nòs Òg event as well as the industry discussion and there has been a lot of interest from home and abroad. There really is something for all the family at this hugely entertaining event.”
Finally, on Saturday (daytime) in Eden Court, UHI Millennium Institute is hosting a conference called Voices of the West with the theme “Politicising Minority Languages”. This will draw senior academics and language enthusiasts from far and wide. The keynote speakers are: Michael Russell MSP, Minister for Culture, External Affairs, and the Constitution; Lesley Riddoch, presenter on BBC Radio Scotland; Dr Mike Cormack, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig UHI; Prof. Kenneth MacKinnon, University of Aberdeen.
Ends.
Note to Editors:
Entry into Nòs Òg and the panel discussion is free of charge. Under 16's get free entry to Nòs Ùr; over 16's entry is £8.00. Tickets can be booked from Eden Court Box Office 01463 234234 or online at www.eden-court.co.uk
Nòs Ùr and Nòs Òg are staged by goEvents (in association with Anam Communications) which promotes and develops creative arts in the Highlands and Islands.
Nòs Ùr and Nòs Òg are supported by:
Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), Highland Council, Colmcille, Scottish Arts Council, Bòrd na Gàidhlig, Inverness Common Good Fund, Udaras na Gaeltachta.
The acts performing at Nòs Ùr are:
Àdhamh MacLeòid. Language: Scots. Song: Jist The Graith
Fiach. Language: Irish. Song: Sea Táim
Iwan B. Language: Breton. Song: Fulenn
Malachy Duffin. Language: Ulster Scots. Song: I Dinnay Gie a Hoot
Mary Ann Kennedy. Language: Scots Gaelic. Song: Mise Fhuair
Na Gathan. Language: Scots Gaelic. Song: Claigeann Damien Hirst
Phil Innes & Josie Boucharde. Language: Cornish. Song: Kernewek Ov Vy
Sunrise Not Secular. Language: Scots Gaelic. Song: Lasair An t-Oidhche
Masters in France. Language: Welsh. Song: Y Rhai Gwyllt
Enda Reilly. Language: Irish. Song: Mol an Aimsir
See sites:
www.nos-ur.eu
www.anamcommunicaitons.com
www.goevents.info
www.eden-court.co.uk
RSS Feed