This is the first year that Festival Director Fergus Linehan has been in charge and he is definitely making a mark already. This year the brass bands which have been so popular all over Scotland will have their place.
The Edinburgh International Festival launches Fanfare, a free community event that will tap into one of the most enduring symbols of Scotland – the beloved brass band. The Edinburgh International Festival has called on the Scottish Brass Band Association to harness the enormous forces of Scotland’s brass bands by presenting a day of free outdoor performances along the city’s idyllic Water of Leith Walkway on Sunday 23 August.
Bringing the fanfare of Edinburgh International Festival out to the people of the city, this is an opportunity for everyone to enjoy brass bands at their best, playing favourites from Mahler, Elgar and Burns as well as some more unusual brassy renditions of popular music by Kraftwerk, Joy Division and Disney’s Frozen movie song Let It Go.
The bands will perform three different repertoires at 12pm, 3pm and 5pm, in 12 different locations along the Water of Leith Walkway. The bands will play the same repertoire at the same time so that audiences along the Walkway will share the joy and passion of the live brass band in a coordinated community experience.
The first brass bands, many of which still exist today, were formed in Scotland in the early 1800s and are among the earliest forms of music ensemble in the country. Hundreds of bands formed in both urban and rural areas as working people seized the opportunity to share their creativity and talent. To this day, the brass band remains an art form that is from, of, and for local communities.
Fanfare aims to capture this spirit of community by inviting everyone in the city to experience the heart-swelling flourish of brass band music. Fanfare is one of the Festival’s Creative Learning projects. The Creative Learning team work year round with schools and the community in Edinburgh to deliver a range of innovative creative learning experiences.
Fanfare is inspired by the performances of one of the Festival’s main music theatre pieces, En avant, marche!, at the King’s Theatre on 24 and 25 August, which will feature a local Scottish brass band alongside Belgian contemporary dance collective les ballets C de la B.
Festival Director, Fergus Linehan says: “The Festival has been entertaining Edinburgh audiences since 1947, taking over the city centre’s grand established theatre venues and concert halls. Fanfare is an opportunity for us to further explore this beautiful city, using its natural landscapes and share the Festival experience with a wider audience”.
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