Bands to feature at Edinburgh International Festival
BRASS bands are to feature in the 2015 Edinburgh International Festival as part of efforts to recognise the movement's role in local communities.
Working in conjunction with the Scottish Brass Band Association (SBBA), the festival's organsers have planned a city-wide Fanfare event.
Throughout the day on August 23, audiences will be able to share the joy and passion of the live brass band in a series of free performances. Everyone will be listening to the same pieces of music at the same time in at least 12 different locations around the city.
Brass bands are among the earliest forms of music ensemble in Scotland. Hundreds of bands grew up in both urban and rural areas as working people seized the opportunity to share their creativity and talent. The brass band was, and still is, 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 joy of brass band music together.
Information about timings for Fanfare will be released in due course.
The bonds created by brass bands in their local areas also provide a topic for examination in En Avant, marche! Alain Platel, the trailblazing founder and director of Belgian contemporary dance collective les ballets C de la B, makes his Edinburgh debut in a new music theatre work created with stage director Frank Van Laecke.
They take as their starting point the rehearsal room of an amateur brass band in Flanders. As the ties that hold local communities together begin to loosen, these amateur ensembles offer a civic and collective nucleus, teaching people of all ages and from different walks of life to play together and march in the same direction.
Founded in 1984, les ballets C de la B is one of the most influential performing arts companies in Europe. They have travelled the world with their eclectic mix of contemporary dance, text, theatre and music and have played a crucial role in the development of young artists.
En avant, marche is running in the King's Theatre, Edinburgh, on August 24 and 25.
