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26 September, 2008
IN RESPONSE to the review of Friday night’s ‘2008 Peerie Willie
Guitar Festival’ concert at the Garrison Theatre (‘All
a bit too much’; SN 22/9/08).
I thank the reviewer for his frank evaluation and I’m very pleased
he found Redmond O’Toole’s performance “absolutely stunning”.
Redmond was consistently outstanding during the three concerts in
which he played and has enjoyed his time in Shetland immensely.
It’s a shame the reviewer left before the second half of the
performance by Brian Gore (not Brian Cole as was published), Miguel
De La Bastide, Cecilia Zabala and Andy Sheppard. This second set
featured forty minutes of duet, trio and quartet cross genre
collaborations, very much in the spirit of Peerie Willie’s
celebrated blending of influences and a key element of the concert’s
programming and dynamics.
Brian, Andy, Cecilia and Miguel are about to embark on a UK tour
under the ‘International Guitar Night’ banner. The format, where
each plays two or three pieces as an introduction to their
respective styles followed by a series of collaborations, has proven
to be very popular during their eight performances in venues and
schools throughout Shetland.
All four artists wish to thank the people of Shetland for their
hospitality and for making them feel so welcome throughout their
week long stay.
I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank all the performers
and everyone who helped make this year’s Peerie Willie Guitar
Festival such a success. Besides those already mentioned, particular
highlights were the acoustic Sunday afternoon concert in the Bigton
Hall with its laid back atmosphere and family orientation; Maggie
Adamson and Brian Nicholson’s performance on Sunday evening
illustrating the development of Peerie Willie’s guitar accompaniment
style; and the masterful guitar work of festival patron Martin
Taylor coalescing with the silken voice of Alison Burns during their
set of crowd pleasing jazz classics which closed the festival.
As well as the entertaining concerts, there was an extended series
of enthusiastically received educational performances and workshops
in schools in Lerwick, Aith, Sandwick, Brae and Scalloway; inspiring
the next generation of guitarists to follow in Peerie Willie’s
footsteps, carry on his legacy and develop their own styles.
Kind regards
Bryan Peterson
Arts Development Officer, Music
Shetland Arts
bryan.peterson@shetlandarts.org
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