A Scottish Journey: The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and the music of TRIP
The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
By Nujma Bond
In my last story I shared what it was like to be in Glasgow during the major annual music festival called Celtic Connections. I highlighted a fun and educational tour of the downtown region, where I learned how early music carried influences from the Highlands, and how new traditions took hold. I now wanted to experience some of that cultural music, and so I did.
Of course, there was so much to see and hear during the festival, and so many venues to visit and I could tell there really was no “wrong” choice. I decided to attend a performance by TRIP which fit nicely into my limited schedule and sounded like the very sort of traditional Celtic music I was hoping to hear. I made arrangements to chat with one of the performers before the show, and that evening I dressed up and headed out with great anticipation.
I parked in a nearby parkade, got some friendly help from a local resident with the nearby ticket machine, and then walked over to the venue: The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. Home to Scotland’s national orchestra, it hosts a variety of performances throughout the year and is known for its excellent acoustics.
As I approached the building, I noted some similarities in architecture to what is found in various Canadian cities. What was different was an eclectic - almost mind-bending at first glance – statue depicting a pair of legs topped by a clock, “running” along the square near the entry to the hall. I stopped to absorb the quirky piece of functional art. I learned it is called the “Clyde Clock.” Installed in the year 2000, it was commissioned by a local radio station to celebrate its anniversary. It was created by a local artist named George Wiley, reportedly known for his unique art. It chimes daily at 8 pm, said to be the ideal meeting time.
Clyde Clock
Walking into the increasingly busy hall, I prepared to interview a wonderful musician from the Glasgow-based group whose performance I had chosen to experience. The members of the six-piece band hail from various regions including Scotland, Ireland, Northumbria and the Isle of Man. Their Celtic-based compositions are played with instruments including the accordion, fiddle, flute/whistle, piano, guitar, and bodhran – a frame style drum used in Irish and Celtic music. The latter was a beautiful and unique sounding instrument that I’d never been exposed to, and combined with other instruments, it was literally music to the ears.
Performers from TRIP, on left is Isla Callister.
I was fortunate to speak with the talented Isla Callister, the group’s Manx fiddler – which itself refers to a unique style of music rather than a specific instrument: it entails the synthesis of fiddling and culture from the Isle of Man. Here are some of the thoughts Isla shared with me.
On what it was like to be at the music festival as part of TRIP: “Celtic Connections has been part of the band since we formed. We all came to Glasgow from all different parts of the Celtic world, and we came to the conservatory here to study traditional music. That first Celtic Connections we had one of our first gigs, so to be here seven years later and slightly older (she chuckles!) not teenagers anymore and to be kind of headlining the auditorium, it’s really special for us, it’s kind of a full circle moment for us.”
On the kinds of tunes and sentiments the group likes to feature: “It’s a number of things, because there’s six of us so there’s quite a lot of influences, different influences there… So, I think we all bring the music that we were raised with, the languages that we were raised with, and we all kind of come together… We love writing tunes together, so more often than not we kind of bring parts of tunes together, all together. It’s a real collaborative effort between us all which is lovely.”
On what their performances are like: “It’s a mixture, a mixture of everything. And Alasdair MacKenzie, he’s from Skye via Dingwall, and we’ve sung a couple of traditional songs but tonight especially we’re singing a couple of new ones that he’s written and so yes, scary but exciting!”
On the importance of keeping traditional music alive for their group, for Scotland, and the world: “Keeping Scottish traditions and the music alive, is so important to us and it’s a big part of what we do, taking these old tunes putting them with new things – putting our own stamp on it, and keeping it alive, nice and lively. And we’re a young band, think we’re classified as that! … Twenty-four, twenty-five years old, so yes, it’s really important for us not only for our identity as individuals but as a band. Connects us to our ancestors, our history and roots. I think that’s so important in traditional music but of course things have to evolve and change and we keep it exciting for ourselves.”
On the group’s ultimate goal: “We would love to come play Celtic Colours in Canada! There’s a couple of us … we went to Celtic Colours and had the best time ever. We’d love to go back as TRIP. But I think what’s really special about TRIP is we’re genuinely all best friends; we love playing together and spending time together so if we get to continue to do this and travel, and see a bit of the world, then we count ourselves very lucky.”
After a fun interview with Isla and taking a couple of pictures, I made my way to my seat in the auditorium – a lovely and stately sort of venue with balconies and rows of velvety chairs. I sat next to a friendly gentleman and as we got talking – another Canadian connection was made. His mother, he said was from Canada. New Brunswick, specifically. What were the chances of sitting beside someone so connected to Canada I thought. After many minutes of beautiful music by TRIP and some additional artists, the show ended much too soon. It was a real treat to hear their music!
My new friend with a Canadian connection invited me to a traditional after-show gathering with a group of others music lovers, but I had to grudgingly and apologetically decline and wished him well. I had a full and early schedule the next morning.
Feeling light in spirit, and with Celtic tunes filling my head I made my way out of the auditorium and hovered over the CDs for sale, buying a couple and then making my way back to the hotel in Glasgow - after grabbing a bite at a nearby restaurant of course – savouring both the food and the memories of the delightful evening.
Performance inside the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.