One of a series of on-going concerts by this superb Edinburgh duo and an opportunity to hear some well known classical pieces alongside some rare, recently re-discovered & re-kindled Scottish gems from the misty realms of time - the music of three, almost forgotten, Edinburgh composers of genius!

A rare chance also to hear the 'Sherlock' violin completed last year by Edinburgh instrument maker Steve Burnett and with a direct connection to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

....the colours and textures of the instrument...the violin's quicksilver qualities....the warm, honeyed tones of this magnificent instrument....

Susan Nickalls,

The Scotsman

17 May 2010

A HIGHLAND TOUR

Feargus Hetherington ('Sherlock' violin)

Will Pickvance (piano)

Mozart, McGibbon, Mackenzie, Munro and more

CONCERTS (starting at 7.30 pm)

Dunkeld Cathedral Wednesday 15 September

guest appearance by Pete Clark

Tickets from: The Birnam Institute Tel:01350 727674

St Giles Church, Elgin Thursday 16 September

Tickets from Sound and Vision, 14/18 South Street, Elgin Tel:01343 543778

Fortrose Community Theatre Friday 17 September

Tickets from the Black Isle Leisure Centre Tel: 01381 621252

Dornoch Cathedral Saturday 18 September

Tickets: £10 (£6 concessions)

Except for Dornoch where donations will be gratefully received.

Net proceeds going to help provide musical opportunities for young people in the different localities along the way.

Feargus and Will will also be giving workshops in local schools prior to concerts.

The musicians

Violinist Feargus Hetherington has given recitals and chamber music performances in major venues all over the world. He has developed a strong interest in Scottish classical music and has premiered many contemporary works to critical acclaim.

William Pickvance, who performs his own compositions for theatre and silent movies, is a versatile jazz pianist as well as a fine accompanist. He performs on a regular basis world wide.

The music

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Rondo in C, KV 373

William McGibbon (c.1695-1756)

Setting of 'There's Three Good Fellows Ayont Yon Glen'

Setting Of 'Through The Wood,Laddie'

Sir Alexander Campbell MacKenzie (1847-1935)

Pibroch Suite op.42-Caprice (For Pablo de Sarasate)

A Highland Ballad,op.47no.1 (for Sarasate)

Alexander Munro (1697-1767?)

Sonata On 'Bonny Jean Of Aberdeen'(1732)

Will Pickvance

The Sherlock Rag, Will's 2010 composition dedicated to the 'Sherlock' violin

The 'Sherlock' violin

The"Sherlock"violin was created last year by Edinburgh violin maker Steve Burnett to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of the famous violin- playing detective, Sherlock Holmes.

This unique concert instrument, (inspired by the late period violins of the great 18th Century Italian maker Giuseppe Guarnerius del Gesu) was made from an elderly sycamore tree that stood until the beginning of 2009 in the garden of Liberton Bank House in Edinburgh, the childhood home of Conan Doyle, and now the building occupied by Dunedin school.

The "Sherlock" violin now stands to support, through concerts, local and international children's and environmental charities and is owned by Dunedin school. Throughout the anniversary year (which ended in May) the violin has been played in a variety of concerts to benefit a range of local and international charities, including the Marine Conservation Society, the English Speaking Union, Edinburgh World Heritage Trust and SOS Children's Villages Haiti Orphan Appeal.

Dunedin school provides facilities for twenty vulnerable and fragile young people for whom mainstream secondary education has proved unsuccessful.

In June 2010 the "Sherlock" violin found a permanent home as part of "Edinburgh University's Collection of Historic Musical Instruments". It will now be on public display in Edinburgh's Reid Concert Hall alongside other notable violins and instruments. Interestingly The Reid Concert Hall was built in the same year as Conan Doyle's birth. St Cecilia's Hall (which houses the University's Russell Collection of early keyboard instruments) is the oldest purpose-built music hall in Scotland and the second oldest in Britain, and was the meeting place for composers and musicians such as McGibbon and Munro.