Nordic Viola to celebrate 10th anniversary with special Shetland show
A SCOTTISH musical ensemble will return to the Shetland Museum and Archives next month to celebrate their 10th anniversary with a new project.
Nordic Viola returns to Shetland alongside Faroese ensemble Aldubáran in a new project inspired by the 1860 journey of Orcadian Arctic explorer Dr. John Rae.
Founded in 2016, Nordic Viola is described as a flexible ensemble of wind and string players with the viola at its heart.
The group said they are “renowned for their thoughtful approach to drawing out the inspiration and poetry of place and its memories through enhanced chamber performance”, and for “taking audiences on an extraordinary musical journey to the Faroe Islands, Orkney and Shetland, Iceland and Greenland”.
Nordic Viola will celebrate their 10th anniversary with four brand-new works and poetry inspired by Orcadian explorer John Rae’s 1860 expedition to research the northern telegraph route.
Faroese ensemble Aldubáran will join them to perform the new pieces for strings and woodwind exploring Dr Rae’s experience aboard The Fox as he traversed the Faroe Islands, Iceland and South Greenland.
The musicians will be joined by Shetland actor and musician Donald Anderson, who will recite poetry inspired by Rae’s journey composed by Angus poet and former Orkney resident, Lesley Harrison.
The project draws on research by Fleur Ward of the University of the Highlands and Islands and the music and poetry “explore themes from journeying across beautiful but severe landscapes to pilgrimage and travel as an act of self-discovery and discipline”.
Appropriately it was in Shetland Museum that Nordic Viola founder Katherine Wren learned of John Rae’s 1860 expedition, during Fleur Ward’s presentation at UHI’s sixth international St. Magnus conference.
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Wren said: “Fleur Ward’s presentation John Rae and the Northern Telegraph route in Shetland Museum immediately resonated with me.
“I am delighted to work with artists and promoters from Orkney, Shetland, Faroe and Greenland to bring this story to life in words and music.
“Shetland has been at the heart of that journey for me, ever since I spent four weeks in the islands in winter 2016.
“I’ve always been struck by the historical and cultural ties to the other North Atlantic islands and I’m thrilled to be bringing our Faroese friends to Shetland, following our combined tours of sagas and seascapes to Orkney and the Faroe Islands in 2023-24.”
John Rae and The Northern Telegraph will be performed in the Shetland Museum’s boat hall on 12 September at 6.30pm. Tickets are available here.
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