A community project showcasing the beauty of natural sounds and landscapes in the north-east has been nominated for a prestigious national award.
The Dee and Don Ceilidh Collective is one of the candidates selected for a Community Project of the Year at this year’s MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards.
The group was launched in 2016 to promote arts, culture and heritage in music and dance in the north-east by getting communities together.
Initiated during lockdown, their latest project Our Living Rivers and Glens encouraged members from various parts of the region to venture their local area and capture it in sounds, video and images.
The collated mini-projects were then pinned on a Google map – along with original music recorded by some of the composers in the group – to present the different locations.
Revealing the beauty of the north-east
One of the composers involved in creating the original tracks, Paul Anderson, said: “This ground-breaking project has shown me things and places that I was not aware of despite having lived in the area all of my life, inspiring me to write not one tune but three.”
Charlie McKerron added that the project has been essential to helping the group focus on what is “truly important” during lockdown.
Another member Adam Sutherland said: “This has been such a beautiful project to be involved in – new music born from a collaborative effort between participants and composers.”
Funded by Creative Scotland, the project has been shared through online and in-person events to present the beauty of the region to as many people as possible.
Once fully completed, all of the sheet music and artwork will be collated into a “legacy” book to capture the “spirit of the project” along with final celebratory event held online.
People can vote for Our Living Rivers and Glens for Community Project of the Year at the award’s website until November 14.
The awards ceremony to announce the winners will be held at Glasgow’s Engine Works and broadcasted live on BBC Alba at 9pm on December 4.