Royal Conservatoire of Scotland are sponsors of the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards 2024 and are sponsoring Up and Coming Artist of the Year. We asked them some questions about their experience of sponsoring the Trad Awards. If you would like to come to the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards you can buy tickets here or watch on BBC ALBA from 9pm on Saturday 30th November.
Thanks to Joshua Dickson from Royal Conservatoire of Scotland for answering these questions.
Why have you chosen to sponsor Na Trads, and what importance does the event hold for your sector?
The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland has been closely involved with MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards for many years through its sponsorship of the Up and Coming Artist of the Year award. Sponsoring Na Trads is a no-brainer: celebrating Scotland’s traditional music involves appreciating those who have dedicated their lives to the carrying stream, inspiring the next generation to enrich the stream further, and promoting its rightful place in the broader arts scene. Na Trads achieves all this with a night of unrivalled camaraderie and joy.
What makes your organisation tick?
As the only conservatoire in Europe to offer degrees across all of the performing arts, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland provides an opportunity to collaborate with peers across a wide range of disciplines. Our groundbreaking curriculum is built around the ethos of collaboration in performance, so all students work together to learn new skills and build a network of contacts and experiences from across the disciplines to be used in future careers. Traditional music is an indispensable part of that learning experience for many in the Conservatoire and is part of what makes us inclusive and accessible.
What are you most looking forward to about the Trad Awards or do you have a favourite moment from over the years?
The coming together of old friends and compatriots in music. The celebrating of what was and what will be. The blas. The craic. One memory that stands out is Jenna Reid and Tom Orr’s live performance of Willie Hunter’s classic ‘Leaving Lerwick Harbour’ a good few years ago: virtuosic expression captivating an utterly spellbound audience.
What would you say to anyone who is considering entering, voting in, watching or attending the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards?</strong)
It’s a great opportunity to be involved in one of the most exciting music scenes around – one based on community voices and a shared stake in our creative culture.
Visit their website: https://www.rcs.ac.uk
Performing at the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards are Skipinnish, Julie Fowlis, An Dannsa Dub, Laura Wilkie and Ian Carr, Young Highland Musicians and much more! Buy your tickets here.
