Workshop: How can we read these signs?

Duilich, chan eil seo ri fhaighinn ach sa Bheurla an-dràsta.

Ahead of the performance at 7pm, join Rufus and Josie to attempt to interpret a series of collectively created musical fragments found in Elgol this summer, creating new, spontaneous pieces of music.

No need to be able to read music, just bring yourself and a mask, and a musical instrument, if you play one.

Rufus Isabel Elliot is a young composer with a unique new voice in Scottish music. Its work is concerned with honesty, giving testimony, and the conditions in which one speaks out. Its music synthesises literary, musical, and experiential worlds into a highly personal voice. Since coming ashore, Rufus has worked with the likes of the Nevis Ensemble (with whom it was composer-in-residence 2019), Red Note Ensemble, Sound Festival Scotland, Knockvologan Studies, and Magnetic North.

Rufus is the founder of OVER /​AT, a trans, non-binary, and gender-diverse music-making world. This includes curating new commissions, recording projects, workshops, and touring performances, all by/​with/​for the Folk. The OVER /​AT world developed out of Rufus’ own practice, thinking about how different aspects of a person’s lived experience reside in the voice. OVER /​AT #1 was recently shortlisted for a Scottish Award for New Music.

Rufus graduated from a Masters in Music at the Royal Conservatoire Scotland in 2020. Its studies with David Fennessy at the RCS were supported by scholarships from the RCS Trust and the EMI Sound Foundation. It graduated with the Patrons’ Fund Prize (RCM) and the Craig Armstrong Prize. In 2017, it received a first class degree in English Language & Literature from the University of Oxford. Whilst studying in Oxford, it also studied Old English, Middle English, and Old Norse.

Quinie, aka Josie Vallely, is based in Glasgow. She sings primarily in Scots, with a style inspired by the traditions of Scottish Traveller singers Lizzie Higgins (1929−1993) and her mother Jeannie Robertson (1908 –1975). Quinie’s experiments with composition and vocal techniques create a dialogue between pipe music and voice. Her work engages with themes of seasonal rhythm and gendered narratives. It has a strong sense of place rooted in an imagined Scotland. Recent work includes ​‘Thyme Piobaireachd’, which was released on Cafe Oto’s Takuroku Label in April. The piece builds on her work exploring the vocalisation of piping traditions. Working in collaboration with percussionist Laurie Pitt on snare drum, the work is an exploration of the solo voice in dialogue with the compositional structure of the Piobaireachd. She has two albums released by GLARC.