Gary West & Wendy Stewart

04 February 2010 (20:00 - 23:00)

Gary West and Wendy Stewart - an outstanding musical duo

Having played together for many years in the top folk band Ceolbeg, Wendy and Gary have now teamed up as a duo, combining highland pipes, smallpipes, harp, concertina, whistles and vocals to create a unique blend of music drawn from both modern and traditional sources. Between them, they have played at many international festivals over the years, including Glastonbury, Lorient, Celtic Connections, Edmonton and Piping Live, and they have toured widely in Europe and North America.  Their debut CD together, Hinterlands, was released last year to much acclaim.

Gary learned his piping with the much acclaimed Vale of Atholl pipe band with whom he played for 18 years winning both the Scottish and European Championships, before turning towards the folk scene, joining Ceolbeg in 1988, and becoming a founder member of the Scottish ‘supergroup’ Clan Alba in 1991. Since 2003, he has also been the voice of BBC Radio Scotland’s Pipeline.  Wendy has been instrumental in the revival of the traditional harp since the 70s, learning from the great Jean Campbell in Edinburgh and going on to perform in bands playing repertoire as diverse as  Irish/French , Cajun/Scandinavian and North West English. On returning to Scotland from a time in Lancaster, Wendy also joined Ceolbeg and has recorded 3 solo albums. Now resident in beautiful Dumfriesshire, she teaches and performs widely at home and abroad.

Acclaim for Hinterlands

‘Subtle instrumentals, dreamy vocals, West and Stewart pipes/clarsach combo Hinterlands is a lovely new rich sound for the two ancient instruments’ (Fiona Ritchie, Thistle and Shamrock)

‘Magisterial echoes … Highland pipes and harp sounding eloquently together’ (The Scotsman)

‘This is Scottish music at its wistful, elegant best – performed with real gravitas and emotional power’ (fFoots)