As ever, the picturesque harbour town of Stromness, home of George Mackay Brown, will play host to a range of events.
17:00 - 18:10 Stromness Town Hall Church Road, Stromness KW16 3BA
2016 sees the 100th anniversary of the sinking of HMS Hampshire whilst sailing towards Russia with Lord Kitchener on board after the Battle of Jutland. A combination of words and music, this year’s Johnsmas Foy commemorates those who l...
14:00 - 15:00 Stromness Town Hall Church Road, Stromness KW16 3BA
Ken Walton, classical music columnist and critic for The Scotsman, leads this round table discussion reflecting on St Magnus Festival past, present and future. It’s an opportunity to remember some of the events, artists and interesting tales sp...
16:15 - 18:45 Ness Battery Stromness, KW16 3DL
During the latter stages of World War II, Dennis Marshall wrote a series of letters to his fiancée, tracing his journey as a Signaller in the 30 Corps of the British Army. These letters describe his experiences and offer a very personal insigh...
19:15 - 21:45 Ness Battery Stromness, KW16 3DL
During the latter stages of World War II, Dennis Marshall wrote a series of letters to his fiancée, tracing his journey as a Signaller in the 30 Corps of the British Army. These letters describe his experiences and offer a very personal insigh...
10:30 - 11:40 Stromness Town Hall Church Road, Stromness KW16 3BA
Come and join Bessy Bass and share in her adventures as she embarks on a trip to visit musical friends from her coastal home in Lower Largo, Scotland to a variety of European destinations. Along the way, Bessy makes new friends, learns somethi...
11:00 - 12:00 Stromness Parish Church Victoria Street, Stromness KW16 3AR
One of the UK’s most fascinating poets, John Gallas was born in Wellington, New Zealand in 1950, attended Otago University in New Zealand, and won a Commonwealth Scholarship to Merton College, Oxford to study medieval literature. He settle...
14:00 - 16:00 Stromness Town Hall Church Road, Stromness KW16 3BA
Taking its name from a cycle of songs by Schumann, and with the pianist Joseph Middleton at its heart, the ensemble Myrthen brings together the crème de la crème of young British-based singers and has won universal critical acclaim. The...
10:00 - 13:00 Stromness Library 2-12 Victoria Street, Stromness KW16 3AA
By popular demand, the celebrity Norwegian knitters, Arne and Carlos return to the Festival for a second time. Well known across the world and for their knitting YouTube channel, they will lead an inspiring, informative and practical workshop for...
11:00 - 12:15 Stromness Parish Church Victoria Street, Stromness KW16 3AR
Jackie Kay is well known as a poet, playwright, novelist and broadcaster. She is currently Scotland’s Makar: the role created by the Scottish Government in 2004 as a National Poet for Scotland. Jackie’s first collection of poetry, The...
14:30 - 16:30 Stromness Town Hall Church Road, Stromness KW16 3BA
One of the UK’s oldest quartets, and originally the resident quartet in Edinburgh University, the Edinburgh Quartet has an enviable reputation for the commissioning and performing of living composers alongside the standard repertoire. Ha...
10:30 - 12:00 Stromness Town Hall Church Road, Stromness KW16 3BA
Joseph Shiner Clarinet Ashley Fripp Piano Joseph Shiner and Ashley Fripp present a mix of music from Germany and France contrasting music for clarinet and piano with solo piano works written in the same period. Schuma...
15:00 - 17:00 Stromness Town Hall Church Road, Stromness KW16 3BA
Timothy Dean Piano Sasha Savaloni Guitar A selection of Folk and Traditional Songs of Scotland and in arrangements old and new. Singers from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland present a survey of traditional music and folk songs fro...
17:00 - 18:00 Pier Arts Centre 28-36 Victoria St, Stromness KW16 3AA
Students from the Orkney Writers’ Course Taking place alongside the Festival is a course for writers focusing on poetry. With the tutors Jen Hadfield and Pam Beasant and with visiting tutor, Jackie Kay, the students work towards a ...
11:00 - 12:10 Stromness Parish Church Victoria Street, Stromness KW16 3AR
Winner of the TS Eliot and Forward prizes, Sinéad Morrissey grew up in Northern Ireland, is Belfast’s first Poet Laureate and Professor of Creative Writing at Newcastle University. Rooted in everyday experiences yet often strangely eerie...
14:30 - 16:30 Stromness Town Hall Church Road, Stromness KW16 3BA
Elena Urioste Violin Tom Poster Piano A concert rich with melody at the heart of which are the sonatas of Grieg and Strauss written in the same decade at the end of the 19th Century and both unmistakably representative o...
15:30 - 17:00 Stromness Town Hall Church Road, Stromness KW16 3BA
O Duo always astonish and entertain with their virtuosity and good humoured presentation and here Owen and Olly take us on a tour whose geography reaches out across the world from South America to Hungary, Spain to America and Germany to Orkney. ...
21:30 - 23:00 Stromness Town Hall Church Road, Stromness KW16 3BA
Barroksolistene Bjarte Eike Violin/Director An enormous hit across the world, the Alehouse Sessions – curated and devised by Bjarte Eike – is an ever changing and evolving insight into the music of the 17th Century tavern. It gives a...
11:00 - 12:40 Stromness Town Hall Church Road, Stromness KW16 3BA
This dynamic duo presents a wide-ranging recital with two mighty sonatas at its heart. Both in the minor key, Shostakovich’s work written in a period of emotional turmoil and Chopin’s late work the cause of composerly uncertainty, the...
17:30 - 18:30 Stromness Academy Garson, Stromness KW16 3JS
Performed and devised by pupils and staff from Stromness Academy The young people of Orkney’s West Mainland grow up surrounded by physical reminders of their islands’ history in the stones, settlements and monuments. Many are a...
11:00 - 12:30 Stromness Town Hall Church Road, Stromness KW16 3BA
Michael Foyle Violin Maksim Stsura Piano The three sonatas in this programme draw music from three corners of Europe in time of war with Janáček’s work coming from the start of the 1914-18 period – “I could just about...
Join The Festival Team - Team Administrator
FESTIVAL TEAM ADMINISTRATOR PART-TIME, PERMANENT We are seeking a committed individual to join the St Magnus International Festival administrati Full Story...
Meet the Artist: Alasdair Nicolson
by SMIF Young Reporter Kristopher Leask One of our series from Young Reporters for the Year of Young People 2018 #yoyp18 As the Festival direc Full Story...
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St Magnus Festival is a charity registered in Scotland. Scottish Charity No SC011666. Company Number SC073825.
