Thanks to David Leslie for bringing to our attention  information about what looks like being a fantastic event in Edinburgh

UN’s International Year of Forests 2011

A magical evening of music, poetry and dance celebrating the lungs of the earth

USHER HALL, Edinburgh
7.30PM
26 NOVEMBER 2011

For further information and tickets visit
www.usherhall.co.uk
Tel: 0131-228 1155

Supported by Forestry Commission Scotland
Supporting Royal Scottish Geographical Society, TreeAid, WWF
Survival International

Inspired by his work on a violin, being created out of a willow from
the gardens of the NTS’s properrty at Inveresk Lodge, Edinburgh
instrument maker Steve Burnett has now given a complete voice to a
single sycamore. The tree, which grew in the garden of Liberton Bank
House, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Edinburgh childhood home, was used
by him to make the critically acclaimed Sherlock violin in 2009.
This has now been joined by the Conan Doyle quartet, to be premiered
in a Concert for Trees, part of Scotland’s celebrations of the UN’s
International Year of Forests.

Proceeds from the evening will help to promote projects involving
young people and forests in Scotland and forest communities
worldwide, through the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, WWF,
TreeAid and Survival International.

An inspiring and fun evening of music, poetry and dance for all
the family, the concert will explore the enchanting and magical
world of woods, the lungs of the earth. The event will be set
against the backdrop of a day in the forest, recreating some of
the sounds, spirits and aura of woods and trees, which captured
the imagination of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – creator of the
world’s most famous detective.

Principal performers will include award-winning Armenian concert
violinist *Ani Batikian, St Patrick’s Ensemble; *Hungarian gypsy
fiddler *Jani Lang* and Band; a*large community choir* of young
people (including 45 pupils from Bruntsfield Primary School) and
adults led by *Wendy Carle Taylor to *sing /Linden Lea/ by
Vaughan Williams and /Niel Gow’s Apprentice/ by Michael Marra;
acclaimed soprano *Natasha Day *who will perform the world
premiere of a setting of Wilfred Owen’s poem,/Written in a Wood
1910; /and/p/ianist *Colin Kingsley* will play a number of
pieces on the tree theme, including /Sous le Palmier/ by Albeniz .

The night will be further enhanced with two short sets of dance–one
set relating to The woods and nature spirits accompanied by Clarinet
and piano the second dance set to highland fiddle played by *Mairi
Campbell* with a new piece she has composed for this event “The
Cottingley Fairies”. These were discovered by two young cousins
Elsie and Francis at the bottom of their garden in the early 1900s
and provided much inspiration for the spiritualist Conan Doyle.
Music will be interspersed with poetry readings by entrants to this
year’s *Green Pencil Award* for Edinburgh schools on the theme of
trees and forests. The audience will be joined on the evening by
*Owen Dudley Edwards,* one of the world’s authorities on Sherlock
Holmes and Conan Doyle.

This concert is the latest in a series of concerts with The
Sherlock violin and the Arthur Conan Doyle string quartet,
supporting a range of children’s and environmental charities,
both local and international

For further information and ticket prices please visit
the website or call the Box Office on 0131-228 1155

Tickets £12 £10 £8 (concessions) £6 (children)

The concert is part of the St Andrews Days Celebrations with a
special offer on tickets: one child free per two adults.

Kindly supported by Forestry Commission Scotland

Assisting tree-related projects involving young people through
the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, TreeAid, WWF and
Survival International.