GET together with other singers in the area to celebrate new Scottish songs based on Burns Scotland Sings is running harmony singing workshops across Scotland over Burns Weekend, working with some of the top singing leaders in the country, including one at Eastgate Theatre in Peebles on Sunday, January 25, led by Mairi Campbell.

You don’t have to be in a choir to join in, there are no auditions and you don’t have to be able to read music. Just come along on the day with energy and enthusiasm and you’ll go home having met new people and learned some songs to brighten up the dark nights.

Scotland Sings is a project devised by Hands up for Trad, the organisation that promotes Scottish traditional music. It commissioned two songwriters, Kim Edgar and Findlay Napier, to choose Burns songs and rewrite contemporary versions especially for the workshops. I Will Not Say Goodbye and Petals of a Red, Red Rose pay tribute to the legacy of Burns songs while bringing them into the 21st century.

Alison Burns, Scotland Sings Coordinator, said: “The workshops are part of a four year project to get more people singing together wherever they are in Scotland. The great thing is that everyone will be in the same boat as the songs we’ll be learning are brand new. There will be a warm welcome for everyone, whether you sing every week in a choir, haven’t sung for years or you usually just sing in the shower!” The new songs will be some of the first in our Renewing the Tradition downloadable songbook, which will be available to choirs across Scotland. It’s all part of Scotland Sings’ aims to increase the number of people singing, keep traditional music alive and make it relevant to singers today.

The cost for the day is £10 per person with a free place when you make a group booking for ten people.

More information and booking details can be found at https://scotlandsings-peebles.eventbrite.co.uk