Joy Dunlop & Còisir Alba - Workshop, Concert & Cèilidh Dance (BYOB)

Céilidh /kʲeːlɪ/
boir. gin. -e, iol. -ean
1 ceilidh 2 visit 3 (act of) visiting

The term Cèilidh originates from the Gaelic word for a social gathering centred around traditional music, song, and dance. Join Joy Dunlop and Còisir Alba for a night of Gaelic song, music and dancing in the beautiful setting of Adelaide Place. 

The night will be ticketed in 3 parts:

Blasad Gàidhlig | A taste of Gaelic language and song workshop (5.30pm -6.30pm)

An informal and fun introduction to Scottish Gaelic language and song lead by Joy Dunlop, covering simple greetings, pronunciation and simple choruses. This taster will give you all that you need to join in with our cèilidh, taught in Joy's inimitable relaxed and encouraging manner. The perfect starting point for anyone curious about Gaelic language and culture and keen to give it a go.  

Cost - Free / Donation 

Joint concert - Joy Dunlop and Còisir Alba (7pm-8pm)

A visual spectacular on the choral stage, showcasing modern interpretations of traditional material and contemporary translations. Not to be missed.

About Joy

Joy Dunlop’s singing career is the result of a life–long fascination with Scotland’s traditional music and has led her all over the world; from major Celtic festivals, to touring the UK, Europe, Canada, USA, China, Japan and New Zealand.

Through her singing, she showcases Gaelic music and song in a contemporary way that always remains true to its roots. Five times nominated as Gaelic Singer of the Year, she has also won both the coveted Royal National Mòd Gold Medal and the Oban Times Gold Medal and is the only person to be crowned both Traditional Singer of the Year & Traditional Dance Champion at the Pan Celtic Festival. She’s released three highly acclaimed solo albums, Caoir, Dùsgadh and Faileasan and also, Dithis; a duo album with her brother Andrew. Joy was also the driving force between ‘Gaelic/Gaeilge supergroup’, LAS and has featured on a range of collaborative albums.

A popular television & radio broadcaster, Joy is involved with a wide range of music, current affairs and light entertainment programmes. With her trademark poise and depth of knowledge, Joy’s warmth and enthusiasm have made her increasing in-demand in television and radio broadcasts alike; from presenting the weather on both BBC Scotland & BBC Alba, to fronting SpeakGaelic; a wide-ranging, multi-faceted learning brand, offering the most comprehensive approach to learning Scottish Gaelic in a generation. She also presents the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year competition and co-hosts Fonn, a bilingual BBC/RTE contemporary music radio programme. Joy is also the creator and co-host of the popular Scottish Gaelic and Irish podcast ‘A-nunn ’s Anall’.

A fluent Gaelic speaker, with an honours degree in Gaelic Language and Culture, Joy has taught Gaelic language and song courses across the globe and in her spare time, she also conducts the Alba Choir; Scotland’s first and only Eurovision entry, who participated in the 2019 Eurovision Choir of the Year finals in Gothenburg, Sweden.

About Còisir Alba | Gaelic Vocal Ensemble

‘How can we get a million people to hear a Gaelic song live?’ – that was the question that culminated in Còisir Alba (Alba Choir) performing on the Eurovision stage.

The Eurovision Choir competition saw 10 of Europe’s best choirs performing a live song to impress a panel of international choral music stars. Blending spectacular staging and vocals in front of a live stadium audience, Eurovision Choir was broadcast to millions across the globe, taking viewers on a journey of musical traditional and cultures from across Europe in search of the continent’s pre-eminent vocal group. Not since 1966 and Kenneth McKellar had Eurovision seen a kilt on stage, but the 2019 Eurovision Choir changed all that. Conductor Joy Dunlop was tasked with creating a choir from scratch; choosing Gaelic choristers from across Scotland to perform a specially arranged set of Gaelic music with both traditional and modern influences. Though Denmark would finally take the crown of Eurovision Choir 2019 winners, Scotland came home truly proud of their performance.

Since then, the Gaelic vocal collective, Còisir Alba have gone from strength to strength – from launching the 2020 World Choir Games in Glasgow, to wowing the crowds (in the pouring rain!) as part the 2019 Royal National Mòd’s Opening Ceremony. They also ensured that the cèilidh never faltered at BBC ALBA’s ‘Cèilidh na Bliadhna Ùire’, the popular televised Hogmanany Celebrations, joined Runrig tribute Beat the Drum on stage in the Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall and performed for King Charles to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Scottish Parliament. They sing a mix of new Gaelic mashups of traditional song, translations of popular songs Wake Me Up, Alleluia and You Raise Me Up and arrangements created especially for them.

What is unique about Còisir Alba is not only do they sing, but their choreography tells the stories of the songs performed; creating a visual spectacular on the choral stage. They’re a choir who truly love what they do and their passion for and deification to their native language and culture shines through everything that they do. 

Cost - £10

NB: This ticket is for the concert only, cèilidh tickets must be purchased separately.

Horo-gheallaidh - Cèilidh dance (8.30pm-10pm)

Dance the night away to the fabulous sounds of our all-star cèilidh band. This will be a family-friendly event, suitable for both cèilidh aficionados and those new to the scene. All dances will be explained and demonstrated on the night. No stilettos / kilt shoes / Metal heels in the space (Venue policy)

Cost - £10

NB: This ticket is for the cèilidh only, concert tickets must be purchased separately.