ALISTAIR ANDERSON

Alistair Anderson has been at the forefront of the performance of traditional music for over three decades. As a teenage prodigy he played in the hugely influential High Level Ranters band. Now internationally acknowledged as the leading performer on the English Concertina, he has taken the music of Northumberland to new audiences around the world, touring extensively throughout Europe, and has no less than 35 tours of America to his credit. As well as championing the traditional music and musicians of the area he has a growing reputation as a composer of new music rooted in the local traditions. He also plays the Northumbrian pipes. He founded the Newcastle University Traditional Music Degree course and remains one of the most uplifting and inspiring performers of the music.

HIDDEN HEXHAM SUITE

Alistair's 'Steel Skies' suite, inspired by the traditional music and landscapes of Northumberland, has been a musical landmark for decades.

'Hidden Hexham' was commissioned by the Hexham-based community venture Core Music in 2012 and partly funded by the BBC Performing Arts Fund. Like Steel Skies, it uses tunes in traditional styles such as jigs, slow airs and hornpipes to create an intense, rich musical tapestry. Alistair was fascinated by the town's quirky corners and has used its street names as the starting point for his themes - Priestpopple, Gilesgate, Battle Hill, Windmill Hill. The music is absorbing, beautiful, exciting and humorous.

The suite's first performance in Hexham with forty local musicians was a resounding success. Alistair has since taken the suite to Whitby Folk Week and presented it for the Traditional Arts Team. Musicians taking part have invariably found it an inspiring, exciting and entertaining experience.

REVIEW OF THE FIRST PEFORMANCE

'What it added up to was one almighty sound. I know there is a current trend towards large folk bands - Bellowhead being just one example - but composing music for such a large band of amateur musicians, and such disparate parts, and making it work was no mean feat. Alistair Anderson rose to the challenge with aplomb. Hidden Hexham was by turns lyrical, joyous, uplifting and in parts (again reflecting Northumbrian traditions) very dance-worthy.
What made it work and held it together was Alistair's remarkable ability to compose glorious tunes and melodies - one of the major strengths of his music. These tunes carried the music and the band forward, one tune succeeding another, linking all in a brilliant whole - opening with a slow air, succeeded by reels and jigs, on through a waltz tune, march, and hornpipes before coming to an appropriate end with The Skinners' Arms and the Old Tannery. All in all, a magnificent evocation both of the timeless joy of the Northumbrian folk music tradition and the sense and feel of the place and community that is Hexham.'
News & Star, 17 April 2013