If it wasn’t for their wellies brought generations of Edinburgh families together to share their memories and impressions of war through musical composition.
Drawing on the shared heritage of families in communities such as those associated with the North British Rubber Company, which supplied the British Army with vital supplies such as rubber boots and fire hoses, If it wasn’t for their wellies united Edinburgh’s older residents with exceptional young musicians under the charge of composer John Maxwell Geddes.
Following a unique compositional model which was piloted in the 2013 Luminate Festival on five islands in the Scottish Hebrides, this project saw Maxwell Geddes working with care home residents and lunch club users to source material for a suite of new songs. The complete cycle, A Castle Mills Suite, was performed in the care homes and centres which inspired its composition, and on a tour by Live Music Now Scotland musicians.
Live Music Now is the UK’s largest provider of music in outreach settings. It was founded by Yehudi Menuhin and Ian Stoutzker to support outstanding young artists in building their professional careers while simultaneously bringing the joy of live music into the daily lives of those who would otherwise not have access to it.
If it wasn’t for their wellies is part of Live Music Now Scotland’s Composing with Care initiative.
If it wasn’t for their wellies was part of Live Music Now Scotland's Composing with Care initiative.
Co-commissioned by 14-18 NOW and Live Music Now Scotland.
