Background

From late September to mid-October 2009, showcase concerts and exhibitions will form the centrepiece of a celebration of music and the arts by former students of Ullapool High School (UHS).

October 2009 marks the 25th anniversary of the upgrading of the school from a two-year to a full six-year secondary, and the tenth anniversary of the opening of the new Community High School building. It is therefore a fitting time to host this celebration, which also ties in with the themes and objectives of the Scottish Government’s Homecoming Scotland 2009 initiative.

Over the last twenty years or more, many of our students have gone on to highly successful careers in the performing and visual arts.   There are several musicians performing in internationally acclaimed groups and bands, and artists with careers in various fields including sculpture, design, animation, photography and jewellery. This event will give them a wonderful opportunity to come home and show local people, including their peers, and visitors how their early life has shaped their creative development.  It will be particularly inspiring for young people living locally to see what is possible in the world beyond school.  For visitors and former residents, it will give an overview of life in the Highlands now, how we value our people, and their contribution to the wider world.

Music

The concerts, running concurrently on October 2nd and 3rd, will take place in the Macphail Theatre and Ullapool Village Hall.  Both will be presented by former UHS students.  Although there will be music in various styles in both concerts, one will be themed around singer-songwriters and popular/rock musicians, and one around traditional and Gaelic music.  In addition to solo performances by a Mod gold medal-winner and prize-winning pipers, a major highlight of the traditional concert will be collaboration between former and current UHS students to perform several songs and pieces of instrumental music.

A cornerstone of this concert will be the project’s title song.  Tillidh Mi Dhachaidh was written by Calum MacDonald in the early days of his band RunRig.   The song sums up the feelings of a young person growing up in the Highlands and moving out into the wider world, yet always aware of the richness of home and tradition.  A group of UHS musicians recorded the song in 1998, and Calum has kindly agreed to let us use this as the theme for our project.  

The singer/songwriter concert will feature former students who have gone on to record their own albums as well as students who have left school more recently and are involved in rock bands and DJ work.

Visual Art

Former UHS students with successful careers in the visual arts will  exhibit in community Art Gallery an talla solais, the Macphail Centre, Ullapool Community Library, Ullapool Ferry Terminal and local hotel and arts venue The Ceilidh Place. 

Tillidh Mi Dhachaidh will be launched with the Art Exhibition Opening in an talla solais on Saturday September 26th.  The exhibitions will encompass the weekend of concerts and also the well-established Ullapool Guitar Festival which takes place on October 9th – 11th.

Long-term Legacy

We know from previous projects the long-term impact they have on a school community.  They create a real sense of team-work and common purpose.   The inspiration younger students derive from watching their predecessors present, perform and create is immeasurable and long-lasting.