SATURDAY 6 JUNE 2026 AT 2.00 pm KIRKCALDY OLD KIRK
4 local choirs will delight us with an afternoon programme of tunes from 1926 and 1776 (commemorating the year of the publication of Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations).
Kirkcaldy Choral Union, Fife Opera, Kirkcaldy Gilbert & Sullivan Society & Langtoun Central Church Choir will each perform a short set and then members of each choir will come together to perform the premiere of a new suite, arranged by Richard Michael BEM, with the kind financial assistance of Creative Scotland and the Hugh Fraser Foundation. The new work combines jazz and choral writing with Scottish music which would have been very familiar to Adam Smith in 1776, creating new settings for five traditional tunes and songs from that period. Familiar songs such as “Ae fond kiss”, “The Skye boat song” and “The piper o’ Dundee” are arranged in styles as diverse as Bach, Miles Davis and Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five”!
The four choirs will combine to sing the pieces, accompanied by Richard on piano and a top jazz quartet featuring his daughter Hilary on violin and saxophone, Brazilian-born bassist Mario Caribe, and Dunfermline drummer Tom Gordon, the long-term drummer with the BBC Radio Big Band.
Doors open 1.30 for 2.00 pm. Tickets £14 (plus booking fee) from Trybooking.com, or £15 on the door payable by cash or card. All seating is unreserved for this event.
Patrons may bring their own drinks and nibbles.
