The speaker series showcases international and local talents and experts on a wide variety of topics. On October 11, Sheila Kay Adams, a songwriter, storyteller, musician and author from a small mountain community in North Carolina will share her family’s history of English, Scottish and Irish ballads that have been passed down since the 1700’s. Ian McKinnon, former member of Rawlin’s Cross will deliver a lecture titled Fiddling to Fortune: The Early Commercial Recordings of Cape Breton Music on October 14. The week is filled with many interesting topics and members of the community are encouraged to take advantage of the sessions.
Dr. Richard MacKinnon, director of the Centre for Cape Breton Studies, couldn’t be more eager for this year’s line-up of events.
“We have a great line-up of lectures and workshops this year. All the speakers are leading scholars in their field,” says Dr. MacKinnon. “Following the Celtic Colours International Festival ‘s interest in Appalachia and Acadian music, we have two scholars addressing these topics- Sheila Kay Adams from North Carolina and Dr. Ronald Labelle from the University of Moncton. Two of our other speakers have written a Master’s thesis and PhD. dissertation on Cape Breton music – Ian McKinnon and Dr. Jeff Hennessy. It’s great for our students and faculty to meet people who are experts at interpreting and analyzing musical traditions.”
The Celtic Colours International Festival runs from October 7-15. With close to 350 artists from Cape Breton Island, Canada, U.S, Ireland and Scotland, Celtic Colours is the largest celebration of its kind in North America.
