Music

Features and projects Visit Music features pages for details of Jazz International and their autumn 2008 season and a new album from Drever McCusker Woomble. Visit Music projects pages for details of the Blas festival's Ceilidh Trails, the Edinburgh Mela 2008, and details of the forthcoming Tune Up touring initiative.

Youth Music Initiative (YMI) Visit YMI projects pages for details of the many projects funded through the YMI initiative including the Demo Fund..

Background

Music is universal – there has been music in every race, every culture, every country, and every community we know of throughout history.

Scotland has good reason to celebrate both its musical past and the talent that abounds here today. A country that can produce an Annie Lennox, a James MacMillan, an Aly Bain, a Tommy Smith, an Evelyn Glennie and a Lisa Milne must be as rich as any in music potential. And that’s just a part of the lineage that runs from Carver to Niel Gow and from Alexander Gibson to Franz Ferdinand.

Scotland is a country that can still boast its own vibrant living traditions. Add to this its ability to make a full-blooded contribution to the global music scene, and Scotland holds the status of being a rare gem in a modern world.

The Scottish Arts Council’s active involvement in music embraces both the past and present. We give our support to styles and traditions that are unique to Scotland and those that we share with the rest of the world.