Arran International Festival
Music • People • Place
Belonging Without Borders
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17–23 August 2026
A word from Richard
It’s with great delight that I welcome you to the third Arran International Festival — AIF2026. Please have a browse through the programme below. You’ll find brilliant international guests alongside exceptional local artists, in events that bring together music, storytelling and new work from across Europe and beyond. This year there’s a gentle thread running through the festival: “Belonging Without Borders” — an expression of what it means to belong to a place, to a culture, and to one another. This comes to life through our visiting musicians, who bring with them their own heritage, languages and traditions. When these meet the island, its audiences and fellow artists, something beautiful happens — stories are shared, human connection is made, and inspiration emerges. It would be great to see you on Arran this August — please do come along. Whoever you are and wherever you hail from, you’ll find a warm welcome waiting for you. AIF2026 — rooted in community, outward-looking in spirit.
Richard Morrison
Artistic Director
A word from Electra
I'm so excited to be returning as Composer-in-Residence to the AIF in 2026. This promises to be our most ambitious programme so far! The festival this year will see the development of our biggest community project to date, bringing together school children with diverse communities from across the island and further afield to compose a brand new piece of music. This project will culminate in a massed pre-concert performance given by the young people, local musicians, and visiting musicians. I will also be composing a new piece for internationally acclaimed violinist Magdalena Filipczak. The new piece will bring together influences from Scottish, Greek and Polish folk music, drawing on my own Scottish/Greek background and Magda's Polish heritage and inspired by the festival's themes of connection across borders. Come along and join us at the AIF2026 for this celebration of community and the connective power of music in an inspiring series of island-wide events - wherever you come from and whoever you are, you'll receive a warm welcome!
Electra Perivolaris
Composer-in-Residence
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Monday, 17th August 2026
Richard Morrison & Iain Clarke
Songs of Love and Memory
Dougarie Boathouse | 7.30pm
Join Richard and Iain in the unique and intimate setting of Dougarie Boathouse for an evening of beautiful music and song. The programme ranges from German Lied and English song to French mélodie, Scots song and favourites from the American Songbook, touching on themes of love, remembrance and belonging. The evening will also feature the first performance of a new song written for Richard and Iain by Electra Perivolaris.
Works including: Finzi Let us garlands bring, Brahms Vier ernste Gesänge, Ravel Don Quichotte à Dulcinée and Debussy Clair de lune.
Baritone Richard Morrison is known for the warmth and lyricism of his voice and the breadth of his work across opera, operetta and song, with appearances at major European venues including the Berliner Philharmonie, the Royal Albert Hall and the Wigmore Hall. He has recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, Naxos and Warner Classics, and has broadcast widely for BBC television and radio and Classic FM, both as a singer and as a presenter.
Pianist Iain Clarke, originally from the Isle of Arran, works across the UK and internationally as a collaborative and orchestral pianist. He performs regularly with leading orchestras including the Philharmonia, London Symphony Orchestra and Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and is a sought-after accompanist and chamber musician. A double graduate of the Royal College of Music, he held an accompanist fellowship there from 2022 to 2024 and continues to work with major conservatoires and international artists.
Tuesday, 18th August 2026
A guest talk by Hamish Husband
Tales of the Tartan Army
Arran Heritage Museum - Tuesday Talk | 1.30pm
Just back from the World Cup, join Hamish Husband, official spokesperson for the West of Scotland Tartan Army, for an engaging and often humorous exploration of Scotland’s travelling football supporters. Drawing on a wealth of experience and stories from the road, Hamish captures the spirit, camaraderie and character of the Tartan Army — a defining part of modern Scottish culture.
Tuesday, 18th August 2026
Magdalena Filipczak & Agnieszka Piatek
Inspired by Song and Dance
Dougarie Boathouse | 7.30pm
Works include:
Benjamin Britten — Waltz from Suite, Op. 6
Franz Schubert — Fantasia in C major for violin and piano, D. 934, Op. posth. 159
Karol Szymanowski — Peasant Dance from the ballet Harnasie (arr. Paweł Kochański)
Henryk Wieniawski — Fantasia on Themes from Gounod’s Faust, Op. 20
Electra Perivolaris — new work (world premiere)
At AIF2026, Magdalena Filipczak is joined by pianist Agnieszka Piatek in Inspired by Song and Dance, a programme that brings together classical repertoire with music rooted in her Polish heritage. The concert will also feature the world premiere of a new work by AIF Composer-in-Residence Electra Perivolaris, written especially for this collaboration.
Violinist Magdalena Filipczak joins us with an international reputation for performances of exceptional range and musical intelligence. She appears worldwide as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician, with engagements at major concert halls across Europe and the Americas, including Wigmore Hall and the Concertgebouw. A prize-winner at numerous international competitions, her honours include First Prize at the United States International Concerto Competition and the Gold Prize at the Manhattan International Music Competition.
Pianist Agnieszka Piatek is an accomplished chamber musician and collaborative artist, known for her depth of musical partnership. A graduate of the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, she has performed widely across Europe and worked closely with leading instrumentalists, and has been recognised with awards as a chamber musician and competition pianist.
Magdalena’s debut album Essence of Violin was described by The Strad as “glittering… beguiling… hauntingly atmospheric,” and her work includes recordings and broadcasts for BBC Radio 3, Deutsche Grammophon, film, and television. She is also deeply committed to collaboration with living composers and new music, and performs on historic instruments supported by Beare’s International Violin Society.
Tuesday, 18th August 2026
Professor Dr. Sigrid Rieuwerts from the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
Heimat - stories of home and beyond
The Kinloch Hotel | 1pm
We are delighted that Sigrid returns to the AIF for the third year to give another fascinating talk, this time reflecting on Heimat - the meaning of home, identity and belonging - and how these ideas travel with us across borders homeland.
Prof. Rieuwerts is a leading scholar of Scottish literature and oral tradition at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. She founded the Scotland Hub and plays a central role in developing cultural exchange between Scotland and Germany. Her work on Sir Walter Scott’s Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border has helped reshape understanding of the relationship between oral tradition and literary culture. Her contribution to European cultural dialogue has been recognised by the Royal Society of Edinburgh and through the Constance Council Prize for European Encounters and Dialogue, awarded following nomination by the Scottish Government.
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Wednesday, 19th August 2026
Brodick Village Hall | 7pm
French trumpeter David Enhco and Swiss pianist Marc Perrenoud — two of Europe’s leading jazz musicians — bring to Arran CHET, their acclaimed tribute to the American trumpeter Chet Baker.
Through a programme of jazz standards alongside original compositions, Enhco and Perrenoud explore Baker’s musical world — a sound shaped by lyricism and light, but also by fragility, struggle and darkness. Rather than imitation, their approach seeks to capture something deeper: a sensibility, an atmosphere, and a way of listening.
Their performances are widely praised for their elegance, clarity and emotional depth. At the heart of CHET lies a distinctive musical dialogue, in which trumpet and piano move with restraint and intimacy, reimagining familiar material while opening new expressive space.
“Jubilatory! They practise music as outlaws.” — Le Monde
Mariia Petrovska
Heart of Ukraine
appearing in:
Concert Crossing Borders
Thursday 21st August, Whiting Bay Hall, 7.30pm
A Song for Arran
Friday 22nd August, Brodick Church, 7.00pm
Mariia will open the evening ahead of Scotland's finest, Findlay Napier and Gillian Frame
Brodick Golf Club, 7.30pm
Across the Arran International Festival, Mariia Petrovska presents Heart of Ukraine — performances celebrating the beauty, resilience and spirit of Ukrainian musical traditions through the unique and evocative sound of the bandura.
Mariia Petrovska is an outstanding young Ukrainian musician — a bandura player and singer known for combining virtuosic technique with a pure, emotionally direct voice. Making her first appearances in Scotland at the Arran International Festival, she offers audiences a rare opportunity to encounter the rich traditions of Ukrainian music through a distinctive and deeply personal voice.
A multi-award-winning artist, Mariia moved to the United Kingdom following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and graduated from BIMM Manchester with first-class honours in Popular Music Performance and Songwriting. Her work draws on the traditions of Ukrainian music while bringing a fresh and contemporary perspective to the instrument and its repertoire.
Alongside her performing career, Mariia actively supports cultural and humanitarian initiatives connected with Ukraine, using her music as a voice for her homeland.
Thursday, 20th August 2026
Featuring young artists from Arran, Rheinland-Pfalz and Ukraine
A Concert Crossing Borders
Whiting Bay Hall | 7.30pm
At the heart of the Arran International Festival is a commitment to connection and friendship across cultures, communities and generations. A Concert Crossing Borders brings together young musicians from Arran, Rheinland-Pfalz and Ukraine in a shared programme shaped by cultural exchange, collaboration and friendship.
This concert offers a platform for emerging artists from across Europe and beyond to perform alongside one another, creating a dialogue through music that reflects both their individual cultural backgrounds and a shared artistic language.
The programme is being developed collaboratively in the lead-up to the festival and will include chamber works and ensemble performances.
Artists include:
Tabea Träger - horn
Judith Quinker - oboe
Gabin Yeom - bassoon
Dylan Zöller - bassoon
Mykhailo Bilash - flute
Rebecca Hill - clarsach
Aisling Coyle - clarsach
Katherine Coyle - Scottish smallpipes
Kitty Tudhope - Scottish smallpipes
Laura Coyle - snare drum
Mariia Petrovska - bandura
Friday, 21st August 2026
The Pupils of Kilmory Primary School and Friends
A Song for Arran
Brodick Church | 7pm
This performance marks the premiere of A Song for Arran, a new work created by Composer-in-Residence Electra Perivolaris and the children of Kilmory Primary School. Developed through a creative process beginning in May 2026, the piece is shaped by the young people of the island itself, reflecting their voices, creativity and shared spirit.
The children will be joined and accompanied by the internationally acclaimed Brook Street Band, together with musicians from Arran and our young visiting artists from Germany and Ukraine.
It's going to be quite an occasion and the performance serves as a beautiful prelude to The Brook Street Band’s candlelit concert, The Magic Hour, which follows directly afterwards.
Friday, 21st August 2026
The Magic Hour by Candlelight
Brodick Parish Church | 7.30pm
At the Arran International Festival, The Brook Street Band presents The Magic Hour — a candlelit programme of Baroque chamber music at dusk.
There are times and places — liminal spaces — where the veil between worlds is thin. Travel with us through magical dimensions at dusk, following winding, overgrown paths, glimpsing faeries and sprites, perhaps sensing ghosts and spirits. Let beautiful Baroque chamber music by Bach, Handel, Purcell, Rebel and others guide you through this magic hour.
The Brook Street Band is one of the UK’s leading period-instrument ensembles, renowned for performances of brilliance, imagination and warmth. Named after the London street where George Frideric Handel lived, the ensemble has established a distinguished reputation for its vivid and communicative approach to eighteenth-century chamber music, with a particular affinity for Handel’s work.
Formed by baroque cellist Tatty Theo, the ensemble has performed together for over twenty years, developing a distinctive musical voice and a close artistic partnership.
Saturday, 22nd August 2026
Kitchen Conversations
Corrie Hall | Baroque Brunch | 11.00am
Kildonan Hall | Baroque Tea Time | 4.00pm
On Saturday, the ensemble presents Kitchen Conversations, an engaging narrated programme combining music, storytelling and conviviality. Inspired by the kitchen as the heart of the home, it explores traditions of food, hospitality and conversation through a lively selection of Baroque music.
Join us in our imagined kitchen as we prepare and share a meal for friends. As the gathering unfolds, conversation deepens, unexpected musical ingredients emerge, and a rich Baroque sound world offers both nourishment and delight.
Once hidden from view in Handel’s time, the kitchen was no less a place of drama and energy — a space of work, preparation and human exchange. Today, it stands at the centre of the home: a place for gathering, sharing and storytelling. Kitchen Conversations draws on this enduring idea, bringing together music by Telemann, Handel, J.S. Bach, C.P.E. Bach, Rameau, Purcell and Errollyn Wallen.
Rachel Harris & Kathryn Parry (violins)
Tatty Theo (cello)
Carolyn Gibley (harpsichord)
with Richard Morrison, narrator
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Saturday, 22nd August 2026
Findlay Napier & Gillian Frame
Stories in Song
Brodick Golf Club | 8pm
Findlay Napier and Gillian Frame return to the Arran International Festival for a third successive year, bringing an evening of warmth, charm and musical brilliance. Join us for a night of Scottish traditional music in the heart of their own island community.
Findlay is one of Scotland’s finest singer-songwriters and a leading artist on the UK music scene. In 2025, he was named Composer of the Year at the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards, having previously been nominated for Musician of the Year and Live Act of the Year.
Arran-born Gillian is an outstanding traditional fiddler and singer whose authenticity and natural charm infuse her performances. She was the first winner of BBC Radio Scotland’s Young Traditional Musician of the Year and was recently listed by The Scotsman as one of twelve influential women in Scottish culture.
Sunday, 23rd August 2026
Marty Ross
DRYAD
Roots of Arran Woodland | 11am
At AIF2026, Marty Ross returns with DRYAD, a drama exploring the unexpected and unsettling consequences of a construction company attempting to clear an ancient woodland with a sinister reputation - to make way for a modern bypass.
Performed as a journey through the landscape itself, the work unfolds among the ancient trees of the Roots of Arran woodland between Brodick and Lamlash, with audience and performer moving together through the forest.
Marty Ross is an Arran‑based dramatist with a long track record writing for the BBC, Wireless Theatre, and Audible, including the recently released Scottish ghost story The Dead of Rannoch Moor. Alongside his writing, he performs his own work as a live storyteller, shaping this most ancient of art forms into vivid contemporary theatre rooted in place and story.
Festival supporters
The Arran International Festival is made possible through the generosity, encouragement and shared belief of those who support us. From individual patrons and benefactors to local businesses and community partners, we are deeply grateful to all who contribute to the life of the festival.
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Dear Richard and Trustees of the festival, The Arran International Festival of Chamber Music and Song looks fantastic and you’ve clearly put in an enormous amount of work to get to this stage. As you know I’ve always been a huge fan of arts festivals of any kind, not least because my first professional job in the industry was at the Edinburgh Festival. Whilst organising and participating in festivals requires huge commitment, many regard festivals as the lifeblood of our industry, they allow artists to get together to share and celebrate their work and enrich their skill and talent, but more importantly they offer audiences the opportunity to experience creativity, entertainment and work that is usually difficult for them to access, it looks like The Arran International Festival fulfils all of these things. Having spent many happy times on Arran over the last 20 years, I believe your festival will be embraced wholeheartedly by local people and business, and will add to the many existing attractions on the island for visitors. PW Productions is delighted to be able to support the festival, congratulations for getting this far and we wish you every success with it this year and well into the future, With very best wishes, Iain Gillie CEO, PW Productions, London.