Cantara The Band

Here are 2 music tracks from the "CANTARA CD"


	I wrote this tune for the whistle whilst reminiscing about my childhood and summer walks to the Solway Shore with my family. We would spend all day there in the summer holidays, where you would look over the water to the far away hills of the Lake District in the distance. Hazel Morrison, Singer and Drummer in the band, wrote the lyrics.

	The Iona Air and the Mister Rory Jig: I wrote these 2 tunes for my children Rory and Iona. As a baby, Iona was pretty relaxed and enjoyed a nice sleep during the day, so I felt I should compose a lovely peaceful Scottish Air for her. Rory, on the other hand, was a very lively baby, who didn't need any sleep, and jumped about all over the place all day, so I thought a nice lively jig would be perfect for him!!!!!!

This is my band ‘CANTARA’, when we played in Treviso, near Venice, July 2006. See www.cantara.co.uk for our band’s official site. We played at a Celtic festival called ‘Tarvisium Celtica’. This was our third year in a row playing in Italy. In July 2005, we played at the ‘Celtica’ festival in Courmayeur, Val d’ Aosta, at the foot of Monte Bianco (or Mont Blanc)!!.

In 2004 we played at a festival near Lovere, Lake Iseo, in the North of Italy. After winning the prestigious ‘Danny Kyle Award’ at ‘Celtic Connections in Glasgow 2003’, as best newcomers from over 100 acts at the Royal Concert Hall, we have been invited to play at numerous high profile events. If you are interested in booking us for any event, eg, Music Festivals (Celtic or Rock), Hogmanay, Weddings, Corporate or Private function etc. (where we can offer Ceilidh music and/or our own Celtic Music), please contact Louise at V.I.P. Piper.


Our line-up is currently Bagpipes, Whistle (Me), Accordion, Keyboards (Elizabeth), Vocals and Drum Kit (Hazel), Spanish/Electric Guitars (Martin), Bass Guitar (Andy) and Mikey on Percussion. We go down a storm wherever we play with our unusual line-up and music, which covers Breton, Spanish, Celtic, Reggae, African, Blues and Jazz influences!! A bit of everything really!!!. Previous gigs have included the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall Main Auditorium 2004, Barrowlands, Glasgow, 2004, The Ross Bandstand, Princes Street Gardens, during The Edinburgh International Festival 2002, -03 and -04. We played at Knochengorroch World Music Festival in Dumfriesshire in 2005, played at the 10th Celebration of the end of Apartheid, which was broadcast live on South African Television and we recorded a live performance for ‘Tartan T.V’. in the States. We have also recorded tracks for Channel 4 television.

One of our favourite gigs was playing at the Lord Provost of Edinburgh’s Christmas Party at the Edinburgh City Chambers 2005 and 2006, where we managed to get all Councillors and Politicians on the floor dancing!!

In November 2006 we played for HRH The Earl of Wessex to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Duke of Edinburgh Awards. In April 2007 we are playing at a rock festival in Italy, where we will be promoting Celtic Rock music and the ‘Celtica’ 2007 festival in Val d’ Aosta in the north of Italy.