James Ross to perform at Europe's largest Celtic music festival
A CAITHNESS pianist and composer is hoping to be a hit when he takes part in Europe's largest Celtic music festival which starts on Friday.
James Ross from Wick will be performing at the renowned Festival Interceltique de Lorient in Brittany in France along with a host of other well-known musicians, including former Wolfstone fiddler Duncan Chisholm. The event, which runs until August 11, is expected to attract an audience of 750,000.
Ross will be involved in a musical collaboration with Gaelic song trio Sian, featuring Eilidh Cormack (Skye), Ellen MacDonald (Inverness) and Ceitlin Smith (Lewis). They have been working with three Breton singers to produce material for a shared performance in Lorient on Thursday.
Accompanying them will be six musicians from Brittany and Scotland and together they will form a 12-piece band. The Scottish musicians are Chisholm, Ross and Jarlath Henderson on pipes and whistles.
They will be among the many Scots representing their country at the international festival. Over 80 hours of music, song and dance from established and up-and-coming artistes has been organised by Fèis Rois, one of Scotland’s leading traditional arts organisations. It is hosting the Scotland Pavilion at the festival for a second year.
Fèis Rois chief executive Fiona Dalgetty said: "Running alongside the main festival is a large area in the city of Lorient where each of the Celtic nations showcases emerging talent in a series of marquees. This is a unique opportunity for up-and-coming bands to perform on an international platform and to meet their peers from other Celtic nations.
This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase Scotland to a wide European audience.
"As well as giving European audiences the opportunity to hear high-quality Scottish traditional music and the Gaelic language, it has been exciting to see new collaborations and opportunities arise over the past year since Fèis Rois first led on the Scotland Pavilion at Lorient. This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase Scotland to a wide European audience."

The Scottish headline acts at the main festival include Peatbog Fairies and Skipinnish.
Participants at this year's event come from Brittany, Ireland, Scotland, Cornwall, Wales, the Isle of Man, Cape Breton Island, Acadia (north America), Galicia and Asturias, both in north-west Spain.
Scotland's culture secretary Fiona Hyslop said: "The Festival Interceltique de Lorient is the largest Celtic festival in Europe and the Scottish Government is proud to support some of Scotland’s best young artists to perform at the event with £30,000 funding from the International Creative Ambition Programme.
"It has never been more important to support international cultural connections and this collaboration between Scottish and Breton singers and instrumentalists will offer performers many opportunities in the sharing of knowledge, skills and new experiences, as well as showcasing the best of Scotland to audiences at the Scottish Pavilion."
James Ross recently released an album of new music and songs which explore Scotland’s relationship with the sea. It is called These Are the Hands and features a number of other musicians with words narrated by the celebrated Scottish author Alexander McCall Smith.