And after the festival, we have the Scottish Tango Ensemble – bring your own bottle!

The Arran Music Society begins its winter season with this exhilarating group, performing in Brodick Hall on Saturday, 20th September at 7:30pm. There are four players in the Scottish Tango Ensemble, Gemma O’Keefe, violin, Paul Chamberlain, accordion, Gregor Blamey, piano and Tim Berry, double bass, and they capture all the excitement and seductiveness of Argentine tango. It’s a surprisingly wide range, from traditional café music to the tango nuevo of Astor Piazzolla.

Because this is a very informal evening – in fact, you might want to get up and dance – the hall will be set out with tables and chairs and you are welcome to bring your own bottle. The Music Society doesn’t propose to make this a habit, but for an evening of Latin American enjoyment, it seemed a good idea.

The players (from left to right in the photo above) are all highly qualified professionals:

Gregor Blamey, piano, studied at the RSAMD and plays with the Highland Band of The Royal Regiment of Scotland as well as numerous professional companies, ensembles and soloists.

Tom Berry, double bass, moved to Glasgow from his native Manchester to study at the RSAMD and then at the Juilliard School in New York. He is now Principal Double Bass with Scottish Opera.

Gemma O’Keefe, violin, was born in Belfast, and studied French and Music at Trinity College Dublin before completing a Postgraduate Performers course at the Royal Academy of Music, London.  She has played with numerous orchestras around the UK and features of several albums, and currently plays for the Orchestra of Scottish Opera.

Paul Chamberlain, accordion, studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland with Djordje Gajic, who is well known to Arran audiences. He has performed in Russia, Finland, France, Italy, Greece, Bahrain and the USA, and has been featured on BBC Radio 3′s ‘In Tune’ programme.

And as if all that were not enough, they are great fun with it.