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Kevin Kwong

City Hall, Concert Hall

January 17, 8pm

Living up to its promise to feature 'crossover curiosities' this season, the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong (CCOHK) will team  up with the Whistlebinkies and the Red Guards Pipe Band next Tuesday for a  highland fling.

Described as Scotland's 'musical de resistance', the Whistlebinkies are a seven-piece ensemble  comprising flutes, lowland pipes, drums, fiddles  and the Scottish harp.

The programme, which is led by  David Gwilt (one of Hong Kong's most influential musicians and a Scot at heart), features a selection of traditional and popular Scottish airs.

Highlights include Fiddler's Farewell,  written by Eddie McGuire for Yehudi Menuhin,  and Voyage Home, during which the Red Guards Pipe Band will march into the concert hall while the orchestra performs on stage.

CCOHK artistic director Leanne Nicholls says the concert is not only a first for Hong Kong but 'a must for Hong Kong's Celtic music lovers'.

She says the Whistlebinkies - who have been dubbed the Chieftains of Scotland - formed  as a result of   a surge of interest  in traditional and  Celtic music in the  late 1960s. Since then,  the ensemble has become a leading force in the field of  folk music, specialising in  traditional Scottish music.

The group features a rich combination of lowland bagpipes  played by Rab Wallace, flute and compositions by  McGuire, and drumming by Peter Anderson. As well, Rohona MacKay play the clarsach (small Scottish harp)  and sings,  Stuart Eydmann's plays concertina,  Mark Hayward  plays traditional fiddle, and Anna Dagg plays the viola and fiddle.

The Whistlebinkies (an old Scottish word for a wandering beggar musician) are among  the first to combine the three national Scottish instruments:  the fiddle, bagpipes and clarsach  in regular performances.

Whereas other groups have come and gone, split and regrouped, the Whistlebinkies'  line-up is much the same as in the early days, with few concessions to modern instruments and no electronics as yet,  says Nicholls.

'One of the reasons for their continuing success is their approach to the music,' she  says. 'Nothing complicated, nothing trendy, just good  Scottish tunes given simple but effective treatment.'

The Whistlebinkies have toured extensively, including France, Germany, Italy, Finland, Iceland, Estonia, Sweden and Spain, and are the first Scottish music group to tour the mainland.

The group return to Hong Kong after their successful appearance at the Hong Kong Folk Festival in 1991.

Edinburgh Place, Central,  $80-$180. Inquiries: 3420 0107



Scotland the Brave!