Martyn Bennett.

Funny how you bump into things, and conversely how things pass me by. 

As I have mentioned previously ( https://literateherringthisway.blogspot.com/2021/09/a-lost-pig-and-other-tales.html ) Louise is fond of BBC Alba and quite often watches it. I wandered into the living room the other evening having been on the phone for a while to find her watching a fascinating documentary about the mental health of musicians. During the programme the Scottish musician Greg Lawson was interviewed and he was shown conducting the Grit Orchestra.

https://www.thegritorchestra.com/

 

The music sounded interesting. A bit of research led me to Martyn Bennett's original album Grit, which I promptly purchased from Bandcamp - https://martynbennett.bandcamp.com/releases

 If you've never heard this, or the earlier Bothy Culture album check them out (both available on Spotify).

The Martyn Bennett Trust "...was set up to be a space and forum for people who feel inspired by Martyn, as a musician, and also as a person with a remarkable and unique outlook on music, his own cultural background, and on the times we live in. The MBT aims to reflect Martyn’s vision of music through supporting performances, commissions, new recordings and educational projects. In setting up the MBT, we thought about Martyn’s characteristics as a musician and as a person, and how we could reflect these in the projects we run and the events we hold. Among these characteristics are freedom, innovation and creativity, boldness, honesty, grit, breaking through boundaries, brilliant musicianship and a deep connection to Scottish culture(s) with a real appreciation of the cultures of others, especially those that are marginalised and threatened."

(From the Martyn Bennett Trust website - http://www.martynbennett.com/MBT.html ) - more music and much information about Martyn and the Trust is available there.