Sherlock Holmes meets his Violin at Edinburgh Concert

A concert featuring the 'Sherlock' violin will be used as a celebration of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  The concert is supporting SOS Children's Haiti Appeal.  The concert is being held on Saturday 15th May at 7.30pm at The Usher Hall, Edinburgh. For tickets, visit the Usher Hall website www.usherhall.co.uk

The unique ‘Sherlock’ violin was made recently by the Edinburgh violin-maker Steve Burnett from the sycamore tree that was growing in the grounds of Liberton Bank House (now Dunedin School), the childhood home of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

SOS Children’s Villages has had two of their 500 unique Children’s Villages in Haiti for 30 years and is now housing several hundred children who have lost their families.  In addition SOS Children are distributing food, basic supplies and medical care at over 60 community centres throughout the city and is committed to providing long-term family-based care for these children and for supporting vulnerable families in the community. 

The performers and programme

The first half of the concert will be a chance to show off the violin in a performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons with the St Patrick’s Baroque Ensemble.  The violin will be played by the talented Armenian violinist Ani Batikian.  Ani is a Junior Fellow at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.  She will be joined by the St Patrick’s Baroque Ensemble and Helena Buckmayer (piano).

The second half of the programme will comprise of shorter pieces of music from the era of Conan Doyle, interspersed with some short dramatic excerpts by the storyteller Mike Maran, making it a celebration of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. 

The concert will also include a piece by the Scottish composer, James Clapperton, called ‘Elsie and Frances’ after the 2 girls in the Cottingley Fairies story.  This is being specially written for the ‘Sherlock’ violin and will receive its World Première at this event.

The evening will conclude with the haunting Ashokan Farewell, by Jay Ungar.

The programme is as follows:

Interval