Page 10 - BYC Edinburgh Experience Concerts 2022

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EDINBURGH EXPERIENCE CONCERTS 2022
BYC TO PERFORM WORLD PREMIERE
‘A Curving Flower of Gold’
10th & 11th August 5.00pm – Greyfriars Kirk
We’re thrilled to be welcoming composer Prof. Paul Mealor to the Edinburgh Fringe who will conduct the choir and lead the world premiere of his specially commissioned piece, ‘A Curving Flower of Gold’ in the iconic Greyfriars Kirk on 10th and 11th August at 5.00pm. This piece was written for BYC during lockdown and is stunning. Paul is one of the most famous composers in the world and holds several world records having written music for the Royal Wedding of William and Kate and the number 1 hit, ‘Wherever You Are’ by the Military Wives choir. We are incredibly honoured to be welcoming him and it makes us so proud that the most famous and brilliant composers in the world are choosing to work with our young people in Barnsley.
GREYFRIARS KIRK
A central and symbolic role in the history of Scotland
We are thrilled to be performing in one of the most famous and spectacular venues in Scotland, during our visit to the Fringe. Situated in the heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town, Greyfriars Kirk was founded in 1620. It is the first church to be build in post-Reformation Scotland. The kirk stands on
the site of a medieval Franciscan friary. The Franciscans were known as the Greyfriars for the colour of their robes, so the kirk gained the
name Greyfriars.
On the north wall of the kirk is a memorial to Robert Adam, the foremost architect of country houses in Britain during the latter half of the 18th century. Adam was responsible for some of the most elegant and sumptuous Palladian designs of stately homes like Harewood House, Kenwood, Bowood House, Croome Court, and Nostell Priory
– very close to Barnsley. The graveyard surrounding the church was founded in 1561 and is now maintained by a separate trust, and known for the large number of historic monuments, including many to famous people - and one very famous dog. Perhaps the most famous grave site is the memorial to Sir Walter Scott and his family. Scott worshipped in the kirk as a young man, and a small memorial is set on the kirk wall in his honour.
The kirkyard is the haunt - literally - of a ghostly spectre, the spirit of ‘Bloody’ Sir George MacKenzie. MacKenzie was known for his harsh treatment of Covenanters imprisoned in 1679 in the field beside Greyfriars. The name Greyfriars is practically synonymous with Greyfriars Bobby, a Skye terrier who kept watch by his dead master’s grave for 14 long years. Bobby refused to be parted from his master and spent every day for the next 14 years sitting on his master’s grave. New laws were brought in the dogs without a license should be destroyed, but Sir William Chambers, Lord Provost of Edinburgh, paid for Bobby’s license out of his own pocket, and gave the loyal dog a collar. The collar is now in the Museum of Edinburgh on the Royal Mile.