The GRIT Orchestra unites Scotland’s leading folk, jazz and classical musicians. Renowned for their ‘trailblazing spirit’ (The Guardian), the 80-strong orchestra amasses to conjure an enthralling incarnation of Scotland’s contemporary musical landscape.
Winner of the Scottish Awards for New Music for innovation in New Traditional Music, the GRIT Orchestra is bound to push the limits of genre and Celtic culture.
Assembled by Celtic Connections in 2015 in homage to the late Martyn Bennett, the GRIT Orchestra is led by composer and conductor Greg Lawson. Bennett is celebrated for his virtuoso fusion of Celtic, Scandinavian and Islamic traditions with techno, breakbeat and techno. In 2018, GRIT orchestrated Bennett’s kaleidoscopic second album, Bothy Culture, which takes inspiration from Scotland’s rave scene and the experience of staying in a Highland hut – otherwise known as a ‘bothy’. And in August 2023, the GRIT Orchestra returned to the International Festival for our opening weekend celebrations in Princes Street Gardens.
Booking information
Sun 25 Aug 2024, 8:00pm
Edinburgh Playhouse Venue
Ticket Price: from £23:40
Martyn is regarded as one of Scotland’s leading musical talents of the 1990s for the way he fused dance music and club culture with traditional melodies and instruments, and is cited as a major influence by many of today’s leading bands on the trad scene.
He famously recorded his acclaimed debut album in just seven days and went on to win headline slots at Celtic Connections, perform at Edinburgh’s Hogmanay party and the world premiere of Braveheart at Stirling Castle, and entertain Sir Sean Connery and Ewan McGregor at a World Cup party in Paris in 1998.
Despite being forced to give up live performances at the peak of his career after being diagnosed with cancer for the second time, he managed to release two more albums as he battled with illness.