Quotes from the press

'Few could possibly argue with the choice of Jim Sutherland as its (TNO) composer and musical director. A former member of seminal Scottish folk band The Easy Club, Sutherland has also recorded with artists as diverse as Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, the Chieftains, Emmylou Harris and Billy Bragg, produced more than 70 albums, and seen his compositions recorded on a hundred more. Recent career highlights include his brilliantly rootsy yet cosmopolitan soundtrack to Annie Griffin's 2005 movie Festival, and the score for 2007's Seachd, the first Scottish Gaelic feature film. The former commission led to the formation of his massive pan-Continental folk ensemble, La Banda Europa.'

Sue Wilson The Scotsman


'Jim Sutherland: The orchestral alchemist'

Anna Burnside-The Sunday Times


'Galician piping superstar Carlos Nunez walked onstage to close the first half of the first concert of Celtic Connections 2010 and remarked that around the world the perception is growing that “…something exciting is happening in Scotland..”. It is, and one of the most exciting things that is happening is the True North Orchestra, brainchild of Jim Sutherland, fusing for the first time classical and traditional musicians. Oh, of course there have been collaborations and crossovers before now, but nothing that has been so fully unsegregated and inclusive. And big.'

Jennie Macfie for HiArts website


'Jim Sutherland’s True North Orchestra, Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow'

'in compositions such as Tartan Weave, Clan and an untitled Strathspey, Sutherland has achieved his aim of creating orchestral music with the finesse of the classical tradition and the accent of Scottish folk music – and in the True North Orchestra he has the band to play it convincingly.
The writing was by turns luminous, understatedly beefy and superbly delicate, as on the emotional but never schmaltzy My Parents, and the combined talents of traditional, classical and jazz players sounded finely tempered. .......the genuinely rousing and dramatically measured Shochad Storm, which showed off Sutherland’s talent for atmospheric scoring with the added bonus of a memorable hook.'

Rob Adams - The Herald


'There was certainly no shortage of vision or ambition invested in the inaugural gig of Celtic Connections 2010, which not only premiered several new pieces of music, but also the 42-piece ensemble performing them.'

'From the exhilarating opener, Tartan Weave, through the vibrant textures and grooves of Time for a Change – inspired by Gaelic psalm singing and strathspey rhythms – to the grandeur, wildness and drama of the most challenging new piece, The Shoched Storm, the goal of establishing a new, specifically Scottish orchestral repertoire already seemed well under way.'

Sue Wilson - The Scotsman


'Celtic Connections review by
The best parts of the evening were the colourful, multi-layered pieces composed by Jim Sutherland and beautifully performed by the orchestra, from the exhilarating opener, Tartan Weave, through the drama of Sea Journey to the grandeur and imagery of the challenging new piece, The Shoched Storm, and the blood-stirring The Big visit.'

Alison Anderson - PERTHSHIRE ADVERTISER


'Redefining crossover music'

Michael Tumelty-The Herald

True North Orchestra hands on fiddles
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