Jean-Michel Veillon and Giles Le Bigot with the Siansa group from APC
Wednesday 18th January in St Patrick's Trian at 8.00pm with doors opening at 7.30pm. Tickets can be reserved by phone to 02837511248 or to brian@armaghpipers.org and cost £7 with a concession rate of £5 available for U-16's, O-65's and unemployed. There will also be a family rate (available to parents with children) at the discretion of the organisers on the night.
Jean-Michel Veillon
Born on the North Coast of Brittany in 1959, Jean-Michel was first a dancer and then a bombard (old type of double reed oboe, very typical of Brittany) player in his teens. He then started to play the transverse wooden flute, getting his first influences from Irish flute players, but then created distinct articulation techniques, more adapted to the Breton music.
Jean-Michel toured Europe and the U.S extensively in the 1980’s as a founder member of the highly praised KORNOG, PENNOU SKOULM, DEN and BARZAZ before turning to duo work with guitarist Yvon RIOU, or starting the new band TOUD’SAMES.
Widely credited with introducing the simple system wooden flute into Breton folk music, and primarly responsible though his intensive teaching efforts and hundreds of concerts and festivals appearances for its widespread adoption among many dozens of young musicians throughout Brittany, Jean-Michel has achieved widespread recognition as one of world’s premier traditional flute players.
Gilles Le Bigot
Gilles Le Bigot, whose professional guitarist career began in 1984, is very famous in the world of Celtic guitar. For 25 years, he’s been involved in many prominent musical projects such as ’ L’héritage des Celtes’ and notorious folk bands such as’ Kornog’,’Barzaz’ and ‘Skolvan’. He has also toured with many worlwide known artists such as Donal Lunny, Karen Matheson, Karan Casey and Carlos Nunez.
His style, which is his hallmark is very recognizable since it relies on the DADGAD system ( open tuning), which has now become the most widespread playing style in Breton music.
Gilles is also famous for his beautiful compositions and delicate arrangements and has participated to thirty albums. In 2002, he recorded his first solo album, entitled ‘Empreintes’, then the sequel, ‘Empreintes 2’ was released in 2011, featuring Gildas Arzel and Jean-Félix Lalanne, with whom he set up the show ‘ Autour de la Guitare Celtique’. The collaboration with Jean-Félix Lalanne started on stage in 2009 ( with John Renbourn and Stefan Grossman).
This led to a collaborative work in a big show, ‘Autour de la guitare’ at the notorious Paris Olympia venue in March 2011. Throughout this project, he’s been on stage lately with Tina Aréna, Michael Grégorio and Paul Personne and has played for this occasion with the most talented French guitar players ( Michel Aumont, Jean-Marie Ecay, Laurent Roubach, Patrick Manougian, Solorazaf, Louis Winsberg, Patrick Rondat and many others...)