This is a FREE concert - retiring collection in aid of Onialeku School, Uganda.

US musician and hammer dulcimer master Malcolm Dalglish is touring Scotland and Ireland for just 2 weeks in July 2019 with the 55 voices of Exaudi youth choir from Australia.

Picture Book is a collection of vocal music that reimagines traditional Scots-Irish roots through works of contemporary American composer Malcolm Dalglish in collaboration with celebrated Australian choir director Mark O’Leary. O’Leary’s Exaudi youth choir grew up performing this music throughout Australia and New Zealand, accompanied by Dalglish’s inventive hammer dulcimer playing along with multi-faceted percussionist Peter Jacob. Picture Book pulls us into the awe of the natural world with mythical creatures, birds, trees, and wild things. Expect settings of old time American fiddle tunes, Kentucky writer Wendell Berry’s nature poetry, and instructional hip-hopperettas on the making of pie or an over-the-top peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Picture Book is a boldly optimistic feast of song with soaring melodies, transcendent harmonies, and imaginative vocalese.

Malcolm Dalglish graduated from National Outdoor Leadership School in his teen years, then failed to graduate from Oberlin College (where he was in residence with an experimental theater troupe) and Cincinnati Conservatory of Music (where he studied music education.) Instead, he built and then became a master of the hammered dulcimer, founded the popular folk music trio Metamora, recorded 15 albums with labels such as Windham Hill, Rounder, and Times Music of India, and has become a prolific composer of vocal music that comes alive at his off-the-grid performance camp near Yosemite and with the lively and masterful youth choirs of Australian conductor Mark O’Leary. His music is inspired by the outdoors and the writings of Wendell Berry and others.

Exaudi is conducted by Mark O’Leary OAM, one of Australia’s most active choral conductors, widely respected for his work with Exaudi, Gondwana Voices and Young Voices of Melbourne which he founded in 1990. With these choirs he has recorded 15 CDs, toured all states and territories of Australia and made 16 international tours to Europe, South Africa, North America, Japan, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand and Samoa. Mark has presented many workshops on choral music education throughout Australia and internationally and is a regular guest conductor at choral festivals. He publishes Australian choral music for young choirs in the Young Voices of Melbourne Choral Series and is the author of the Sight Singing School books and web site used in more than 40 countries. Mark is an Honorary Life Member of the Kodály Music Education Institute of Australia, a Churchill Fellow and was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for services to choral music and education in 2018.