In a career as a conductor that has spanned the globe, Govan Music Festival founder Paul McAlindin has found a common thread – the power that music has to unify and uplift.
Even in the war zone of Iraq in the late-2000s, where he set up the country’s National Youth Orchestra, he saw how hope was an inspiration in the face of adversity.
Having moved back to Scotland after the Islamic State offensive into Iraq in 2014 forced the orchestra to disband, he has taken the same ethos of hope to his new-found home in in the south-west of Glasgow.
Later this month, the Glasgow Barons orchestra and community group that he set up in 2016 hosts the third annual Govan Music Festival, which brings together local people for events across a wide variety of music genres.
It is aimed at celebrating the diverse range of creativity in the area, championing local talent and revitalising neighbourhoods through music.
Accessibility
Accessibility is at the heart of the festival, both in terms of cost – events are free or under £5 – and in encouraging people into spaces they’ve never considered before.
“The boundaries are very grey between what the festival is and what the community is and that’s exactly the way I like it, because that’s what makes sense to everybody,” Paul, originally from Dunfermline, explained.
“It’s about stepping out of comfort zones in terms of genre, but it’s actually also about stepping out of comfort zones in terms of life.
“There’s so much poverty here and it’s deep. With that comes the associated problems of anxiety, depression, addiction, long-term unemployment, mental and physical health issues.
“All the stuff that we all know happens, but it happens on such an intense, concentrated level here.
“Just getting folk to step outside the front door, never mind into a concert with or without a familiar genre, is a big, big effort here.”
© Taylor HunterPaul was moved by the struggles his neighbours were facing just to get by when he first arrived in Govan.
It is an area where deeply embedded economic and social hardships have spanned generations. “It really is a battle between hope and hopelessness,” Paul said.
“I believe, after all my experiences around the world in Iraq and wherever else, that hope is a tangible asset. It’s real. It’s not some really fuzzy thing in the distance. It’s an actual difference for some people between life and death.
“It’s really important we keep that alive and keep pushing towards it. That’s what I believe in and that’s what I think makes the difference.
“The change between Govan in 2016 and now is massive because of a huge number of initiatives that have gone on and have been very powerful in the area.”
What’s on
Built from the streets up and reflecting the area’s personality, the festival includes a diverse range of events.
Highlights include a free school choirs concert and hip-hop meeting orchestral rave at a launch party for Freed Up CIC, an independent producer of sober adult events specially curated for people in recovery from addiction.
The Glasgow Barons will host a special UK premiere of Courtney Bryan’s Carmen Jazz Suite on Themes by Bizet at Govan and Linthouse Parish Church.
Closing out the festival at Edmiston House next to Ibrox stadium is a concert from Gaelic indie trad band DLÙ, joined by Musicians In Exile, an ensemble of musicians who have experience with the asylum system.
© SuppliedThey have reunited with instruments they were forced to leave behind when fleeing their homes. “They’re up on stage and they’re baring their souls to the audience,” Paul said.
“That soul may be Iranian, Syrian or Ukrainian. But that connection, even with a foreign language, makes so much power when it’s sung. It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand the words, what you feel is where that person is and who that person is.
“That’s the beauty of music – we can feel the same thing together at the same time.
“Music has this fantastic power to bring loads of different people together, which is another reason why the festival is so diverse – to let us share the same emotional experience together and that’s really where community resilience comes.”
© SuppliedNew connections
The festival also comes at a time of great change for the area with the opening of a new bridge over to Partick set for later this year.
The new link is predicted to increase footfall with Govan becoming the closest subway station for the Riverside Museum and Tall Ship attractions, and a new route for students living in the west end to walk or cycle to new Glasgow University facilities south of the river.
“It’s my job and the job of everybody else here to get them to stop for a bit and have a look at what’s here,” Paul said.
“All these connections are being made.
“We’ve all seen this coming for a while now and we’re just setting up all the ducks in a row and making sure everybody’s ready to get the maximum benefit from this bridge so that everybody knows there’s something here to look at and something here to stay for.”
Govan Music Festival runs from March 13 to 16, tickets and info at glasgowbarons.com
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