Dr Richard Holloway has appeared in different contexts at every East Neuk Festival, and we are delighted to welcome him back in 2009. This year's project was a special request: one of the pleasures of  reading Dr Holloway's books is sharing his immense and deep knowledge of poetry. It is not merely that he has an infallible eye for the apt quote to illustrate his point at a given time, but that he is like a picture restorer removing layers of grime from a fresco to reveal glowing brilliant colours and hidden meanings you never noticed before. Here he will select verse inspired by two atmospheric locations - Dunino Den and St Fillan's Cave, and is joined by flautist Alison Mitchell to create memorable short sequences of poetry and music in each of them.

Sheila Chandra first found fame as an actress - in Grange Hill - but I heard her first performing an astonishing piece of mouth-music inspired by tabla playing. That was 15 years ago, and she has continued to follow her own path musically, exploring aspects of Asian and European vocal traditions en route. Her fascination with drones has brought her close to the piping traditions of Scotland, and she had a great success with her recording of McCrimmond's Lament. Her performance at East Neuk Festival contributes to a mini-strand of contrasting vocal traditions - the others being English (The Orlando Consort and Tuvan (Huun Huur Tu). They are programmed to complement and contrast with each other.

Visit Sheila Chandra's Website