A BEAUTIFUL Borders building will play host next week to the world premiere of a work that transforms paintings and poems into music.

Borders-based musician Greg Harradine, who lives in Earlston with his wife and two young children, is to perform his Caledonian Portraits for solo piano in the beautiful Picture Gallery at Paxton House near Duns on Friday (March 10).

The work is a labour of love for Harradine with the eight compositions inspired by the works of eight painters, poets and other artists living in Scotland today.

He said: “Can a poem or a painting be transformed convincingly into a piano piece? I think it can, and that’s what I’ve tried to do with my Caledonian Portraits. At the concert I will discuss all eight works, how they were composed, and how the various artists inspired them.”

The artists in question are a diverse range of folk from all corners of Scotland: poets Janette Ayachi and JL Williams, visual artists Kirstie Cohen, Peter King and Tom Davidson, sculptor Michelle Du Bruin, ceramicist Lara Scobie, and performance artist Claire Cunningham.

Harradine, who is influenced by both classical and folk traditions, interviewed them all in order to allow their artistic methods to influence his own compositions.

A composer and pianist, Harradine is influenced by both classical and folk traditions, finding particular inspiration in the natural world, as well as in other art forms, especially literature and paintings.

His work, since graduating in 2010, has been a varied mixture of composing for the theatre, for the concert hall, and a growing catalogue of solo piano music.

Harradine has been resident composer at the Soho Theatre in London, a position which resulted from winning the Cameron Mackintosh Resident Composer Award in 2014.

Friday’s performance begins at 7.30pm. To find out more and to book a ticket, click HERE.