Excerpts from issue 53/18 13 June 2026
Cantilena Festival 2026
The Cantilena Festival is delighted to return to the island of Islay for a week-long festival of classical chamber music.
Seven students from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland will join seven professional players to perform throughout the island. The students will embrace the highly sought-after privilege to learn alongside the musicians who have worked with Britain's major orchestras.
The Cantilena Festival offers the only opportunity for Islay residents to hear music which ranges from Renaissance to the present day. Cantilena has become a near sell-out event, attracting audiences from as far afield as Germany and Italy, thanks to the intimate and informal atmosphere of the venues which include some of the island’s famous malt whisky distilleries.
This year will see the festival celebrate its 26th season with performances running from Sunday 5 July - Friday 10 July. The programme includes music by Bach, Mozart and Schubert, and will feature a world premiere by a young RCS composition student; the piece will be inspired by Islay and its people.
The Cantilena Festival is immensely grateful to Border Biscuits John Cunningham Trust, their principal sponsor, for supporting this year's festival.
Sunday 5 July, The Gaelic Centre. Monday 6 July, Laphroaig Distillery. Tuesday 7 July, Caol Ila Distillery. Wednesday 8 July, The Gaelic Centre. Thursday 9 July, Ardbeg Distillery. Friday 10 July, Bruichladdich Village Hall. All concerts start at 7:30pm.
Tickets are now on sale at www.cantilenafestival.co.uk
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Keeper of the Quaich
Ardnahoe Distillery is delighted to announce that Distillery Manager, David Livingstone, has been inducted as a 'Keeper of the Quaich', one of the highest honours in the Scotch whisky industry.
The Keepers of the Quaich is an exclusive international society which recognises individuals who have shown outstanding commitment to Scotch whisky and its promotion around the world. Membership is by invitation only and celebrates those who have made a significant contribution to the industry.
Born and raised on Islay, David is a third-generation distiller with more than 25 years of experience in Scotch whisky. His career began on the malt floors at Laphroaig, before progressing through a variety of production roles and later serving as Assistant Manager. He joined Ardnahoe during the distillery's development in 2018 and returned as Distillery Manager in 2024.
David's dedication to Islay, his commitment to quality and his contribution to Scotch whisky make this a thoroughly deserved recognition. Everyone at Ardnahoe extends their warmest congratulations on this prestigious achievement.
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In this week's issue:
Laggan Bay joins the happy throng, Community Council elections, Long-service at CalMac, Saving Dunyvaig Castle, Ileach raffle winner, Thermal energy investigations, Ileach Calendar photos, MV Isle of Islay keeps an eye on a yacht, Distillery Managers' revenge, Visitor Levy considerations, Parking woes at Port Ellen Primary, David becomes Keeper of the Quaich, First responders, Rights week at Port Charlotte, Fèis bowling, Quilters' Exhibition, Distillery Clay Shoot, IHS Celebration of Achievement, Cantilena Festival in July, Photos from this year's 40th Anniversary Fèis Ìle, Carléne Busalli’s book column, This Is Islay podcast news, Kilmeny Wednesday Club, Talking about heritage, New houses for Bruichladdich?, Mactaggart Leisure Centre funding, Port Ellen Primary's Gold UNICEF award.
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Power in those rocks?
IET’s Tom Skinner writes:
As we all know, Islay is quite rocky. We live on quite a lot of rock and most of the time, we just take this fact for granted. Now, however, Carbon Neutral Islands is looking into whether or not these rocks of ours can be used to heat our homes and businesses in some small way. Does Islay have any potential sites for geothermal energy production? Well, that is what we are going to try and find out.
Geologists from Glasgow University made their first foray onto Islay last month, to look at the potential heat conductivity of Islay's stone, with the initial results proving very encouraging. They will return soon in an attempt to find cracks in the Earth's crust caused by Islay being on the Great Glen fault. Points where the crust is weaker or thinner (the crust is pretty thick under Islay), could be points where heat can be abstracted and utilised and our charged up stones would help with that.
How's the future looking? It's looking rocky!
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This is Islay
2026 Podcast of the Year featuring individuals, personalities and features of Islay and Jura. Listen now at https://anchor.fm/thisisislay
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