Tommy Smith and Maria Rud light up Edinburgh with ‘Luminescence’

Saxophonist Tommy Smith and internationally acclaimed artist Maria Rud mark the 900th anniversary of St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh with ‘Luminescence’, a show that’s created spontaneously in the Cathedral itself during the Edinburgh Fringe.

From Thursday 15 to Saturday 17 August, Smith and Rud will converse in their respective artforms with Rud’s painted images projected onto the magnificent stained-glass window on the East Wall inside the church.

“We’ll begin each performance with no preconceptions of the direction the show will take,” says Smith. “Maria and I are both aware of aspects of the Cathedral’s history and of the legend of St Giles himself but we won’t have them in mind during the performance. I'll start to play and Maria will respond by painting whatever the sounds I make suggest to her.”

The pair have worked together before, including on the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra’s Where Rivers Meet project, and as a duo at St Giles’ last year, when The Scotsman described their performance as “one of the most spectacular experiences of the Fringe”.

St Giles’ has been at the centre of events throughout history, including the Scottish Reformation in the sixteenth century. As well as being a working church, it is an important centre for civic services and in September 2022 it was the scene of Queen Elizabeth’s lying in state before her funeral in London.

“As a boy growing up in Edinburgh, I was always aware of St Giles’, although mostly from a distance,” says Smith. “It’s a big, awesome space inside, with wonderful architecture and an amazing stillness, and I’m sure we’ll find inspiration from just being there.”

For more info visit edfringe.com/whats-on/luminescence