Fiddle Festival program for 2007
Friday Night:
Heat the Hoose 8pm - 10.30pm Tickets: £15/£10 Family ticket £32
Lau, Simon Thoumire-The Scots Fiddle Concerto
Late night Events: Tickets £8/£6 One ticket covers all
Session, Supper Room from 9pm
Play till you drop in our lively led session
Ceilidh, Ballroom 9pm-1am with Deoch ‘n’ Dorus
Eskmills Cabaret, Edinburgh Suite 10pm-1am
Audience first-come first-served
featuring- Tymao, Brendan Hendry,Alasdair White
Saturday Night:
Grand Concert 7.30 – 10pm Tickets £15/£10 Family Ticket £32
Ryan Young, Border Fiddles, Catriona Macdonald & Annbjørg Lien
Late Night events:
Session, Supper Room from 9pm
A lively led session for everyone to join in
Ceilidh, Ballroom 10pm – 1am with The Bella McNabs Dance Band
Eskmills Cabaret, Edinburgh Suite 10pm – 1am
Audience first-come first-served
featuring- Jamie Smith & Emerald Rae
If you want to play beside the professionals , book a slot with Stan Reeves (0131 221 5800 mob 07919 997429, email: stan.reeves1@btinternet.com)
Sunday Concert: Music Hall 6 – 8pm Tickets £10/£8 Family ticket £32
By popular request – a completely new feature in our Festival!!
The Open Stage for Everyone with Mark Neal of Heeliegoleerie
Edinburgh Suite Saturday 2.30pm Free event
This is your chance to play in a prestigious professional setting with a live audience.
If you would like to take part please leave your details at the information desk on Friday 16th. Or let us know ahead of time by email: mark@soniclodge.co.uk , or phone 0771 890 3064
If you want to listen just come along!
Slow Sessions & Very Slow Sessions Music Hall
Free with a day ticket or Supersaver
A hugely popular feature of our festival, these sessions, led by experienced tutors from the Glasgow Fiddle Workshop and Falkirk Fiddle Workshop, are for you if you love to play, feel the formal workshops might be too hard for you, and that the people in the downstairs sessions
Recitals: Hours of concert play for the price of a Day Ticket or Supersaver
Saturday Recitals:
11am Tim O’Leary with Aaron Jones – a memorial recital for Cameron Gaskell
12 noon Heeliegoleerie
1pm Bellevue Rendezvous
2pm Brendan Hendry with Paul McSherry
3pm Tymao
4pm Alasdair White with Ewan MacPherson
Sunday Recitals:
12 noon Charlie McKerron with Ross Martin
1pm Lauren MacColl with Barry Reid and James Ross
2pm Fribo
3pm Iain King with Stephen Coutts and John Russell
4pm Grand Finale with the Whistlebinkies
5pm Final Stramash Your chance to play with some big names and hundreds of fiddlers.
Workshops:
Workshops should be booked in advance
Workshops are aimed at intermediate players with some experience of playing by ear. Places are allocated on a first-come first-served basis, and only two workshops may be booked initially. Any spare places will be made available from 9.30am on the day.
Saturday Morning Workshops 10 – 11.30am
Ornamentation of pipe tunes-Ali McCulloch
East Drawing Room
Ali is a world-travelled fiddler and tutor at RSAMD. His workshop will focus on the ornamentation of pipe tunes and be suitable for intermediate and
advanced players.
Shetland music-Jenna Reid
West Drawing Room
An award-winning Shetland fiddler, Jenna will look at traditional Shetland repertoire and her own compositions from her current album With Silver & All and isolate the techniques that make Shetland music special.
Tunes from Argyllshire-Eilidh Steel
Edinburgh Suite
A recent graduate of RSAMD, member of Heeliegoleerie, and a composer in her own right, Eilidh is already a popular tutor and a strong figure in the music scene. Her workshop will cover some Tunes from Argyllshire (her home county) whose music she researched for her degree.
Saturday Afternoon Workshops 12-1.30pm
Understanding Written Music-Sarah Northcott
East Drawing Room
A versatile experienced player herself, and in huge demand as a tutor because of her special sensitivity to how people learn, Sarah titles her workshop Understanding Written Music. It is intended for those who want to have a good basic understanding of the structure and symbols used in written music.
Viola-Mairi Campbell
West Drawing Room
Although best known as an outstanding fiddle player Mairi’s first love is the viola and this is the instrument she studied at the Guildhall School of Music. Her workshop is particularly opportune now that the viola is gaining recognition in the world of traditional fiddle music – and will make a fine chance for viola players to learn from a master.
Sunday Morning Workshops 10:30-12noon
Pipe Tunes on the Fiddle-Lauren MacColl
East Drawing Room
2005 Young Folk Musician of the Year, Lauren is already a strong and thoughtful presence in the music scene as well as an outstanding performer. Her particular love is for Highland and Gaelic material and her workshop will look in depth at Pipe Tunes on the Fiddle.
The Alexander Technique-Isobel Anderson
West Drawing Room
The Alexander Technique helps awareness of harmful postural habits that may cause stress. With this awareness you can: be poised without stiffness, move gracefully with less effort, be alert and focussed with less strain, breathe and speak more easily, be calm and confident. This workshop will explore the ideas behind the Alexander technique and look at practical ways of approaching violin playing and life in general.
Playing Different Instruments together-Mark Neal Edinburgh Suite
Mark is a multi instrumentalist with bands Heeliegoleerie and Teannaich and a recording music producer. This workshop will look into arranging and playing different instruments together, using harmony, chords and rhythm to bring out the most in any instrument. Please bring your instrument of choice.
Sunday Afternoon Workshops 12:30-2pm
Different Types of Ornamentation-Louise Hunter
East Drawing Room
Graduate of RSAMD, a skilled teacher while still at school herself, Louise is a tutor in great demand - with over fifty students. In this workshop she will teach tunes by ear and look at different types of ornamentation.
Understanding Chord Progressions…Improvising-Iain King
West Drawing Room
Iain King is one of the very few violinists who have mastered the art of Swing Jazz. In this workshop he explains the importance of understanding chord progressions and his technique of improvising through them. A rare chance to explore this subject!
Breton Music-Hervé Lorre
Edinburgh Suite
Hervé and his fellow fiddler from Tymao, Fred Bouley, will teach some Breton music for performance with their flautist and guitarist. A wonderful opportunity to learn more about this thriving and fascinating tradition.
Sunday Afternoon Workshops 2:30-4pm
Skills of Composing-Charlie McKerron
East Drawing Room
Charlie will draw on his vast experience as a player (with Capercaillie and Session A9) and as an award-winning and prolific composer to examine the skills of composition, particularly jigs and reels.
Phrasing, Rhythm and Bowing-Aidan O’Rourke
West Drawing Room
Originally from the West of Scotland Aidan – well-known as a member of Blazin Fiddles and Lau – was voted instrumentalist of the year at the 2006 Trad music Awards, and has made his name as one of Scotland’s most expressive fiddlers and composers. His workshop is for more experienced players and looks at phrasing, rhythm and bowing as ways to improve technique.
Talking Fiddles: Powder Room Your chance to listen, question and tap into the expertise of the people who know the tradition inside out. Entrance with a Saturday Day Ticket or a Supersaver
Saturday Talks:
11.30am Joshua Dickson-The Scottish Traditional Music Graded Exams Project
Dr Dickson, who currently manages this project at RSAMD will talk about recent developments and how they may affect the future of the tradition. A Highland piper himself, he’s a published expert in the field.
12.30pm David Boag-The Feis Movement
In 2006 the Feis Movement celebrated its twenty-fifth year. This talk will summarize the history and achievement of this impressive home-grown phenomenon.
1.30pm Paul Bowers-The Making of The Fiddle
Paul (of Violin Makers Scotland, and award-winning teacher of many years) will show how a good fiddle is made from tree to concert platform. A rare glimpse inside the world of the master craftsman.
2.30pm What is the Edinburgh Youth Gaitherin?
Come along and find out what we do throughout the year, from our hugely popular Easter holiday event and Fiddle Festival workshops to our monthly song-writing classes, our exciting new Craigmillar Ceilidh Club and our Trad for Teens workshops. Concerts, ceilidhs, classes, tune-writing, touring, sessions and lots of fun – find out how both children and adults can get involved.
Sunday Talks:
11.30 Louise Hunter & Katie Boyle-The Irish Music Scene in Glasgow
These talented young fiddlers, who now travel worldwide, will discuss the music scene that nurtured them (past, present and future) and look in particular at the Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann, an organisation which has successfully promoted Irish traditional music in Glasgow for the last fifty years.
12.30pm Emma Pethybridge-The Therapeutic Use of Fiddle Music
Emma, who works for the children’s music service in East Lothian will give a short introduction into how it works, how to train, and the instruments used. She will illustrate her talk with case studies and, if instruments are to hand, a short demonstration.
2.30pm Brian Rattray-Fiddle Maintenance
Few of us pay attention to the needs of our fiddle until it reaches the stage of total breakdown. Brian, who has worked with fiddles all his life and understands their needs and maintenance as no one else, will give us a lightning education in how to keep our fiddles healthy.
Youth gatherin: Events for young people from P5 – S6
The Edinburgh Youth Gaitherin (EYG) runs traditional music workshops and other events for young people in the city of Edinburgh and beyond. At the Fiddle Festival this year, we are very pleased to offer workshops with some of the best traditional musicians and teachers from Scotland and further afield.
A ticket for an EYG workshop costs £5, with the exceptions of the Advanced Masterclass and Mixed Instrument workshop (each £7). Admission to the talks and recitals is free if you have a ticket for an EYG workshop, or if you are under 12 and are accompanied by an adult. Admission to the ground floor stalls and sessions at the Fiddle Festival is free to all.
You can apply for a special concession if your parents are on a low income by calling 0773 930 9136 or emailing us at the address below.
If you have any questions about the EYG workshops and events then please get in touch with us by email: enquiries@eyg.org.uk
Check out our website too – www.eyg.org.uk – where you can download our EYG CD for free and chat to other young people about trad music on our forum.
Fiddle – Beginners YG5 Saturday 2 – 3.30 Alasdair White
For players with less than 2 years experience. An introduction to Scottish fiddle tunes and learning by ear.
Fiddle – Improving Beginners
YG6 Sunday 10.00 – 11.30 Eilidh Steel
YG8 Sunday 12.00 – 1.30 Innes Watson
For players with 2-3 years experience. Tunes taught slowly by ear, with bowing and harmony.
Fiddle – Intermediate
YG1 Saturday 10.00 – 11.30 Mike Vass
YG3 Saturday 12.00 – 1.30 Jenna Reid
YG9 Sunday 12.00 – 1.30 Sarah-Jane Summers
For players with 4 or more years experience. Tunes taught by ear, looking at bowing, ornamentation and arrangement.
Fiddle – Norwegian fiddle
YG2 Saturday 10.00 – 11.30 Annbjørg Lien
For intermediate and advanced fiddle players, a special class with Norwegian fiddler and Fiddle 07 guest Annbjørg Lien. Tunes will be taught by ear.
Fiddle – Advanced Masterclass
YG4 Saturday 12.00 – 1.30 Catriona MacDonald
This class for advanced players is limited to 8 places. Participants will perform a tune for Catriona who will then offer advice on style, ornamentation, bowing and general performance technique. Audience entrance with a day ticket or EYG workshop ticket.
Cello
YG7 Sunday 10.00 – 11.30 Wendy Weatherby
An exciting class for cello players with 2 or more years experience, looking at tunes, harmony and rhythm.
Mixed Instrument
YG11 Sunday 2.00 – 4.00 Mairearad Green and Anna Massie
All instruments welcome! For players with 3 or more years experience. Learn some great tunes and arrangements.
Scots Song and Harmony
YG10 Sunday 2.00 – 3.30 Wendy Weatherby
No experience required – just bring your voice to learn some traditional Scots songs and explore and create harmonies.
