Elgin hosting Annual Festival of Scots Fiddle Music
Tickets are now available for the Annual Festival of Scots Fiddle Music which will take place in Elgin throughout the last Saturday of this month.
For more than half a century the north east’s best talents of all ages have been performing and competing at the day-long event, which is organized by the Elgin Strathspey & Reel Society with the support of Rotary Elgin.
The 52nd festival, with Gillian Stevenson from The Black Isle as its adjudicator, will kick off at 9am at the Williamson Hall with contests both for junior individual players and the best primary school orchestra.
From 12.45pm the same venue will then host a competition to find the best musicians between the ages of 13 and 16.
A spokesperson for the festival said: “To encourage more youngsters to take part we have introduced a new class that allows greater freedom of expression.
“Rather than be bound by the traditional playing of March, Strathspey and Reel, they can perform a medley in their own style of any tunes written in a Scottish idiom. The adjudicator will keep an open mind and take account of the entertainment value of the set as a whole.”
The afternoon session will also include the Championship Class, which is only open to players who have won open competitions at festivals throughout Scotland.
At 7pm the festival will then move the short distance from the Williamson Hall to the neighbouring Elgin Parish Church.
The evening session takes the form of an orchestral competition for adult players plus a concert and is going to be hosted by Rory Smith from Drummuir.
Each orchestra will play a series of warm-up sets, then their competition medley. Then, at the end of the evening, everyone will come together for a rousing finale.
Tickets for the evening concert are priced at £7.50 and are available from the church office, from Cathedral Windows on Elgin High Street or from Lousie McLean on 07825 686 929.
It’s also possible to pay on the door.
Entry to the earlier sessions in the hall are by donation. Refreshments available throughout the day.
The closing date for musicians to enter the festival is Monday, April 21. Contact louisemclean56@btinternet.com
The spokesperson added: “The festival provides a great evening of Scottish entertainment plus an opportunity for musicians of all ages to perform traditional fiddle music in front of an audience. Players come from all over the north east of Scotland, and we are very grateful to all the schools and teachers who support the event.”
