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The University of Edinburgh |
| The Edinburgh University
Collection of Historic Musical Instruments
is organising this series of concerts in conjunction with the exhibition
Violin Making in Scotland 1750-1950, details at:
All concerts are at St Cecilia's Hall, Niddry Street, Cowgate (Edinburgh Fringe Festival venue 31), starting at 18:00 and finishing at 19:40. Tickets £8.50 (£5) from The Fringe Office, St Cecilia's Hall Museum of Instruments, Reid Concert Hall Museum of Instruments, or at the door |
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Lori Watson will perform an exciting selection of fiddle tunes from the Scottish Borders. These tunes will include hornpipes, jigs, reels and airs from James Hogg, Tam Hughes, Bob Hobkirk and Jimmy Nagle as well as traditional unattributed material and a few of Lori's own compositions.
Alastair Hardie's programme will feature the work of the Perthshire c o m p o s e r s Niel Gow and Nathaniel Gow, with James Scott Skinner and William Marshall representing the music of the North-East of Scotland, and will include The Atholl Volunteers March, Niel Gow's Lament for the Death of his Second Wife, Largo's Fairy Dance and Whistle o'er the Lave o't'. There will also be slow Strathspeys and dance Strathspeys, Scots measures and some brilliant variations. Cello accompanist, Tim Paxton. Guest fiddler, James Hardie.
William Jackson will play, among others: Rowing from Islay to Uist (a rowing measure), Skye Dance, Harris Dance (two unusual island dance tunes), Logan Water, Pennanden (Air and Strathspey), Rory Dall's Sister's Lament (17th-century Scottish harp piece), Roualyn's Plaid, Sir Sidney Smith's March (Air by Scott Skinner, Border pipe tune)
Lori Watson, leading light of the new generation of Borders fiddle
players, grew up steeped in the music of the Scottish Borders. Her
work on Borders fiddle playing with Tom Hughes, Bob Hobkirk,
Wattie Robson and Jimmy Nagle has been a driving force in the current
resurgence of Borders music. Lori has also been thrilling audiences
with her interpretation of fiddle tunes and songs of James Hogg (the
Ettrick Shepherd), performing on Hogg's own fiddle borrowed from
Edinburgh University Collection of Historic Musical Instruments for the
occasions. A BBC Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2002
and 2003 Finalist, Lori has performed extensively throughout Britain and
Europe. She has broadcast on radio, television and the internet
throughout Europe and in the USA and performs regularly with
award-winning trio "Lori Watson: Three", whose album has just
been released. Performances with renowned artists such as
Brian McNeill, Aly Bain, Cathal McConnell, Duncan Chisholm,
The Unusual Suspects and Scottish Women has confirmed Lori's reputation
as a leading traditional musician of her generation. Lori is studying
for a PhD at the RSAMD in Glasgow where she completed an honours degree
in Scottish Music.
Alastair Hardie, born and educated in Aberdeen,
is a member of the celebrated Hardie family which includes the violin
makers Matthew Hardie (1755-1826), Peter Hardie (c 1775-1863) and
James Hardie (1836-1916). He is the son of the northeast traditional
fiddler Bill Hardie (1916- 1995). Alastair Hardie's main contributions
to the Scots fiddle revival have been in the area of performance,
teaching and as author, compiler and editor. As a player he has
appeared frequently at the Edinburgh International Festival both for the
Saltire Society and in 1985 in "Mr Menuhin's Delight", a
memorable concert in which Yehudi Menuhin listened and talked to a
number of eminent Scots fiddlers. In 1996, again for the EIF, he
devised and took part in Scottish Fiddle Music, a 5-concert
series surveying the Scots fiddle tradition from 1600 to the present
day. He has taken part in many broadcasts, including such BBC series as
The Music Makers, Maisters of the Bow, The Musician in
Scotland and Scotland's Music. Recordings include
Alastair Hardie's Compliments to "The King" - A 150th
Anniversary Tribute to James Scott Skinner (1994), a contribution to
The Fiddler's Companion (1980) and, with Jean Redpath, The
Scottish Fiddle - the Music and the Song (1985). As co-founder and
violinist with the chamber ensemble Kist of Musick he has been much
associated with the dissemination of the baroque music of 18th century
Scotland. In the publications sphere Alastair Hardie is the author of
The Caledonian Companion (1981), a book which has been described
as "the first comprehensive instruction book for Scots fiddlers
ever written". His editorial work can be seen in new editions of
Skinner's A Guide to Bowing (1984), Hunter's The Fiddle Music
of Scotland (1988), Bill Hardie's The Beauties of the North (1986)
and in Gore's A Fiddler's Book of Scottish Jigs (1997). As a
teacher he is best known through his commitment since 1978 as a tutor at
Stirling University's Scots Fiddle Summer School. He currently is a
contributor to the fiddle teaching programme for the BA in Scottish
Traditional Music at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, and
regularly takes a specialist Scots Music Day at St Mary's Music School,
Edinburgh.
William Jackson has been a major force in bringing
Scottish music to a worldwide audience over the past 25 years. He was a
founding member of the top Scottish band Ossian, whose outstanding
recordings remain a benchmark for Scottish music. Acclaimed for his
musicality on the Celtic harp, he is also a renowned composer whose work
is inspired by the history and landscape of Scotland. As a solo
performer, he has toured extensively throughout Europe and North
America, and has taught harp at many festivals, including the Edinburgh
International Harp Festival, Somerset Folk Harp Festival, USA and Ohio
Scottish Arts School (Oberlin) USA. William is also a trained music
therapist.
Ensemble na Mara was established in 2003 in Scotland, and is currently based in London. During the 2005/6 season the ensemble have been prizewinners of the Tunnell Trust, the Kirckman Concert Society and the Royal Overseas League (ensemble prize). The ensemble performs a wide range of repertoire which, in keeping with their Celtic links, includes Scottish traditional music: This'll have them dancing in the aisles (The Scotsman). In most concerts the ensemble programmes a combination of string trios and piano quartets, although the ensemble regularly explores repertoire for alternative (and exotic) instrumentations. The ensemble is often joined by Donald Grant, violinist with the Elias String Quartet. Ensemble na Mara is passionately committed to contemporary music, having given performances of works by Stuart Macrae, Edward McGuire, Philip Cashian, James MacMillan, and American composer Mathew Fuerst. The ensemble is also actively engaged in education and outreach. In addition to leading workshops in mainstream and special needs schools in Scotland, the ensemble will visit Nablus in the West Bank in September 2006. In collaboration with Music for Music, a Dutch organization, the musicians will lead workshops with Palestinian children and perform concerts in various West Bank towns. Past concerts include annual appearances at the Feis an Eilen in Skye, performances at the Wye Valley Chamber Music Festival, in Sheffield's Crucible as part of the Music in the Round series, Cadogan Hall in London, and residencies at The Banff Centre for the Arts, Canada, and the Tunnell Trust's Strathgarry festival. Next season the ensemble will give a series of concerts throughout Scotland as winners of the Tunnell Trust Concert Scheme, in addition to their Wigmore Hall debut as awarded by the Kirckman Concert Society.
The Edinburgh Quartet, quartet in residence at Glasgow and Napier Universities, was founded in 1959, and quickly became established as one of the foremost British ensembles. Its commitment to Scottish music earned it the first Scottish Society of Composers PRS Award. In addition to its full schedule of concerts throughout Scotland and the UK, the Quartet has performed at music societies and festivals all over the world. The players are also extremely involved in educational work - giving master classes and workshops in schools, universities and coaching in summer schools.
Concerto Caledonia is Scotland's baroque ensemble, specialising in the music of 18th-century Scotland played on period instruments. The group has released six CDs of its unique repertoire on Hyperion, Linn, Marquis and Delphian. These include the cantatas of John Clerk of Penicuik with Catherine Bott, songs of James Oswald, a Scottish-Italian collection Mungrel Stuff which was a Sunday Times Record of the Year, The Red Red Rose which includes the first recording of the original version of Burns's most famous song, and Fiddler Tam, the symphonies and chamber music of Thomas Erskine, 6th Earl of Kellie. In summer 2001 they gave sold-out performances of a new performing version of Allan Ramsay's pastoral ballad opera The Gentle Shepherd at the Edinburgh International Festival. Following the recording of Spring Any Day Now with Cape Breton fiddler and baroque violinist David Greenberg, which includes music by Frank Zappa and Fred Frith alongside old and new Scottish music, the group formed a touring quartet to explore the synthesis of early, traditional and contemporary music. The quartet's work has been featured on BBC Radio 1 and WFMU.
We are grateful for the support of The Binks Trust for the Scottish Violin Festival events.
Ticket prices are 8.50 pounds sterling (5.00 pounds sterling for concessionary concert ticket prices, applicable to under-18s, students, over-65s. Proof of eligibility for concessionary tickets must be shown at venue).
Please complete the Booking Form as soon as possible if you wish to attend the Scottish Violin Concerts. This form can be also be used to book for the Colloquium.
Payment may be made by cheque, VISA card, Mastercard / Access card, or Delta card. Cheques must be payable to the University of Edinburgh, made out in pounds sterling, drawn on a U.K. bank.
E-mail euchmi@ed.ac.uk
Write to: Arnold Myers
Collection of Historic Musical Instruments,
University of Edinburgh,
Reid Concert Hall,
Bristo Square,
EDINBURGH EH8 9AG, U.K.
This page updated: 23.8.06; re-published 13.2.13