Edinburgh University’s departments for Celtic and Scottish Studies and The School of Scottish Studies Archives are at the heart of activities which they say help ensure a lively future for Scotland’s musical heritage.
They are staging a concert on Friday evening at St Cecilia’s Hall featuring some of their students and other staff. They have explained to The Edinburgh Reporter what will be on offer for you by way of entertainment.
“This year’s St. Andrew’s Day celebration marks the 10th anniversary of the publication of the final volume of The Greig-Duncan Folk Song Collection at the University of Edinburgh (vols 1-8, 1981-2002). It also marks the centenary of the virtual completion of the collection in Aberdeenshire by Gavin Greig and the Reverend James Bruce Duncan. We are delighted that our special guest this evening is the broadcaster and singer, Frieda Morrison, our current Traditional Artist in Residence at Celtic and Scottish Studies.
Our other featured performers are staff, former Traditional Artists in Residence, students, graduates or associates of Celtic and Scottish Studies and the School of Scottish Studies Archives in the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures. All contribute to the “carrying stream” of our culture through activities including performance, research, the creation of new compositions, and teaching both formal and informal.
Allan MacDonald of Glenuig comes from a long line of tradition-bearers and is a piper and composer of renown, with a great capacity for innovation. He has won a host of coveted piping awards and is an expert on the relationships between the bagpipe and Gaelic vocal music.
Margaret Callan originates from North Uist and has an intimate knowledge of the secular and sacred songs of Gaeldom. She was the recipient of the 2011 Donald Meek Award at the Edinburgh International Book Festival for Air Bilean an t-Sluaigh, a study of the continuation of the oral tradition in North Uist.
Student Musicians from the Edinburgh Youth Gaitherin Archive Project
Alastair Mackie – guitar; Pàdruig Morrison – accordion and keyboard; Kirsty Law – voice; Charlie Stewart – fiddle and double-bass
The Edinburgh Youth Gaitherin Archive Project is funded by Creative Scotland. This innovative project gives young people (including schoolchildren) with an interest in music and song first-hand experience of using the School of Scottish Studies Archives, and allows them to engage creatively with the material.
Scott Gardiner is a past president and long-standing member of the University’s Folk Society. During their 50th year in 2008 he tracked down and brought together former members from across the Society’s history, to sing and play at a special anniversary concert. Scott has been performing at concerts and festivals across the country since his schooldays. Brought up on a farm near Forfar, he is best known for singing the bothy ballads and songs of the North East.
Gary West, Senior Lecturer at Celtic and Scottish Studies, is from Perthshire and as well as being highly regarded internationally for his ethnographical research and publications is a leading exponent of the small and great bagpipe and hosts the weekly BBC Radio Scotland programme “Pipeline”.
Frieda Morrison
Frieda is the “Scots Language and Song” artist in residence at Celtic and Scottish Studies, with a special focus on The Greig-Duncan Folk Song Collection. The Residency is funded by the College of Humanities and Social Science and by the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures. Frieda is one of Scotland’s best known broadcasters, renowned for her insight into the working world of the countryside, its people, culture and environment. She produced and presented BBC Radio Scotland’s outdoor/environment programme “Out of Doors” for ten years and the gardening programme for fourteen years. Frieda comes from a long line of traditional musicians and singers and is a native speaker of North-East Scots.
Sarah Beattie comes from Inverurie in Aberdeenshire, and performs both traditional fiddle and classical violin music. She graduated with a BA (Hons) Musical Studies and with a Postgraduate Diploma of Music (Performance) from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Glasgow. She has played regularly with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and is a member of a New Zealand-based ensemble, Pacific Curls, who appeared at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.”
The format of the evening (which we hope includes some singing!) is as follows:-
7.30 p.m. – Welcome by Senior Vice-Principal Professor Mary Bownes
7.35 p.m. – Opening remarks by Dr Margaret A Mackay, Honorary Fellow, Celtic and Scottish Studies
8.55 p.m. – Vote of thanks by Senior Vice-Principal Professor Mary Bownes
Photo of St Cecilia’s Hall courtesy of Ronnie Leask [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
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