Festival of the Fiddle 2008 Edinburgh Assembly Rooms November 21-23

Fiddle 2008 - Programme
Announcement


November 21-23 in the Edinburgh
Assembly Rooms
The 12th annual fiddle festival will take place from 21 to 23 November 2008 at Edinburgh Assembly Rooms in George
Street.

Kevin Burke, Jock Tamson's
Bairns,The Chair, The Jenna Reid Band

This year, the
programme has been put together by a substantially reformed committee,
following the (semi) retiral of several hard-working stalwarts. The new chair
of the Fiddle Festival, Mike Kinch, says of this year's programme:

"It is an absolute delight to
showcase new, young and very innovative talent in this years event, alongside
established, benchmark musicians who have kept Scottish Music in its pole
position, for so long."

This media release
contains information about the main concerts on Friday 21 and Saturday 22
November. A more detailed release will follow in September when tickets go on
sale.

Friday night (Heat
the Hoose) features two of the best contemporary Scottish bands, The Jenna Reid
Band and The Chair.

Saturday night
(Grand Concert) brings together, in one amazing event, two sets from artistes
that are the best in their class, Jock Tamson's Bairns and Kevin Burke, and
innovative young Scots band, MAK.

Friday
21 November in the Music Hall
"Heat the Hoose" at 8.00pm

The Chair

Gavin Firth (guitar), Fionn McArthur
(fiddle), Bob Gibbon (accordion), Brian Cromarty  (banjo & Vocals), Chas Milne (bass
guitar), Erik Laughton (drums), Douglas Montgomery (fiddle & mandolin),
Robbie Thomson (percussion)

Put together for
the Orkney Folk Festival in 2004, the Chair have gone from strength to
strength, bringing their high energy "stomp" music to the dance
floors of the Northern Isles and Mainland Scotland ever since. They have set
the floor alight wherever they have appeared, winning a "Danny" award
at the 2007 Celtic Connections Festival.

good-time music
with that Celtic edge, perfect for long winter nights or cold summer days
Alex Monaghan, Irish Music Magazine

The Jenna Reid Band

Jenna Reid (fiddle and vocals), Bethany
Reid (piano, fiddle & vocals), Kevin Mackenzie (guitar), Duncan Lyall
(double bass), James Thomson (flute) and Iain Sandilands (percussion)

Prize-winning
fiddler Jenna has appeared all over the world with Shetland fiddling sensations
Filska, Scottish super group Deaf Shepherd and Dochas.

Nominated as Best
Instrumentalist at the 2007 Scots Trad Awards, Jenna is undoubtedly one of the
finest fiddle players to grace the traditional music scene.

Young, gorgeous
and inordinately talented, utterly captivated the audience from start to finish
The Scotsman

the leading
fiddler of her generation in
Scotland ...expect sparks to fly - and a good greet when she puts her heart
and soul into the sad tunes
The Herald

Saturday
22 November in the Music Hall
"Grand Concert" at 7.30pm

Kevin Burke

According to the
New York Times, one of the greatest Celtic fiddlers alive, Kevin Burke's
sparkling, lyrical playing is thoughtful, measured and expressive, seeking to
bring out (in his own words) "the element of joy underlying even the most
plaintive melody."

Raised in London, Kevin Burke
came to prominence as a member of the Bothy Band and later collaborated with
performers such as Kate Bush, Arlo Guthrie and Christy Moore. Long since
settled in the United
States, a member of
bands such as Patrick Street and Celtic Fiddle Festival, he received a National Heritage
Fellowship Award in 2002, that country's highest honour in the traditional
arts. In 2005, he was named one of Irish America's Top 100 by Irish America Magazine.

Jock Tamson's Bairns

Norman Chalmers (concertina, whistles),
John Croall (vocals), Derek Hoy (fiddle), Rod Paterson (vocals, guitar) and
Anna-Wendy Stevenson (fiddle)

For thirty years,
Jock Tamson's Bairns have been Scotland's
leading players of inventive acoustic music on authentic instruments. Eschewing
synthesizers, sequencers or didgeridoos, their whistles, squeeze boxes, jaw
harps, moothie, guitar and bodhran provide a refined accompaniment to Scots
songs and ballads, and exciting arrangements of intricate, fast dance tunes.
Members of the Bairns have contributed hugely to the Fiddle Festival throughout
its life; we are delighted to have them on the main stage this year.

a benchmark of
taste, sensitivity and quietly authoritative musicianship...brimful of sparkle
and finesse...as good as you'll hear anywhere
Sunday Herald.

MAK

Mhairi Hawksworth (fiddle, piano), Amy
Corfield (fiddle, banjo), Keegan Gordon (piano, Clarinet)

MAK play an
exciting mix of traditional and new Scottish tunes with a distinctive classical
and jazz-influenced piano accompaniment. Already well-known on the festival
circuit, they were semi-finalists in the Radio 2 Young Folk Award.

MAK play with
sensitivity, energy and creativity that belies their age, but most importantly
they just love playing
Kirsty Cotter, RSAMD

And Lots More (full details in
September Press Release or at www.scotsfiddlefestival.com )

There will be a
full programme of daytime recitals, workshops, talks, ceilidhs, late-night
cabaret, open stage.

Workshops feature
tuition of fiddle from all over Europe (Scots of course, Irish, Danish, Finish
and Asturian), Mandolin, Mixed Instruments, Viola, Cello, Playing with Pipes,
Fiddling for Classical Musicians, which also gives some indication of the range
of day-time recitals on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23.

In addition to our
popular programme of Talking Fiddles, there will be a Fiddle Walk around Edinburgh (new this
year).

And always food,
drink, company, sessions, atmosphere and ambiance in the place that is the real
star of the show, the Assembly Rooms at its very best

Further Queries about Ticketing Helpline 0131 555 7669  [email protected]

Fiddle
from Eight Countries in One
Amazing Weekend

Book now for the most International Scots Fiddle
Festival Yet!

And it's not just for fiddlers......

Booking is open
for Fiddle 2008, Edinburgh's annual fiddle extravaganza.

Although the
event is run as the "Scots"  "Fiddle"
Festival, this year's event is much more than Scots and much more than Fiddles.

Daytimes on
Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 November, Edinburgh's Assembly Rooms come alive hosting an
event that was made for this venue, behind every door there are recitals,
workshops, talks, sessions, cabarets, market stalls, food and drink, and the
company of hundreds of people of all ages.

This year's
programme of Recitals and Workshops features fiddle music from all over Europe and beyond, with a strong Scandinavian
tinge.

For the price
of a day ticket  (£12, £8 concessions,
and under-12s free with an adult), enjoy 6 hours of live entertainment.

That's a credit
crunch beating £2 for each hour of live entertainment!

Saturday 22 November Recitals

v    
New
this year
, a Fiddle
Walk
through the streets of Edinburgh, led by top Scots fiddler Pete Clark,
a guide to Edinburgh's historical fiddling past

v    
Piia
Kleemola
from Finland, playing a selection of traditional and
new music from Finland, Sweden and Norway

v    
Archie and Alex McAllister, from Scotland, whose sources include the west coast,
Shetland, Irish and Cape Breton styles

v    
Habbadam, trio from Denmark and Sweden, playing music that is sweet, melancholic,
swingy and intense, a powerful blend of past and present

v    
Claire Mann (fiddle and flute) with Aaron
Jones
(bouzouki), Edinburgh-based but drawing on Scottish, Irish and other
European sources

v    
Celter
Schmelter
, Scottish
based Klezmer ensemble, the wedding dance music of old Eastern Europe

Sunday 23 November Recitals

v    
Johnny
Canning
, from Glasgow, award winning young fiddler with a
strong Ulster influence

v    
Sarah
Hoy
with Derek Hoy: from Edinburgh, Sarah was brought up playing the
fiddle, not surprising when her father is a long-standing member of Jock
Tamson's Bairns (who play the Grand Concert on Saturday evening)

v    
RSAMD Junior Academy: this course has only existed since
2003 and attracts stunning young musicians who receive expert tuition from top
traditional performers. Expect to be impressed.

v    
Alastair
Savage
, from Ayrshire,
with Euan Drysdale (guitar/piano) and Iain Crawford (double
bass): a traditional musician who is also a professional orchestral musician
and composer

v    
Grand
Finale
with Kevin
Burke
(also playing Saturday Grand Concert), Sarah- Jane Summers, Johnny
Canning, Sarah Hoy, Ditte Mortensen, Piia Kleemola
, making an
Irish/American, Scottish, Danish, Finnish line-up; some finish

v    
Final
Stramash,
featuring the
massed fiddles of festival-goers and performers

And if you
prefer participating to (or as well as) listening there is an international,
multi-instrumental programme of workshops, probably the widest range we have
ever presented.

Saturday 22 November Workshops

v    
Ditte
Fromseier Mortensen
-
learn some Danish tunes from Ditte, who is both a traditional and classical
player

v    
Mandolin
Workshop
led by Anna
Massie, former BBC Young Traditional Musician of the Year and multi-talented
multi-instrumentalist

v    
Rhythm,
Phrasing and Timing
led
by Norman Chalmers of Jock Tamson's Bairns, original stylist of the concertina,
whistles and percussion in Scottish music. For mixed instruments.

v    
Irish
Fiddle
workshop led by Claire
Mann
, looking at tunes, ornamentation and bowing

v    
Klezmer
Music
led by Gica Loening,
local community music practitioner and musician, and accomplished teacher

v    
Archie
McAllister
, west coast
fiddle player and experienced member of some well-known bands

Sunday 23 November Workshops

v    
Piia
Kleemola
- focusing on Finnish fiddle tunes (polskas, waltzes) and the Finnish bowing style

v    
Sarah
Hoy
- workshop on Playing
with Pipes
, based on her experience of playing as a duo with Fin Moore

v    
Cello
Workshop
with Wendy
Weatherby
learning melody as well as different approaches to accompaniment

v    
Fiddle
for Classical Players
- workshop led by Anna-Wendy Stevenson:
how to develop a traditional sound using ornamentation, bowing and rhythm

v    
Asturian
Fiddle Music
with Simon
Bradley
, an Englishman who lives in Scotland and plays Spanish music

v    
Kevin
Burke
workshop on the Sligo
Style,
a rare opportunity to learn from one of the all-time great
Irish fiddlers; Kevin will talk about and demonstrate hints and tips about
adding ornamentation such as grace notes and triplets

Don't leave it
till the weekend to find out if there are any workshop places left. Book now
and don't be disappointed. Whether you want to brush up your technique or learn
some new tunes, there is plenty on offer. 
As well as the fantastic concerts on the evenings of Friday 21 and
Saturday 22 (see the September Press Release for full details)




How to Book Tickets

Booking is open now!

Phone 0131 473 2000

Open Mon-Fri 10am - 5pm

In Person
before the Festival

Hub Tickets, The Hub, Castlehill, Edinburgh EH1 2NE

Open Mon -Fri 10am - 5pmIn Person during the Festival

Tickets on sale at venue

Assembly Rooms, 54 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 2LR

Friday 21st   2-8pm

Saturday 22nd  9.30am - 8pm

Sunday 18th  10am-6pm

By Post

Brochure (phone or email to
request copy) contains a booking
form

Online

Day tickets, Concert tickets, Late Event tickets
may be purchased at

www.scotsfiddlefestival.com

Further
Queries about Ticketing

Helpline 
   0131 555 7669

[email protected]