September 2004 Feature: Fèis Rois Ceòlraidh

THE OPPORTUNITY to stage Fèis Rois Ceòlraidh came about entirely unexpectedly when we received a surprise phone call at the Fèis Rois office saying that the Faculty of Advocates in Edinburgh were interested in offering offer us a sponsorship.

They have recently begun to support arts-related events and charities, and they were very keen to support a charity involving young people and music outside the Edinburgh area. They made their initial contact with Highland Council, who suggested us.

I was asked to put together a selection of ideas for possible projects and send them to the Faculty. This project was my first idea, although I was calling it Inspirations at that point, and that was the one they liked best.

The project we devised involved inviting all of our Fèis Rois participants who were already playing to an advanced level to submit a written application to work with an established musician of their choice. We asked them for 150 words describing why they wanted to work with the person they had chosen.

Tassle Bandits rehearsing with Session A9

We didn’t feel the need for any further auditions, since we knew all of the applicants very well already. We offered the chosen participants a day working with their chosen mentor over the summer, and the chance to put together a 10 minute piece with them for the Ceòlraidh (The Muses) concert at Eden Court.

The individual days have all gone really well over the summer. It’s a very varied line-up – we have four individuals, one duo, and a band, and it should be a fantastic concert.

“The fact that all of these great professionals will be working with the youngsters in the concert is really exciting.”

The participants and their mentors are:
Lauren MacColl (fiddle) with Aonghas Grant
Graham Mackenzie and Russell Murray (fiddles) with Charlie MacKerron
Katie Mackenzie (singer) with Karen Matheson
Adam Taylor (singer) with Jim Hunter
Angus Binnie (piper) with Allan MacDonald,
Tassle Bandits (band) with Session A9

They will all be performing in the concert with their respective mentors, and we have also added a couple of extra items as well. The first half will finish with all of the youngsters and a new group of young Gaelic singers called Fionnar that Fiona MacKenzie, the Mairi Mhor Song Fellow, has put together. Allan MacDonald has created a wonderful piece of music for the singers and instrumentalists.

At the end of the concert, Donald Shaw is putting together a big finale, involving all of those participants plus another 20 from the senior Feis. As he proved with the Harvest project at Celtic Connections, Donald is a magician when it comes to this kind of project, and the youngsters love to work with him. He is a complete professional, and it was very noticeable at Harvest that it had definitely raised everybody’s level.

Adam Taylor (guitar), Graham Mackenzie & Russell Murray (fiddles) and Katie Mackenzie rehearsing for Ceolraidh

The fact that all of these great professionals will be working with the youngsters in the concert is really exciting. It’s been a very collaborative experience, and I believe it is going to be a magical night.

Fèis Rois Ceòlraidh takes place at Eden Court Theatre, Inverness on Saturday 11 September 2004. Applications are now open for this year’s Senior Fèis Rois in Ullapool (18-22 October) – see website (below) for details

Rita Hunter is the Manager of Fèis Rois. She spoke to Kenny Mathieson.

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Inspiration from the Masters

RITA HUNTER describes the origins of the Fèis Rois Ceòlraidh project

“The fact that all of these great professionals will be working with the youngsters in the concert is really exciting.”

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