Fiddle Frenzy
Fiddle Frenzy will take place from 8th to 15th August 2010
Fiddle Frenzy moves back to its original 2nd week of August in 2010, after six years of edging itself towards the start of the month.
With their visitors in mind they have made some changes and for the first time will start the week on Sunday (8th August), rounding off with the Final Fling party in the club after the concert on Saturday 14th.
As some guests in 2009 were seen still playing round Lerwick ten days later, there is a slight suspicion that Fiddle Frenzy 2010 won’t end on the Saturday night and so there may be a Survivors’ Session, for anyone who decides to stay on, on Sunday evening.
Starting a day earlier means that you will get an additional full days’ tuition, with classes being taught from Sunday to Friday. As usual, registration will begin at 1.30pm (but on Sunday 8th) followed by the grade yourself workshops and, in the evening, get to know you dance. Monday to Friday will be full tuition days with the usual opt out cultural trips in the afternoon.
Tutors will include Jenna Reid, Catriona Macdonald, Eunice Henderson, Margaret Scollay, Bernadette Porter, Jim Leask, Bryan Gear and Ross Couper. There may be slight changes to the guitar accompaniment classes this year as there is hope of using two tutors over the week.
2010 is a special year in many ways - it is the centenary of the birth of Dr Tom Anderson, whose foresight and tenaciousness helped save and mould the Shetland fiddle scene we know today, and so we will be celebrating his legacy in the tunes that are taught and the themes for many of the concerts. It is also the Shetland Fiddlers 50th anniversary and they will feature in the Hillswick concert.
As usual there will be visits to two areas of Shetland during the week for the classes and concert/dances. You will then head to Hillswick and Eshaness in the north mainland, the home area of Tom Anderson, and be in Cullivoe in the north end of the island of Yell, home of the Cullivoe Fiddlers and their distinctive style of fiddling.
Concerts will include performances by Catriona Macdonald, Chris Stout Theory and a special performance of Jenna Reid’s Celtic Connections commission, composed around the Shetland Bus story, and many of the usual local performers.
The additional workshops this year are once again highlighting the sense of place that comes from living and working in Shetland and is an inspiration for so many of our practising artists and musicians. These include Creative Writing, Textiles (knitting based techniques), and Painting and Drawing, and, of course, storytellers will be on hand to host the afternoon trips, concerts and the festival club in the Garrison Theatre.
Shetland Arts will release more information as details are confirmed soon, but please contact them now at fiddle.frenzy@shetlandarts.org if you have any questions about the Fiddle Frenzy week.
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