Where are we now?

It’s hard to believe that we first constituted ourselves as a club as recently as November 2002, and that our first classes did not start until the end of February 2003. Originally the aim was to get together a small group of local players and put on a concert or two…However, from the beginning it was clear that our communities wanted much, much more, and since then we have reconstituted ourselves as a charity, and expanded both the teaching and the events programmes again and again, gaining legions of local, national and international friends in the process.

In the summer of 2004 our enthusiastic but rather overworked committee declared roundly that it was time we had a quiet period to catch our breath. Then we got offered the opportunity of working with the Youth Music Initiative in and out of our local schools and we couldn’t bear to turn it down. Before we could blink, we had grown to a three centre workshop, with Saturday classes in Strachur and Inveraray as well as Lochgoilhead, and umpteen children under weekly tuition in four schools in Strachur, Tighnabruaich, Glendaruel and Loch Goil.

Since then the work in the schools has continued, and classes in Strachur and Lochgoilhead are going well, but, alas, at Inveraray we decided there was too little support to continue. However, the really good news is that in the other locations numbers of regular attendees are holding up well, with a significant number of keen new people replacing the people who move away or have other overriding commitments etc. Best of all is seeing the real progress being made by the many players, young and old, who had never played any instrument before, a tribute, we are sure, to their inspired teachers.

On the concert and events side, Mark was, as usual, totally irrepressible. In addition to concerts in the immediate locality he has also organised successful tours much further afield, with the primary aim of letting new audiences not just nearby but throughout Scotland hear really good traditional music. A major impetus was given by the generous funding we received from ScottishPower renewables, and many other local businesses and organisations, who chipped in to keep the ticket prices down, again so that everyone could come. We have had an amazing array of concerts this year, from the brilliant Shetland fiddler Chris Stout to the up-and-coming Emily Smith Band. From return visits from Amy and Sandy and the students of RSAMD to the less familiar, but famous, Bruce Molsky. And all the way to a madcap free musical evening where Workshop members were joined by professional and semi-professional musicians, and wonderful mayhem was created by the Essex Morris men (hitherto dubbed the “Macmorrises”).

We have had a year of running sessions at the Stagecoach Inn on the first Friday of ever month, with a flexible start of 8.00 p.m. These have been well attended, although numbers tend to fall off in the summer months. We have had visiting musicians from the Cowal Fiddle Workshop, Glasgow Fiddle Workshop, Dalriada Fiddle and Accordion Club and Ceol Beo in Inverness, as well as a number of ‘unattached’ local musicians. Up to 25 players have gathered with fiddle, tin whistle, mandolin, guitar, bodhran, cello, double bass, cello and vocals to the delight of those playing and even who come along to hear! Although the main thrust of the music tends to be traditional it is by no means exclusive and pop, jazz and blues have also been heard. Do encourage anyone you know to come along with their instruments, or just join in for a drink and a listen.

We have spent a lot of time in the last year developing relationships with the main music magazines. We have written, and had published, a number of articles, previews and reviews in most of the music magazines that have a nationwide readership. Whilst these articles might not have an obvious or immediate impact for the Workshop, they play an important role in increasing our profile. When applying for new sponsorship of concerts, or grants for our classes, the evidence that we do what we can to support those who support us is invaluable; as many articles quote our web site more people are likely to view it; and as we get more publicity for musicians the more likely it is that others will want to visit us. Increasingly we are approached by music magazines to write articles, profiles, previews and reviews, and a number of the press have now attended our concerts.

Over the three years that the Workshop has been running we have managed to place over 120 articles, ranging from just a few lines to double page spreads.

During 2005, in addition to our classes, we have arranged and put on 12 concerts, 3 workshops and a ceilidh locally. PLUS a Scotland-wide tour of 15 concerts, 3 school events and 5 workshops!

Our 2006 programme of concerts and other events is not yet finalised, although you can be sure it will be good. We expect to be arranging tours with Anna-Wendy and James Ross, Amy and Sandy, and Calluna. This year’s concerts were so popular that we hope to catch Jamie Laval on his next tour (probably September). The word will also have got around about Donald Black and Malcolm Jones. As they are launching a new album in 2006, it is likely they will be ‘on the road’ at some stage. We hope that RSAMD will include us in their tour, and we have provisionally booked the Young Traditional Musician of the Year Finalists again, and we will be involved again in Cowalfest (October 6th to 15th), and possibly in the Mod (October 13th to 20th in Dunoon).

One other date that is firm is a one day Fèis for all local schoolchildren, to include fiddle, dance, drama, Gaelic song etc. (April 27th Strachur Memorial Hall).

We also expect to do a fund raising coffee morning/ table top sale in the Spring. Much depends on the outcome of discussions with potential commercial sponsors, and with the stalwarts who have hitherto supported us, whom we would like to thank from the bottom of our hearts: the Scottish Arts Council, the Youth Music Initiative, and Argyll and Bute Education Authority in particular..

We will keep you posted through this website.

We are the sum of every child and adult who participates at any time in anything we do, and the group dynamic is truly astonishing.
Our thanks as ever to all our supporters: it is because of you that traditional music is being heard everywhere in our locality again. It is both for you and because of you. Please encourage everyone you know to do themselves a favour and come to our concerts-bring your friends and relations! And if you fancy a blast at the fiddle or s, our waiting list for September 2006 is now open. If you’re strapped for cash, or have mobility/ transport problems, speak to us-we’ll find a way to include you and/ or your children. This is a community workshop: everyone from age 8 to eighty plus is welcome.

© Lochgoilhead Fiddle Workshop 2004.