Singers to perform at annual traditional singing weekend

15 July 2004

A festival to celebrate the singing traditions of Scotland, England, and Ireland will be held later this month (23-25 July). The annual Traditional Singing Weekend at Cullerlie, now in its fifth year, is a unique celebration, bringing together outstanding traditional singers.

The event is organised jointly by the University of Aberdeen's Elphinstone Institute and Anne Reid of Cullerlie Farm Park, and is in memory of her husband, Tam Reid (1929-2003), known as the 'Bothy Ballad King'.

The festival will be enjoyed by all who like to listen to and join in traditional singing. Essentially informal, friendly and non-competitive, it will be just the place to encourage the young and less experienced as well as the old hands.

Dr Ian Russell, Director of The Elphinstone Institute, said: "This continues to be a most fitting opportunity to salute Tam's memory and to hear some of the finest traditional singers from across the UK and Ireland.

"We have a wonderful line-up. There will be ceilidhs featuring guest singers, sing-arounds for everyone who wants to join in, talks, and workshops on crafts and song, in fact, something for everyone."

Guests this year include: Karine Polwart, voted Best Scots Singer in the Scots Traditional Music Awards last September. Other guests include from Donegal's Inishowen tradition - Jimmy McBride and Breda McKinney; from England, Jill Pidd from North Yorkshire and Eddie Upton from the South West; from Scotland, Joe Aitken, Geordie McIntyre, Alison McMorland, and Elizabeth Stewart; and from one of the UK's most remote communities, Anne Sinclair from Fair Isle, a fine singer, who will also be running craft workshops on Fair Isle knitting.

A talk by Jimmy McBride will explore the shared heritage of songs between Scotland and the north of Ireland.

Cullerlie Farm Park and Heritage Centre was set up by Tom ('Tam') and Anne Reid in 1993 and is now run by Anne Reid and her family. Tom was a legendary singer, having been crowned, in 1977, the Bothy Ballad King before a crowd of 10,000 at the Haughs in Turriff, a title that remained his until his death. Anne is also a fine singer and has promoted the traditions of the North East through singing and speaking workshops with schoolchildren and adults at local schools, and at the museum, as well as hosting regular Saturday-night ceilidhs.

Places are booking up fast but there is still availability for the Traditional Singing Weekend. Places can be booked by contacting the Cullerlie Farm Park direct on 01330 860549.

Notes for Editors

Guests performing at The Traditional Singing Weekend at Cullerlie, 23-25 July, include:

Joe Aitken is respected as one of the finest exponents of North-East bothy style. He is a haulage contractor from Kirriemuir and a favourite singer at festivals throughout Scotland. In January 2004, he was the winner of the Champion of Champions Bothy Ballad competition at Elgin.

Jimmy McBride was born in the Gaelic speaking area of Gweedore in N. W. Donegal. He is a retired schoolteacher and lives in Buncrana, Inishowen. He has collected songs and ballads in that area since the mid 1970s, and has published two volumes of songs. He is a founder of the Inishowen Traditional Singers' Circle and the Director of the International Folk Song and Ballad Seminars (1990-2003)

Geordie McIntyre is a Glaswegian of Irish and Highland descent. He was active as a collector in the 1960s and 1970s. A highly respected singer of wide experience and extensive repertoire, Geordie sings mainly unaccompanied Scots traditional songs and ballads, as well as an increasing number of his own songs. Geordie and Alison have released two joint albums for the Living Tradition label.

Breda McKinney

Although herself from Belfast, Breda McKinney's roots are firmly set in Inishowen, County Donegal. Born of Inishowen parents, it was from the singing of her late grandfather, Pat Hegarty, that Breda developed an interest in traditional song. She has appeared at a number of folk music festivals in Britain and Ireland, and recently completed a masters degree on the tradition of singing in Inishowen.

Alison McMorland comes from Renfrewshire. She was brought up in a musical family and has sung since childhood. In the early 1970s she came under the inspirational guidance of Hamish Henderson who introduced her to older traditional singers. Willie Scott and Lucy Stewart were to be important influences. Alison has recorded and published on traditional song and particularly enjoys passing these on to young singers.

Jill Pidd is recognised as a fine interpreter of songs. She grew up in Hull and learnt several of her ballads there from a Glaswegian singer, the late Ian Manuel. She is closely connected with the Watersons and has regularly sung with Mike, as well as at many of the traditional festivals in England and Ireland. Her solo album is Amongst the Wild Rowans.

Karine Polwart is one of the foremost of the younger generation of Scots singers and also a sensitive songwriter in traditional style. Originally from Stirlingshire, Karine emerged from Edinburgh's Scots Music Group classes, and now performs, writes and teaches full-time. She is a member of the folk band Malinky, Vice Convener of the TMSA, and was a guest at the 2003 Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington DC.

Anne Reid is our hostess and a lovely singer. It is Anne and her family's express wish that the festival should run again this year in memory of Tom. She will keep an eye on us all and make sure everyone is just fine. Like Karine, Anne represented Scotland as a guest at the 2003 Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington DC.

Anne Sinclair is from the Fair Isle (population 70), midway between the Shetland Isles and Orkney. She has lectured in history - of knitting and Fair Isle - demonstrated and held workshops in knitting, and has sung, both in a group and solo for many years. She is a great promoter of her island's life and culture in all its aspects, and with Anne and Karine, represented Scotland as a guest at the 2003 Smithsonian Folklife Festival.

Elizabeth Stewart, from Mintlaw, is one of Scotland's foremost ballad singers, who learnt her art from her aunt, Lucy Stewart (1901-1982). She is a member of the Fetterangus Stewarts, a family steeped in the oral traditions of the Travelling People. Elizabeth, like her mother, Jean, played in a country-dance band, and she is a fine player of Scottish traditional music on the piano.

Eddie Upton has been singing traditional English songs for 40 years. Born and raised in Sussex, his affections are now firmly planted in the South West, where he is Director of the region's folk arts development agency, Folk South West. Many of his songs come from Somerset and Devon. He has made numerous records and has written books on folk song and dance.

Workshops include:

· 'Inside the Tradition' (Alison McMorland and Elizabeth Stewart)

· 'Voices in Harmony' (Eddie Upton)

· Farmhouse Cooking (Anne Reid)

· Farm Museum Tour (Eric Walker)

Plus crafts, including:

· Fair Isle Knitting (Anne Sinclair)

· Boddam Boaties (John Buchan/Jim Reid)

· Farrier (tbc)

Food will be available over the weekend. There will be no bar, but you can BYOB. Camping and caravanning can be booked free of charge. There are many B&Bs in the area - for a list, contact the Tourist Information at Banchory: 01330 822000 or Aberdeen: 01224 288828.

Further information on the Traditional Singing Weekend at Cullerlie is available by contacting the Elphinstone Institute on (01224) 272296 or via the website at www.abdn.ac.uk/elphinstone

Issued by the Communications Office, External Affairs, University of Aberdeen, King's College, Aberdeen. Tel: (01224) 272013, Fax: (01224) 272086. Contact: Jenni Massie.

Issued by: The Communications Team
Directorate of External Relations, University of Aberdeen, King's College, Aberdeen
Issued on: 15 July 2004

Singers to perform at annual traditional singing weekend

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