fiddle – Friends of Wighton

Lunchtime Recital Wednesday 1st May with Karen Hannah & Lindsay Duncan

29th April 2019 barbaradymock fiddle, guitar, Scots song, Scottish music

Our own inimitable Karen Hannah on fiddle and Lindsay Duncan on vocals and guitar.

A fine player with an engaging personality, Karen is known as “tunemonster” for her unrivalled knowledge of Scottish melodies. The wonderfully named Nifty Shades of Grey, Sporran Again and Ceilidh Minogue are among the many bands she has worked with! She has taught fiddle at the Wighton Centre for many years and her performing career has seen her representing Scotland as far afield as New Zealand and South Korea.

Another musical globetrotter is Lindsay Duncan, one of the best known musicians in Tayside. Deeply into music since his schooldays, he is a compelling singer and plays the most beautiful acoustic guitar – check out his version of The Irish Girl on YouTube. His band pedigree incudes The Mad Parrot Ceilidh Band and The Broon Troot Orchestra and he is an excellent and experienced guitar teacher.

Karen and Lindsay have worked together as a duo and in various line- ups for more than a decade. They promise us songs, tunes and a surprise or two!

1.15pm – Admission free, donations welcome!

Leave a comment

Lunchtime Recital Wednesday 3rd April with Celtic Strings Trio

31st March 2019 barbaradymock Celtic, fiddle, harp, lunchtime concert, music

Wednesday 3^rd April, 1.15 – 1.45pm

Lunchtime Recital: Celtic Strings Trio

Celtic Strings Trio are Anne Hamilton, vocals and guitar, Morag Sutherland (violin) and Jenny Blain (harp) and they play and sing a mixture of Celtic and modern music.

Admission free, retiring donation

Leave a comment

The 1st Friends of Wighton Event of the New Year – 5th January 2019

30th December 2018 barbaradymock cappuccino concert, fiddle, Scots song, traditional, traditional music

The first Friends of Wighton event of the New Year is a very special Cappuccino Concert on

Saturday 5^th January, 11am – noon (doors open 10.30am). Shamblestone , our very own Elizabeth Flett and Joanna Stark, will be launching their EP just a few days before the duo’s London debut!

Joanna Stark and Elisabeth Flett first started playing together in 2008 as part of folk trio Three’s A Crowd (Cambridge Folk Festival 2013 Youth Hub Band Artists) and have performed across the UK ever since. The duo competed as Semi-Finalists in the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Awards 2017 and have performed in venues and festivals such as Eden Festival 2016, Edinburgh Fringe 2018, Solas 2018, Dunfermline Folk Club, Wighton Centre, Verdant Works, Hospitalfield House and Dundee Acoustic Music Club. Their innovative blend of different musical styles and sparky live performances makes Shamblestone an unusual and exciting duo.

“A dazzling live act! …A highly accomplished multi-instrumentalist folk duo with sweet vocal harmonies” – Hypercoaster Music

Tickets £5, tea & coffee available for a small donation.

Leave a comment

Cappuccino Concert to showcase fiddler Kevin Findlay’s book and CD “The Lochee Sessions”

5th November 2018 barbaradymock books, cappuccino concert, fiddle, Helen Forbes, music

On Saturday 24^th November, 11am (doors open 10.30am) the Cappuccino Concert will showcase fiddler Kevin Findlay’s book and CD “The Lochee Sessions”

Kevin Findlay has been a member of Boogalusa since 1992 and has recorded 3 albums with the band. Notable gigs include the Festival Europe d’Art in Niort, France, Shetland Folk Festival, Orkney Folk Festival,Glasgow Celtic Connectionsand Aberdeen Jazz Festival. He has appeared on The Big Breakfast, Pebble Mill at One and Aig Asaig Gaelic TV show; as well as live performances on Radio 1 and Radio Scotland.

He is a founder member of the Mad Parrot Ceilidh Band, formed in 2002, and has performed at ceilidhs and festivals in many locations, including Oman in the Persian Gulf.

In 2006, he became Musical Director of Tayside Young Fiddlers. He has overseen the transformation of TYF into a group which performs material at the cutting edge of the vibrant Scottish musical tradition. He arranged and conducted their CD album Rockin’ the Baby in 2014.

Joining Kevin for the event will be two Mad Parrot colleagues, Lindsey Duncan on guitar and Wighton’s own Helen Forbes, on whistle.

Admission to a Cappuccino Concert is £5. Tea/coffee and biscuits are available for a small donation.

Leave a comment

Lunchtime Recital on 5th September with Graham Rorie & Aidan Moodie

31st August 2018 barbaradymock fiddle, music, Scots song, traditional music, Uncategorised

Graham Rorie, fiddle & mandolin, and Aidan Moodie, vocal and guitar, are two of the most promising young musicians to recently emerge from Orkney’s rich heritage of traditional music.

With a presence that’s both familiar and forward-thinking, Graham and Aidan’s playful arrangements are brought to life by a musical relationship almost a decade in the making. The pair perform traditional tunes (both from “up home” in Orkney and further afield), self-penned numbers, and contemporary folk songs through an intimate combination of fiddle, guitar, mandolin, and voice.

In 2015, the boys won a coveted Danny Kyle Award at Celtic Connections, also reaching the semi-finals of the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award the following year. Following this, they went on to form the four-piece folk band Gnoss – recently nominated for an MG Alba “Up And Coming” award at the 2017 Trad Awards.

“Aidan and Graham are superb musicians, not only that, they combine as a superb duo.” Folk Radio UK

The recital starts at 1,15pm, admission is free, donations for the excellent work of Live Music Now welcome!

Dementia Friendly Concert with Aidan Moodie and Graham Rorie

Irish harp and fiddle in the Wighton Centre, Dundee

25th October 2017 simonchadwick 18th century, clarsach, concert, dundee, fiddle, harp, lunchtime concert, music

Last minute change of plans for the 1st November lunchtime concert!

Sylvia Crawford. Photo: M Ó Graham.
Courtesy www.orielarts.com

Lorraine Wilson will now be doing the lunchtime concert on Wednesday 7th February 2018.

Sylvia Crawford, from Armagh, has stepped in at short notice to play some tunes on harp and fiddle for us on Wednesday 1st November at 1.15pm.

Sylvia teaches and plays fiddle, piano and historical Irish harp. She is currently researching the music and traditions of an eighteenth century Irish harper and fiddler from Co. Armagh, Patrick Quin, and she will play some of his tunes on a copy of his harp.

Sylvia has been working with Irish singer, Pádraigín Ní Úallacháin, and Sylvia’s harp music and research features on Pádraigín’s 2017 online project, Oriel Arts

The concert is at 1.15pm on Wednesday, 1st November. Admission is free, and all are welcome.

Leave a comment

15th December 2015 simonchadwick ceilidh, dundee, fiddle, Frigate Unicorn, Karen Hannah, Kyle Howie, music, pipes, Scots song, Scottish, Sheena Wellingon, traditional

Frigate Unicorn, Dundee
3rd January, 2019, 6pm – 10pm
A Guid New Year

Family Ceilidh for all ages to end the Festive Period

All Star line-up includes
Robert Lovie, singer, raconteur
Sheena Wellington, singer
Kyle Howie, piper
House Band featuring Alan Small, Karen Hannah & Kyle Innes

Tickets £10 adults, £5 children, £20 family
(price includes welcome drink and stovies)

For tickets and more information
01382 200900
mail@frigateunicorn.org

Leave a comment

Wighton Centre open days

26th November 2015 simonchadwick books, clarsach, dundee, fiddle, Gaelic song, harp, harpsichord, Jimmy Shand, Karen Hannah, manuscripts, music, open day, party, Scots song, Scottish, Sheena Wellingon, Simon Chadwick, traditional, whistle

The Friends of Wighton group will welcome the Scottish Traditional Music Awards to Dundee by inviting visiting and local music lovers to take a close-up look at the fascinating Wighton Collection and enjoy a live music sessionat the same time.

The Centre will be open from 2pm to 5pm on Friday 4th December and from 10am -12.15pm on Saturday 5th December. Books will be on display and Wighton tutors and committee members will be there to sing, play and answer questions!

The Wighton Heritage Centre was opened on 24th November 2003. Located upstairs in Dundee Central Library, it provides a dedicated space for the storage and display of the internationally important Wighton Collection. 700 volumes of old Scottish music were collected together in the early 19th century by Dundee merchant Andrew Wighton, and were bequeathed to the city after his death.

The Wighton books with other donations and acquisitions, are now kept in glass-fronted bookcases in the Wighton Centre. The Centre also acts as a bright, atmospheric performance and study centre, allowing scholars to access the riches of the collection, and providing a lovely performance space for music and other events.

As well as a monthly Cappuccino Concert, and a free Wednesday lunchtime recital every month, the Friends of Wighton run classes in traditional Scottish music every week: Scots song, Gaelic song, fiddle, whistle and clarsach (Scottish harp).

The Friends also work towards the conservation and cataloguing of the collection of books, and have made some important acquisitions to add to the collection. They are currently fundraising to conserve rare music books from the collection of Sir Jimmy Shand and visitors will be able to contribute. Jimmy’s musical taste was exemplary, as shown by the lovely 18th and 19th century manuscripts in his collection. Rumour has it that one or two of the Shand books, currently not on public display, might make an appearance at the Open Days!

Leave a comment

Recording in the Wighton Centre

14th November 2015 simonchadwick Bob Turner, cello, clarsach, dundee, fiddle, fundraising, harp, harpsichord, Jimmy Shand, Mark Spalding, Morag Anne Elder, music, poetry, Ronald Stevenson, Scots song, Scottish, Simon Chadwick, traditional

Last Monday, the Wighton Centre was turned into a recording studio by recording enginner Bob Turner, to record some tracks for the forthcoming limited edition CD produced by the Friends of WIghton as part of the fundraising for the Sir Jimmy Shand Collection.

Tracks were recorded from Mark Spalding playing a Ronald Stevenson composition on the harpsichord, the Wighton Singers, Ellie McDonald reading poetry, Simon Chadwick playing the replica Queen Mary harp, and Morag Anne Elder on the fiddle with Katie playing cello.

At least two of the tracks are the first ever recordings (the harpsichord and harp track). Other tracks are being recorded at Gardyne Studios, and also some tracks will be donated by other artists from their published CDs.

If you missed claiming the CD as a perk on our Indiegogo crowdfunding last month, you will still be able to buy your copy when the strictly limited edition is released.