Shetland-Music.com

An innovative two-year youth music project entitled 'Young Tradition Bearers', created by Shetland Arts as part of their ongoing music development project, has secured over £26,000 of funding from the Scottish Arts Council's Youth Music initiative.

Over two years the project will develop as a way of encouraging young enthusiastic fiddle players to become the bearers of their own local fiddle traditions rather than leaving the styles and skills in the hands of one or two older players. The young fiddlers will be shown the versatility and value of their own local styles and be taught how to work with them as living traditions and not risk letting them disappear as historical curiosities.

The project will create a bank of young people proud of their local area heritage in the way many prominent musicians are now proud to ply their Shetland Traditions on the international stage. They will be able to pass these traditions on and have the knowledge and skills to develop them further, creating a living not a dying tradition. This will help create an infrastructure for some of the best of Shetland's young inspirational fiddlers who wish to remain and work in Shetland, placing a value to their input to the musical community. They will be provided with the skills to tutor locals or tourists ensuring Shetland fiddling in many of its lesser known forms is preserved valued and developed.

Margaret Scollay and Maurice Henderson will musically oversee the project, in partnership with Shetland Arts Music Development officer, Shetland Fiddlers, Charlie Simpson, Shetland Archives and many others. They will work with the tradition bearers and Tammy Anderson's archive recordings to identify the differences in many of the Shetland's area / island styles.

Five areas will initially be selected and once the work on defining the styles is ongoing a network of young inspirational tutors will be set up to work with other young players in their own areas or islands. Not only will they be taught and teach these styles themselves they will be taught how to compose and apply them to recent compositions and how to pass the styles and tunes on in the future.

The funding has come from the Scottish Arts Council Youth Music Initiative. It has funded informal music projects through Shetland Arts in the past in but this is the first time a major traditional project has been supported.

Shetland Arts' existing Youth Session format will be the vehicle to carry this project along. Youth Sessions have been held monthly in Lounge Bar over the past few years. The Lounge is renowned for its music and many young players have harboured ambitions to play there. The time is handed over to these musicians with experienced players guiding them through the evening, it continues until ten o clock, when the session can be as 'good going' as the famous Wednesday nights. Parents have remarked that the inspiration provided at these sessions spurs on their children to practice and have tunes voluntarily for weeks after.

Sessions will be set up in the selected areas, working with local groups to identify the best times and places to hold the sessions and to enthuse the young players. The young tutors will lead these sessions, teaching the styles and teaching how to apply the styles and how to enjoy the playing of good tunes. Local communities will be encouraged to showcase their 'sessionites' and the young musicians will also be included in Fiddle Frenzy events.

What will actually be the end result?
How can people get involved?
What skill levels?

Young players of all ages and skills can be involved from beginners aged 8 to 25. Youth sessions will be held in five areas across Shetland. Any player who feels they could add to the project or interested host community should contact
contact Richard Wemyss at Shetland Arts on 743 843