Doors open 7.30pm
Starts 8pm
Finishes (approx.) 10pm
Paul Anderson, Peter Hedlund, Hamish Napier and Shona Donaldson present an evening of original compositions and songs accompanied by projected images of Scotland by Steve Rennie.
Peter Hedlund
Peter ”Puma” Hedlund is considered by many to be Sweden’s foremost player of chromatic nyckelharpa. As a teenager in 1975, he achieved the Zorn Medal in silver, for “tradition-based playing of Uppland tunes on nyckelharpa”, and since then he can call himself “Riksspelman”, or “Fiddler of the Realm”. In 2010 he was honored with Sweden’s most prestigious folk-music award, the Zorn Medal in gold, “For masterful, brilliant, and tradition-conscious playing of nyckelharpa.
Peter is rightfully proud of his musical tradition and the tradition his childhood gave him. His music is a prime example of continuity; an unbroken tradition which links together the past, present, and future.
Peter taught for a number of years at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and in his ongoing role as teacher he has the possibility to influence and contribute to the new generation of nyckelharpa players. As a nyckelharpa teacher since 1973, Peter has had a never-ending stream of both adult and younger students, amateurs as well as those who are today well-known players.
Peter has mostly taught nyckelharpa, but also more general folk-music courses and is very popular as both artist and teacher throughout a large part of the world, from Japan via Europe to the USA.
Paul Anderson
Already something of a legend in the time honoured fiddle tradition of Scotland; Paul Anderson is the finest Scots fiddler of his generation. Although only in his forties, he is already something of an icon in Scotland, a fact duly recognised by two specially commissioned portraits of him, a life size one in Aberdeen Art Gallery and a study which is in the care of the National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh.
In the tradition of many of Scotlands great fiddlers, Paul is a composer of some repute, having composed over 300 pieces in the Scots style. His music provided the theme tune for the film Red Rose about the life of Robert Burns, Paul composed and recorded the theme music for the PBS television show, Tartan TV,in the USA and in 2008 he was the musical director for HMT Aberdeens critically acclaimed production of Sunset Song by Lewis Grassic Gibbon. In 2008 Paul performed at a private reception for Prince Charles at Fyvie Castle to celebrate Prince Charles' 60th birthday and in June 2010 he performed at an 80th birthday party in Edinburgh Castle for Sir Sean Connery at the request of the Scottish Government. In 2011 Paul performed at Scotland House in Brussels for members of the EU parliment and at a Burns Supper in the British Embassy.
During his competitive career Paul won most of the traditional fiddle championships in Scotland and in 1995 won Scotland's premier fiddling event, the Glenfiddich Scottish fiddle championship which is held each year at Blair Castle.
A regular on Scottish T.V and radio, and in 2011 he presented a series of features on traditional Scottish music and song for the BBC Scotland programme "Landward." Paul has toured extensively and recorded eight solo albums and over forty albums with artists like Pallas, Rock Salt and Nails, The Cutting Edge and the Banchory Strathspey and Reel Society. Paul regularly recites the poetry of Robert Burns and in 1993 he played the part of the young James Scott Skinner in the play "The Strathspey King".Paul was brought up on the family dairy farm at Tarland near the Cairngorm National Park in the heart of rural Aberdeenshire, where at the age of five he discovered an old fiddle under his grandparents spare bed, an old French violin which he plays to this day.
He began classical tuition at Tarland primary school with Andy Linklater but before long joined the acclaimed Scots fiddle group, The Banchory Strathspey and Reel Society.
“I was brought up in a house where I can remember my dad reading Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson to me and where the music of The Corries, Hector MacAndrew, Robbie Shepherd's radio programmes and Johnny Cash was often to be heard. When I stared fiddle lessons it was with the intention that I'd eventually be learning Scottish music.
Hamish Napier
Hamish Napier is from Strathspey in the Scottish Highlands. For over a decade he was an integral part of Glasgow’s vibrant folk music scene, whilst also touring in Europe and North America with Scottish folk quartet Back of the Moon (‘Folk Band of the Year 2005’ MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards). After gaining degrees in Astronomy and Music in Glasgow, Hamish was awarded a year’s scholarship to study jazz piano and composition at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA. He then taught composition and music theory for 6 years at Glasgow’s Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. He now tutors online and at music schools and festivals worldwide. He recently returned to his native Strathspey, composing three solo albums The River (2016), The Railway (2018) and The Woods (2020) in celebration his homeland.
Napier’s music is a unique balance of tradition and innovation. He respects and celebrates Scotland’s rich musical heritage in a contemporary style that is engaging and soulful. As a founding member of the Cask Strength Ceilidh Band (annual house band for the BBC Radio Scotland Hogmanay Show), he is passionate about Scottish folk tunes and their roots in traditional folk dance. Hamish is also a fine Scottish Step Dancer, having delivered dance workshops at festivals around the UK and North America. With a deep understanding of Scottish music at it’s heart, Hamish’s compositional approach and piano accompaniments continue to push the melodic, harmonic and rhythmic boundaries, as they explore possibilities of musical hybrids with other forms and genres.
Shona Donaldson
Award winning Scots Singer Shona Donaldson is one of Scotland’s leading tradition bearers. A fiddler and singer she grew up in Huntly, Aberdeenshire and was surrounded by music and song from a young age. She studied at the Royal Academy of Music and Drama and has performed and taught worldwide. Shona is a former winner of the MG Alba Scots Singer of the Year and to date is the only woman to win the Bothy Ballad Champion of Champions competition. She particularly enjoys singing and teaching local Aberdeenshire songs in Doric and is a sought after tutor. An able performer, she has sung at many events from folks clubs to The Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow with the Scottish Symphony Orchestra.