For more than 350 years, the fiddle has been at the heart of Scottish music. Even before masters like Niel Gow and the Scottish Fiddle Orchestra, the instrument has had the ability to get us to our feet when playing a lively jig, or break our hearts with a slow air.
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Today, this is never more true. Especially when the musicians are live in front of us, and the glorious sound swells through a concert hall.
But before we look at how you can hear the Scottish Fiddle Orchestra in Aberdeen, here’s a closer look at the history of this fascinating music.
The tradition of Scottish fiddle playing – how and when SFO started
The Leader of the Scottish Fiddle Orchestra (SFO) is Yla Steven, who is steeped in the tradition of Scottish fiddle playing. Yla is not only one of Scotland’s finest fiddlers, but also composes for the orchestra.
She began playing the violin at the age of seven in her home city of Edinburgh, but once her family moved to Perthshire, it awakened her love for Scottish music.
She said: “It wasn’t widely accepted in schools at that time, but I persevered.”
Her later successes in competition led to what she calls “training sessions” with Scott Milne, who had known the great Banchory fiddler Scott Skinner. Yla explains: “In the North-East you get the proper traditional style of bowing and playing. You can present the printed page to a classical musician, but it won’t sound like Scottish music.”
The Scottish Fiddle Orchestra was created in 1980, and Yla has been a part of it since then – and before.
Since 1969, the National Mod had been holding fiddlers’ rallies on the first Saturday of the festival. Gerry Crean and John Mason were keen to improve the standards and came up with the idea of having a fixed orchestra that would be like a fiddlers’ rally, but with the same personnel. They would rehearse giving a better quality sound.
“In 1978 there was a gathering of the people who would become the Scottish Fiddle Orchestra, when we went to London to give a concert in the Royal Albert Hall. John Mason was very much at the forefront of that,” adds Yla.
Keeping Scottish fiddle alive in Scotland and all over the world
The Scottish Fiddle Orchestra has been at the heart of keeping fiddle music alive, but Robert Diament, chairman of the Scottish Festival Orchestra, believes that the orchestra has also been a beneficiary of traditional music being recognised in education. He says: “When the Royal Conservatoire introduced its traditional music course, that upped the technical standard of playing considerably.”
And through its work and dedication, the Scottish Fiddle Orchestra has taken its music all over the world. This has included three tours of North America, a tour of Australia and New Zealand and for Yla, the most memorable, China.
She says: “We spent the 2012 to 2013 New Year in China, touring the country. We did something like 11 concerts in 14 days. We would get up at 5am to fly to the next city, rehearse, do the concert and repeat. We did fit in some sightseeing though.”
The audiences worldwide are appreciative of the music, with some familiarity in the jigs and reels in other folk traditions. But Yla says: “We will always do a strathspey. That is something absolutely unique to Scottish music.”
The story today – the return of Scottish Fiddle Orchestra in Aberdeen
On Saturday, April 2, the Scottish Fiddle Orchestra will perform at its spiritual home, Aberdeen Music Hall, for its first concert in the city since 2019.
To mark this welcome return, the orchestra’s Royal Patron, HRH The Princess Royal, will attend the concert. She will be accompanied by The Lord Provost of Aberdeen in his capacity of Lord Lieutenant.
“It’s marvellous to be back playing together, because we really are a big family,” says Robert. “We played a few outdoor concerts last summer, but our concert in late February at Perth Concert Hall was our first indoor concert since February 2020.”
This Scottish Fiddle Orchestra Aberdeen concert will be slightly different in that it’s an afternoon event, from 3pm to 5.30pm. “We’re hoping that it will encourage younger people and older people, in fact it would lovely to see families coming along together.”
The Scottish Fiddle Orchestra is looking forward to the calendar of Scottish concerts booked in for this year but there’s no doubt that Aberdeen Music Hall concert will be special.
“We will be joined by Collette Ruddy a mezzo soprano, the compere Robert Lovie, and also the Granite City Pipes and Drums,” adds Robert.“We may have been listening to recorded music and watching events online but nothing replaces the shared experience of a live concert.”
Buy tickets to hear the Scottish Fiddle Orchestra in Aberdeen and fall in love with this traditional music form.