Thousands of music lovers across the world have been tuning in to listen to the playing and singing of a Highland church organist.
Kevin Cameron of St Mary’s Catholic Church in Fort William has clocked up more than 50,000 views online.
He live streams his recitals on the Friends of St Mary’s Facebook page and has brought joy to many during lockdown.
The 24-year-old Ben Nevis Distillery worker often performs at 7pm on a Sunday night, beaming his music to the world using his mobile phone.
Hundreds of people tune into each recital, with some fans even waking up in the middle of the night to listen in from as far afield as Australia.
Father David Connor of St Mary’s said: “He started live streaming on Facebook on a Sunday night for a hour. It was just a few locals watching to begin with. Then word started getting around and before we knew it he was getting hundreds of people tuning in every week from all over the world. It just took off.
“He has grown quite a following. People started sending requests for hymns and songs and Kevin will play them. It gave people a lot of comfort during lockdown. It’s really about bringing solace to people.
“He gives of his gifts and talents freely and is just a wonderful young man.
“He plays and sings hymns, he does some Gaelic and Scottish tunes. There is a good mix.
“We are currently waiting to get a new organ. When things open up a bit more we are talking about doing some concerts in the evenings.”
Mr Cameron studied music at Aberdeen University, where he was the organ scholar at St Andrew’s Cathedral. He is continuing his BA in music through the Open University after returning to his hometown to work as a mash man at the distillery.
He started learning the piano aged 12 and took organ lessons at 15 when he began playing for mass.
Also a keen singer, he was a regular prize winner at the Mod and first started singing in choirs aged eight.
Mr Cameron said: “With the power of Facebook we have ended up reaching a lot of former parishioners and ex pats all over the world.
“One lady always tunes in from Australia at about 4am. She religiously tunes in every time I am playing. There is also a lady in Canada and a lady in Peru who watches.
“A lot of the people have connections to Scotland and the church here in Fort William. It is great to see them catching up with friends and family on my shows.
“It started off with hymns and religious music and moved on to Scottish, Gaelic and songs from the shows.”
St Mary’s has raised in the region of £14,000 to buy a new organ, with still a bit of fundraising left to go. The pandemic has delayed the plans but it is hoped that the new instrument could arrive by Christmas.
They currently have a pipe organ, which is expensive to maintain. The church is looking to replace it with a modern electronic organ, which Mr Cameron assures is “just as good.”
Look out on the Friends of St Mary’s Facebook page to find out when his next recital will take place.