Features / Fundraiser for schools music festival
A FUNDRAISING concert in support of the 70th Shetland Schools Music Festival will be held in Scalloway on Saturday night.
A diverse and packed line up features Full Swing, Autopilot, The Bluemelts, Shetland Heritage Fiddlers, Evergreen, Aestawast, the Sandyburn Singers, and Alan Mackay and Robert Bennet.
The festival itself takes place at Mareel between 16 and 20 March.
The days of the event receiving funding from the council and Shetland Charitable Trust are gone, making such fundraising activities necessary to cover the cost of running the event. Last year the festival was given free use of Mareel as a one-off, but this year venue hire costs must be factored in too.
SIC creative links officer Noelle Henderson said the festival was a very important date in the calendar, giving young people the opportunity to get to gether and celebrate music making from across the islands.
“This fundraising concert certainly offers something for everyone,” Henderson said, “and I’m very grateful to all the musicians who are giving of their time, as well as Sioban Tekcan, our schools’ instrumental instructor, for all her hard work behind the scenes in organising this event.
“It’s amazing to think that the Shetland Schools Music Festival is now in its 70th year, a fantastic celebration and a great way to support young people in their music making into the future.”
She said the festival could not expect to be exempt from financial constraints: “Everybody is under a lot of pressure, so you can’t expect money for nothing,” Henderson said.
“The most important thing is the bairns, and there’s 200 entries this year. That’s made up of individual classes, and also classroom groups and choirs.
“It’s great to give bairns the opportunity to perform on a professional stage, have professional lighting and give them that experience of what it’s like outwith the classroom.”
Henderson added that many of the groups performing at tomorrow’s fundraising event featured music teachers and tutors, which she hoped would be “quite inspiring” for the pupils.
Explaining how she put together the programme, woodwind instructor Tekcan said she had “one main passion in life, to play, and encourage others to play, music as much and as often as possible”.
“This was the main motivation behind this fundraising concert – to give musicians the opportunity to perform in front of an audience while raising money for a cause which will see future generations continue the legacy of Shetland’s musical heritage.”
Tickets are available from Shetland Box Office or on the door at Scalloway Hall on Saturday. The concert starts at 7pm.
Become a supporter of Shetland News
Shetland News is asking its many readers to consider start paying for their dose of the latest local news delivered straight to their PC, tablet or mobile phone.
Journalism comes at a price and because that price is not being paid in today’s rapidly changing media world, most publishers - national and local - struggle financially despite very healthy audience figures.
Most online publishers have started charging for access to their websites, others have chosen a different route. Shetland News currently has over 600 supporters who are all making small voluntary financial contributions. All funds go towards covering our cost and improving the service further.
Your contribution will ensure Shetland News can: -
- Bring you the headlines as they happen;
- Stay editorially independent;
- Give a voice to the community;
- Grow site traffic further;
- Research and publish more in-depth news, including more Shetland Lives features.
If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a supporter of Shetland News by either making a single payment or monthly subscription.
Support us from as little as £3 per month – it only takes a minute to sign up. Thank you.
Already a supporter? Sign in to hide this message.
