News / Record 110 entries for young fiddler competition
A RECORD number of entries have been received for this year’s Young Fiddler of the Year competition.
Run by the Shetland Folk Society, the 2014 event will be held at the Garrison Theatre this weekend.
Organisers said there had been a particular increase in entries for the junior sections for children up to and including Primary Six.
The competition kicks off with the junior competitors on Friday morning, followed by the intermediate competitors in the afternoon. The Young Fiddler open competition will be held on Saturday.
In total there are 154 entries from 110 different fiddlers – compared to last year’s 102 fiddlers.
The finals concert will be held on Saturday night, for which tickets can be purchased from Shetland Box Office.
The prize-winning junior and intermediate fiddlers will perform and the open competitors will play for a final time in front of judges Claire White, Peter Gear and Lois Nicol.
Bryan Gear will join tune competition judges Violet Tulloch and Debbie Scott to play the winning entries from this year’s competition. There will also be guest appearances from Callum Wat, 2013’s young fiddler of the year, and Mike Laurenson, junior young musician of the year.
Organiser Vaila Grant said: “We are delighted to have a new trophy to present this year for the best-played reel. We are very grateful to Gussie Angus and Cecil Hughson for donating the Catgut and Ivory trophy and look forward to presenting it to the player of the best reel over the two days.”
Folk society member Valerie Watt added: “We are thrilled to see so many entries, particularly in the junior section. The competition is not just about identifying winners but also about ensuring our musical heritage is preserved.
“With so many young fiddlers playing Shetland tunes for the competition we can be reassured our traditional music is safe in their hands.”
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