Folk Frenzy Programme 2023

“Iam really excited to be working with Shetland Arts again as curator of Folk Frenzy 2023.

We had a wonderful event in 2019 and unfortunately due to the pandemic it has not been possible to have it again until now.

We have a great line up of tutors to share their music and skills with you and I’m really excited to have Jenna Reid, Andrew Gifford and Amy Laurenson on board.

In addition we have a great program lined up with workshops, excursions, concerts and lots of sessions so it’s going to be a great week.

There were a few special memories from 2019 and the bonfire and session at St Ninians Isle was pretty special so I’m really looking forward to that again!

Hope you can join us for what will be a magical week!”

Kevin Henderson Folk Frenzy Curator

Classes

Picking Your Class

It can sometimes be tricky to know which class is right for you. The teachers will help you to find the right class if you need some advice at the start of the week.

TUTORS

Kevin Henderson

Andrew Gifford

Jenna Reid

Amy Laurenson

Full Frenzy Pass, includes all classes, concerts and trips - £500

Folk Frenzy classes are suitable for ages 12+ and not suitable for complete beginners. Supervision arrangements for children under 16 will be discussed with parents/guardians in advance. Students will need to bring their own instrument.

For more information or to book your Frenzy Pass, visit our website: www.shetlandarts.org/festivals phone us on 01595 745500 or come in person to Mareel.

Intermediate - Lower Classes | Monday - Friday

For fiddle players who have been playing for a few or more years and who are able to play with all four fingers in the first position. You should be able to play tunes in a variety of keys. You should be able to pick up tunes by ear at a moderate pace.

Intermediate - Higher Classes | Monday - Friday

For fiddle players who have been playing for a number of years and are comfortable with most major and minor keys as well as third position. You should be capable of picking up tunes at a reasonable pace by ear.

Ensemble Classes | Monday - Friday

Amy Laurenson will be leading the ensemble class this year. This class is open to any instrument and will focus on the process of arranging music. In particular, the ensemble class will work on pieces of music to be performed by the entire summer school at the end of the week.

Advanced Classes | Monday - Friday

This class is for fiddle players who can play in all keys and positions and who like to challenge and develop themselves as musicians. You should be capable of picking up tunes at a fast pace by ear.

Workshops

How to Practice with Jenna Reid

Monday 7 August | Mareel Green Room | 3.30pm - 5pm | £15

Join Jenna Reid for her workshop on ‘How to Practice’ – something that we’re all guilty of forgetting sometimes! No tunes this time - it’s all about the technique.

It’s easy to lose focus, especially working alone. During this session of practice, we’ll work on HOW to improve sound, bowing and tuning. etting the basics correct and learning how to use our time means we can really develop our playing and gain more enjoyment from our favourite pastime!

Traditional Improvisation with Amy Laurenson

Tuesday 8 August | Mareel Green Room | 3.30pm - 5pm | £15

Join BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician 2023 Amy Laurenson to explore the traditional melodies through improvisation.

Having studied both classical and traditional music at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Amy recently graduated with a first class BMus Honours degree in June 2022. Alongside performing with Tern (Danny Kyle Open Stage 2023 winners) and Miguel Girão (with Live Music Now Scotland), Amy is a Lecturer in Piano and Traditional Music at RCS Juniors.

Fiddle Tech with Tim Matthew

Wednesday 9 August | Mareel Green Room | 3.30pm - 5pm | £15

Do you want to amplify your fiddle?

Perhaps you want to create a wall of sound using effect pedals; or maybe you just want it to be louder but still natural-sounding.

Tim Matthew has decades of experience both as a player and sound engineer. Join him in this workshop to learn about plugging in your fiddle

Guitar with David Boyter

Thursday 10 August | Mareel Green Room | 3.30pm - 5pm | £15

This workshop will discuss accompanying traditional tunes on guitar, focusing on styles and techniques of some of the genre’s most notable guitar player and looking at how the melody can be used to inform the rhythmic and chordal choices made when backing tunes.

David Boyter is a Shetland based musician and tutor. Developing his guitar playing amidst the burgeoning Fence Records music scene in Fife, he has since performed and tutored across the UK.

SUNDAY 6 AUGUST

- 8pm Opening Night

- 10pm Café Bar Session

MONDAY 7 AUGUST

Lower Foyer

Auditorium

Café Bar

Lower Foyer 9.30am - 1pm Classes

9am Information Desk Open

1pm - 2pm Lunch break

2pm - 3pm Classes

3.30pm - 5pm How to Practice with Jenna Reid

/ Shetland Museum

/ Shetland Museum

Green Room

7pm - 9pm FILM: Shooglenifty: Heading West Mareel, Screen 1 9pm - 11pm Café Bar Session

TUESDAY 8 AUGUST

Café Bar

9am Information Desk Open Mareel, Lower Foyer

9.30am - 1pm Classes Mareel / Shetland Museum

1pm - 2pm Lunch break

2pm - 3pm Classes Mareel / Shetland Museum

3.30pm - 5pm Traditional Improvisation with Amy Laurenson Mareel, Green Room

7pm - 10pm Bonfire & Tunes at St Ninian’s Isle

Bigton, St Ninian’s

WEDNESDAY 9 AUGUST

9am Information Desk Open Mareel, Lower Foyer

9.30am - 3pm Dr Tom Anderson Bus Tour Eshaness

3.30pm - 5pm Fiddle Tech with Tim Matthew

7pm - 8.30pm Classes

9pm - 11pm Café Bar Session

THURSDAY 10 AUGUST

Mareel, Green Room

Mareel / Shetland Museum

Mareel, Café Bar

9am Information Desk Open Mareel, Lower Foyer

9.30am - 1pm Classes Mareel / Shetland Museum

1pm - 2pm Lunch break

2pm - 3pm Classes

3.30pm - 5pm Guitar with David Boyter

7.30pm - 10pm The Tutors Concert + Vair

10pm - 11pm Café Bar Session

FRIDAY 11 AUGUST

Mareel / Shetland Museum

Mareel, Green Room

Mareel, Auditorium

Mareel, Café Bar

9am Information Desk Open Mareel, Lower Foyer

9.30am - 1pm Rehearsal for The Big Gig!

1pm - 2pm Lunch break

2pm - 3pm Rehearsal for The Big Gig!

3.30pm - 5pm The Big Gig! Sound Checks

7.30pm - 10pm The Big Gig! + Haltadans

10pm - Late Café Bar Session

Mareel

Mareel

Mareel, Auditorium

Mareel, Auditorium

Mareel, Café Bar

Events

Opening Night

Sunday 6 August | Mareel, Auditorium | 6.30pm - 8pm

Enjoy an evening of live music performances from local traditional players and a screening of our film, Sights and Sounds of Shetland, to open the festival on a high note!

The film is brought to life with recorded performances from Hjaltibonhoga, Shetland’s fiddlers of the Royal Military Tattoo. Along with archive film footage and photography this screening will give you a taste of Shetland’s cultural identity; from different musical influences, wedding celebrations and reels in the kitchen to the steps taken to keep traditions alive.

Our specially commissioned film, edited from the Shetland Film Archives, also includes a glimpse into everyday life in Shetland from the 1950s – 1970s. Immerse yourself in Shetland’s years gone by with footage on traditional crofting, knitting, fishing, schooling, transport, festivities, and leisure activities.

Relax for the evening with complimentary soup, sandwiches and drinks.

Café Bar Sessions

Mareel, Café Bar

Sunday 6 August, 8pm - 10pm

Monday 7 August, 9pm - 11pm

Wednesday 9 August, 9pm - 11pm

Thursday 10 August, 10pm - 11pm

Friday 11 August 10pm - Late

There will be open music sessions all week from 9pm – 11pm in Mareel’s Café Bar, sessions like these are common to the traditional and folk music scene in Shetland.

Bring along your instrument and join in! Share tunes and learn new ones. Everyone welcome!

Heading West:

A Story About a Band Called Shooglenifty FILM SCREENING

Monday 7 August | Mareel Screen 1 | 7pm - 9pm

When Angus, their fiddle-playing frontman gets ill and dies in just a few months, the members of much loved Scottish band Shooglenifty are devastated.

This sensitive documentary follows the band as they work on their loss, look back on their long career, reflect on the music that Angus has left them, and, with a little help from fiddleplaying friends, get through a year of grief and introspection.

Bonfire & Tunes at St Ninians Isle

Tuesday 8 August | Mareel (Bus) 7pm - 11pm | Free/£15 (Supper)

Head down to the south end of Shetland to one of our most iconic beaches, St Ninian’s Isle, the largest tombolo in the UK! While there, enjoy a bonfire and tunes as the sun begins to set.

The bus will leave Mareel at 7pm, to take you down to St Ninian’s Isle. The bus will pick everyone up at 10.30pm and be back in town for 11pm.

Dr Tom Anderson Bus Tour

Wednesday 9 August | Mareel (Bus) 9am - 3pm

Enjoy the sights of Shetland on a bus tour to Shetland’s scenic north mainland to Eshaness, home of the famous lighthouse and birthplace of prolific fiddler Dr Tom (Tammy) Anderson, with knowledgeable tour guides Charlie Simpson and Valerie Watt.

Gather at Mareel for 9am for prompt departure, leave Eshaness at 2pm

An optional supper will be served on arrival at the Bigton Hall before heading down to the beach.

Sponsored by Shetland Musical Heritage Trust

The Tutors Concert

Thursday 10 August | Mareel, Auditorium | 7.30pm - 10pm £18 / £16 (Senior & U16)

The tutors show us how it’s done!

Enjoy a fantastic evening of music with exciting local band Vair and an exclusive set from the Folk Frenzy Summer School tutors!

See following pages for tutor biographies.

The Big Gig!

Friday 11 August | Mareel, Auditorium | 7.30pm - 10pm £18 / £16 (Senior & U16)

The culmination of the Folk Frenzy week - Folk Frenzy tutors, participants and local trad heroes Haltadans !

This event brings participants and tutors together from all over the world to perform the pieces of music and arrangements they’ve been working on throughout the week.

Meet the Tutors

Kevin Henderson

Kevin draws on the rich fiddle music tradition of his native Shetland, where he learnt from the legendary Willie Hunter, and on his experience with leading folk bands including Boys of the Lough, Fiddlers Bid, Session A9 and Nordic Fiddlers Bloc to create his own expressive and adventurously individual musical style.

Jenna Reid

Born and bred in Quarff, Shetland, Jenna has toured the world, recorded and released many albums as a soloist and band member. As a finalist of the prestigious Paul Hamlyn Award, Jenna has always composed & her 5th solo album ‘Working Hands’ is a stunning collection of her writing. Following this release, she was awarded Composer of the Year at the 2019 Scots Trad Music Awards. Jenna is a member of Scottish fiddle band Blazin’ Fiddles and appeared on the Transatlantic Sessions alongside Aly Bain and Jerry Douglas.

Andrew Gifford

Resides in Glasgow but has a strong Shetlandic heritage, learning the fiddle from both Willie Hunter and Margaret Robertson whilst at school. He joined Fiddlers’ Bid at the age of 16, and has performed across the globe with ‘da Bid’ and other stomping bands such as The Chair. Teaching the fiddle to all levels has been a large part of his career, and he is regularly sought as a tutor throughout Scotland.

BBC Radio Scotland Young Musician of the Year 2023 Amy Laurenson is a pianist from the Shetland Isles. Rooted in the traditional music of Shetland, Amy explores the music of her homeland alongside traditional and folk music from Scotland, Ireland and Scandinavia. Growing up surrounded by classical music, she has developed a unique style which fuses traditional, classical and jazz elements.

Amy Laurenson

 01595 745500  shetlandarts.org