The final newsletter before the big rebrand?

We talked about a “new hairdo” for the SFO in the last newsletter.

We hoped our new logo, colour palette and fonts would be “live” by this month but there have been one or two delays and we’re now aiming for the beginning of April 2021.

It would have been good to be able to tie our new image and website in with a relaunch of in- person concerts but that still seems to be some way off. We’re not expecting to have another of our regular concerts now before Glasgow (August 2021) at the earliest.

Orchestra business goes on, in spite of this, whether it’s the chat on social media, regular meetings of the SFO Board (via Zoom) or the Annual General Meeting (also via Zoom) on 26 February, which was attended by 58 members. Apart from the usual reports, we had a presentation about the new look we are about to publicly unveil and about the SFO’s social media strategy. That left time for everyone to get together in breakout rooms for some group entertainment which included a double bass solo from Jamie Mason, playing a piece composed by Rona Porter. This kept Jamie sufficiently distracted that he did not get on to any cymbal solos.

For this (bumper) edition of the Newsletter, we’ve decided to ask a few musical folk what they’ve been up to during the last year, focusing on professional musicians in – mainly, but not exclusively, fiddlers – who have all been significantly affected by the drop-off in live music opportunities. We hope you enjoy it and are inspired to discover / revisit their music.   

An introduction to the life of the professional, traditional musician

Irish Fiddler, Martin Hayes, was born in County Clare into a family which was steeped in traditional music.

He picked up the fiddle from a young age.

At a Symposium in Dublin Castle in late 2019 (available on the RTE Podcast “The Rolling Wave” for 12 March 2020), he was asked:

Did you always know that you would make your way in life as a professional musician?

He replied:

“It was always obvious from when I was young that music would be the most important part of my life. However, being a professional musician was nothing short of “failure” in life and so I had no “plan” for that.

I heard a recent interview with Philip Glass where they asked him for “any advice for young musicians” and he said: “Well, don’t do it unless you can’t do anything else.”

The idea being that: if you can live without doing it, don’t do it because it will require of you incredible dedication, passion and resourcefulness – a kind of “staying the course” mentality – so you’d better get a lot of nourishment from the music itself or you won’t be able to continue…

But - apart from that - it’s great!”

James Alexander

James is a living legend in his home area of Moray. Teacher of fiddle to hundreds of children over a 40-year period, he formed “The Fochabers Fiddlers” group and established the annual ‘Speyfest’ extravaganza. He was awarded an MBE for services to traditional music in 2011 and inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame in 2017.

My instruments are Fiddle and Keyboard.

I was born and brought up in a small croft between Buckie and Keith. Friday night saw my parents host kitchen "concerts" featuring farmworkers from local farms – they included accordionists, spoons, paper and comb, and no fiddlers!

I was around 7 years old and was tucked away in what was the "but and ben" where there was an old piano. Tunes ranged from bothy ballad type through to fairly James Alexander performing at Speyfest, Moray. basic pipe marches and similar. That led to my mother asking my primary school about the possibility of violin tuition. I started lessons at the age of 8. I was then exposed to different styles, including classical music. I was influenced by local players, e.g. Hebbie Gray, Hector McAndrew (not very local but well-known and he played at concerts in my area).

Over the past year, I would have expected to be providing corporate entertainment to the local distillery visitor centres as part of the hosting of mainly foreign guests/customers. I would also have expected to be playing for local ceilidhs.

In fact, I haven't carried out any public appearances over the past year due to Covid-19.

There haven't been many musical highlights given the present circumstances but I have enjoyed seeing some of the online performances especially "off-the-cuff" type performances from folk like Ross Couper.

I'm looking forward to getting back to "normal" and also seeing if the online performances continue. I'm hoping that the powers that be will recognise how important live music is to society and also in preserving our traditional music genre.

Anyone looking for my music will be able to find a bit online, my tune book and various CDs and Speyfest takes place in Fochabers each July. DVDs on the Ross Record label.

Pete Clark

I play and teach fiddle and currently live in highland Perthshire, the land of those great 18th century fiddlers, Niel Gow and Robert Mackintosh. However, I started life in the Kingdom of Fife.

Born and raised in Dunfermline, I started violin lessons at the age of 9 with Harry D. Grant of Saline, Fife.

After Mr Grant’s death around 1971, I had further lessons from David Davies, violin teacher at Dunfermline High School. Both of these teachers were inspirational and could produce such a marvellous sound from even quite ordinary violins. And, importantly, neither had taboos when it came to repertoire. In my teens, I was a member of the Fife Schools Orchestra and every Friday night during term time me and my musical peers were transported by coach to the weekly rehearsals in Glenrothes High School.

My musical tastes were then - and continue to be - very eclectic.

Pete Clark A quick browse through my CD collection would reveal: Niel Gow; J.S. Bach; Vaughan Williams; Pink Floyd; Led Zeppelin; Sting; Alasdair Fraser; Dougie MacLean. They all have a place on my shelves.

I continued to play during my university days at Heriot-Watt, studying Marine Biology. While living in , I was able to see and hear many bands live, including Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span, Planxty and The Boys of the Lough. This really kindled my interest in traditional music.

In the late ‘70s, I joined Dunfermline-based folk band “Heritage”.

I travelled with them to various folk festivals throughout Europe. The other fiddler in that band was the late Davy Lockhart. He was a mine of information and a fine artist, and we became great friends. Jack Beck was the singer and we are still in touch, though he now lives in Virginia, USA.

Around about the same time, I met accordionist Bert Shorthouse. That meeting led to several summer seasons playing with him and his band in Edinburgh. The band included pianist Jim Mitchell and drummer George Cheyne, and the shows were very much aimed at the tourist market, in the Caledonian Hotel and what was then the “Eurocrest Hotel”. I learned a great deal from Bert and those “tartan nights”.

Traditional fiddlers on TV in those days were few and far between.

However, one particular TV series I remember well was called “Down Home”. It featured fiddler, , travelling throughout North America, exploring the many different fiddle styles to be found there, and meeting and playing with great fiddlers, one of whom was the phenomenal Mark O’Connor.

During the ‘90s, I played for the Edinburgh branch of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society (RSCDS), in a show called “Strictly Scottish”, as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

For much of my working life, I was a teacher of biology and science.

During that time, fiddling took a back seat.

But, in 2000, I left the classroom behind and decided to focus on music. I believed that a combination of teaching fiddle and playing for dances could bring in a liveable wage, and so it proved. I was then playing regularly with The Benachally Ceilidh Band and the Jauncey Brothers band and giving fiddle lessons at home.

In 2001, I became a fiddle tutor on the Scottish Music Course at what was then the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD), now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS).

This involved a lengthy commute once or twice a week, between Dunkeld and Glasgow, but I had the privilege of working with some very accomplished players, many of whom remain friends and are now familiar names on the current trad music scene. In 2015, I stepped back from my commitments at the RCS in order to have more time working closer to home and to focus on my own ventures (and, it has to be said, to go fishing).

The virus pandemic seemed to kick in very rapidly, metamorphosing from rumour to crisis almost overnight.

The first restrictions were introduced in March 2020, during the week leading up to what would have been the 17th Niel Gow Festival in Dunkeld & Birnam, which I have been involved with as musical director since 2004. We were forced to cancel just 5 days before the festival was due to begin. (And this year’s festival has also been cancelled, though there are plans for an online event.)

My teaching at home had to stop, and of course all the gigs I had in my diary – concerts, ceilidhs, weddings, fiddle workshops etc. - simply disappeared, as did other events, musical and otherwise.

Regular weekly fixtures were no longer permitted, including rehearsals of the Dunkeld & District Strathspey & Reel Society (which I conduct), Wednesday evening gatherings of Mid-Atholl Strings & Things at Ballinluig where I occasionally coach, and the popular Thursday night music sessions at the Royal Dunkeld Hotel. I also had to forego regular musical meetings with my great friend Muriel Johnstone, who now lives in Pitlochry, just a 10 minute drive from us. (In 2017 we recorded an album together, “Niel Gow’s Fiddle”, which was sold in aid of a proposed Pete with Niel Gow's Gasparo da Salo fiddle. memorial to Niel Gow in Dunkeld.)

On the plus side, there was suddenly an abundance of “free” time, albeit coupled with travel restrictions.

Like many folk, I was forced to focus on those things I could do at and close to my home. Daily walks became a regular part of the routine and assumed even greater importance with the arrival of Logie, a Cocker Spaniel pup last August. And I am fortunate to have a shed which I’ve kitted out to accommodate fly tying and painting, two of my other passions.

Like everyone, I've had to adapt. I now have quite a few pupils who I teach via Skype, and rehearsals of the Strathspey & Reel Society and also Mid-Atholl Strings & Things now happen once a fortnight va Zoom. The online gatherings are not as good as the real thing, but certainly better than nothing, and at least players are encouraged to get their out and play!

I had never been particularly active on Facebook, but suddenly it became the easiest way to stay in touch with friends. I also discovered that it was possible to record and publish videos quite easily, using my phone. Thus began a series of nightly posts “From the Shed”.

Perhaps the greatest highlight for me of 2020 came in December.

The Niel Gow Festival Society achieved one of its long-term goals: the installation of a life- size bronze sculpture of Niel Gow in Little Niel Gow statue, Little Dunkeld, Perthshire Dunkeld (that part of Dunkeld on the Birnam side of Telford’s famous bridge).

Of course, no grand celebration was possible, but future visitors to the village will see Mr Gow, complete with fiddle, striding towards his home village of Inver. One day we will have a celebratory gathering, perhaps at the Niel Gow Festival 2022, if not before.

And what about when life returns to something resembling normality?

It will, of course, be good to be able to socialise, to meet with other folk and to welcome visitors, and I very much look forward to the return of those simple pleasures I once took for granted - home teaching, Strathspey & Reel rehearsals, pub sessions, playing for dancing, going to hear concerts, enjoying a meal out – the list is a long one. Right now, just sitting in a pub with friends enjoying a few pints and a few tunes seems like a distant dream.

In the early days of lockdown last year, the normally busy A9 was all but deserted and even the skies were empty of aircraft. The silence was palpable and I could almost imagine the planet giving a sigh of relief. As we get through this situation and a kind of normality returns, this brief respite for the environment will end. Is it too much to hope that some of the enforced changes will be taken on board by business, that much can be accomplished without having to travel many hundreds of miles?

There are undoubtedly lessons for us to learn from this unusual episode. We should all embrace life and opportunity, cherish time spent with friends and never take anything for granted. And of course, remember to wash our hands.

Pete’s website: www.pete-clark.com Niel Gow Festival website: www.niel-gow.co.uk (watch out for the spelling of ‘Niel’)

Marie Fielding

I play Fiddle, 5 string fiddle, Hardanger, and Anglo Concertina.

I was born in Edinburgh, moved around West Lothian as a child, settled in Edinburgh until my mid-20s and am now staying in Falkirk.

My musical influences are always changing but stronger bonds have remained throughout my playing career:

Gaelic song; Pipe tunes; Irish repertoire; Dance Bands; Landscape; and Poetry/Art.

I have Irish blood, so I feel very natural and happy around Irish music and culture.

My dad was a singer, so song has always been important to me, not just tunes, of which many have evolved from song.

My style of playing? That’s an interesting question!

I adapt to whoever I’m playing with in a band situation, duo or trio. That’s what makes it interactive and more successful - rather than plod away, not responding. For solo playing, I focus on emotion, texture, being “in the moment” to express myself and I love tunes that have space, allowing me to breathe.

What did I have planned for 2020?

In the last year, I had all planned out: an album launch for The Spectrum Project; a tune book launch; new website launch; and an Etsy page for my art. Marie Fielding

Everything still went ahead during Lockdown, perhaps not as I would have wished, but everything is possible some way.

My diary had gigs every week. None of those happened.

However, I was involved in producing an album, played on an album, did several BBC Take The Floor recordings and a few Live Streams for Gary Innes [presenter of Take The Floor].

I find it easy to keep busy and motivated.

I teach fiddle and Performance at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, which has mostly been online.

My students are wonderful and keep me young! A lot of my energy goes into my teaching.

I bought a kiln and have been working with ceramics. I have started making earrings with Polymer Clay.

Composition is a big thing for me and I’ve had a few commissions in the last year.

I have spent much more time outdoors and done lots of walking. I also love to play around with photography and cook - and gardening is just the best!!

A highlight of the year for me was winning “In Tune With Nature”.

This was with a composition based on Beinn Eighe in Torridon. So I managed to get to Gairloch and I spent a few days filming, which was fabulous. I also had a few days in Oban. (I have stuck to the Lockdown rules at all times!)

My Art has also kept me going. I have sold a few pieces, which is lovely.

Beinn Eighe - screenshot from the video accompanying Marie's tune

As restrictions ease, I’m looking forward to spending much less time on Zoom!

I miss my daughter, Aimee, who lives in her own house. We have not hugged since last March.

It has been difficult, but many are in the same position.

I am looking forward to a more relaxed way of living again. Being able to spend time with family and friends, as well as travel and get back to work, playing live.

I feel that I am more aware of the simple things in life around us which are beneficial - and materialistic things are not important. In some ways, I have enjoyed a much less frantic year, so I hope to find a balance as we get back to normality of some sort. I think Covid is here to stay in some form, so we need to prepare for that.

Time has vanished yet some days are long.

You can catch my CDs, Tune Books and Art on the following sites. www.mariefieldingmusic.com ETSY page: MarieFieldingArt mariefielding.bandcamp.com

Or email me on [email protected].

Kevin Henderson

My instrument is the Fiddle.

I come from Lerwick in Shetland, though currently my home is in Norway.

My grandfather was a huge fan of fiddle music and I gained an interest in the fiddle through him.

I began taking private lessons at the age of 9 with highly renowned Shetland fiddler, Trevor Hunter, before getting lessons with Willie Hunter, arguably Shetland’s finest-ever fiddler, through the school system. He was a hugely inspiring teacher and I feel extremely privileged to have had him as a teacher. He is, without doubt, my biggest influence.

I am also a huge fan of Martin Hayes [mentioned above] and also Scandinavian and American fiddling. Probably all those players and styles have inspired me and have shaped me as a musician and my style of playing.

For 2020, there were big plans for album launches and tours throughout the year. Kevin Henderson

Obviously, because of the pandemic, those were all cancelled.

Right before the pandemic hit, in March, I was on tour in the US with my new duo project with American piano player, Neil Pearlman, promoting our new album Burden Lake. We had tours in the UK booked for later in the year to promote the new album but unfortunately they couldn't happen.

I also had a number of tours with The Nordic Fiddlers Bloc cancelled in the US, UK and throughout Europe.

We had just recorded our new album in early February 2020 and had tours planned to release it in the US and UK but they couldn't happen either. We released the album in November so it was good to get it out but not ideal that we could not take it on tour.

We also planned to record and tour a new album with Session A9 and, of course, that couldn't happen either!

That was all very disappointing but everyone was in the same boat so there was nothing we could do about it and just had to accept that that that was how it was and make the most out of the situation.

Nordic Fiddlers Bloc: Olav Luksengard Mjelva, Kevin Henderson, Anders Hall

The thing that most musicians have had to turn to is online work, teaching and live-streaming.

I was very lucky at the start of the pandemic when lockdowns were in place that I was asked to be part of a number of online festivals and events which was a huge help both mentally and financially. But, after a month or so, it became quite intense and I felt I needed a break away from the online thing for a while and felt it was fair to give others a chance also as we were all in need of income etc..

I continued doing online teaching and workshops.

I decided to start up a Patreon account where I have different tiers with different content available. For example, there are things like sheet music with bowings and ornamentation, MP3 recordings, mini video workshops, tune commissions, 1-1 lessons available to people. The focus there is traditional Shetland music but I also do my own compositions as well as tunes composed by others from time to time.

Things opened up a little after summer and we played a couple of concerts with Nordic Fiddlers Bloc. It felt so great to play to a live audience again.

I was lucky to get to play a few live concerts in Norway towards the end of the year.

We should have played two concerts in December but things started to get worse here and Anders, from the band, was required to go into quarantine for 10 days before the concert since he had to come in from Sweden, which was not feasible. So Olav and I did them as a duo, with two solo sets and a little collaboration together. That was quite refreshing, playing solo, actually, as it’s not something I have done much of but it has inspired me to maybe look at doing more of that.

I would say that releasing the new CD with Neil Pearlman and the new Nordic Fiddlers Bloc album would be the two main highlights of 2020 for me, musically.

The launch tour in the US with Neil right before the pandemic hit was really great and it was nice to get the new album toured in the US at least even though we had to cancel all the later work we had set up for promoting it on both sides of the Atlantic. One other positive thing is that the pandemic has given me time to delve into the archives and I have found a lot of great tunes that I plan to do something with moving forward.

I am looking forward to seeing my family in Shetland again.

I haven't seen them now since August 2019.

I am also really looking forward to performing on a stage to an audience sitting in the same room again. I really miss it. I miss getting to perform and interact with all the musicians I am lucky enough to play with.

I think the main lesson I have learned is take nothing for granted. Things can change dramatically in no time at all and you have absolutely no control over things at times.

You can find Kevin’s music in various places, including the following websites: www.kevinhenderson.co.uk www.kevinandneil.com (new album: Burden Lake) www.thenordicfiddlersbloc.com (new album: Bonfrost)

Facebook: www.facebook.com/kevinhendersonmusic

Twitter: www.twitter.com/khendersonmusic

Patreon: www.patreon.com/kevinhenderson

Gary Innes

Instruments: Accordion and Blethering.

I am from Spean Bridge originally in the Highlands.

I was brought up going to the local Accordion and Fiddle club before turning my musical attentions to more folky accordion players like Donald Shaw from Capercaillie and Phil Cunningham from Silly Wizard.

Over the past year, with our band, Mànran, we were supposed to be in North America…

…as well as China, all over Europe, plus hosting our own 10-year anniversary festival at home.

But, of course, none of those trips and tours happened.

Gary Innes I was, however, very grateful to be at home more to spend time with my wife and our daughter. For instance, I was supposed to be on tour in Germany and miss our wee one, Gracie's first birthday - a tour that was booked before we were even ‘expecting’ - so that was lovely to be home for and to celebrate as a family.

Being at home has brought us all ‘virtually’ closer.

During the year, I have performed at various virtual festivals and events around the world, playing my accordion and also presenting some of them.

Early on in lockdown, BBC Radio Scotland also gave me my own show, 'Your Requests with Gary Innes’ which has been brilliant and I present both Take the Floor and Your Requests from my bedroom.

This would have been a totally mad concept just a year or so ago, but that’s the wonderful, crazy nature of the world we now live in. Anything is ‘virtually’ possible.

Although it’s not all been plain sailing.

On one of the earlier live shows, I was recording from our wardrobe and the rail came down on top of me while on air.

After a loud bang (and covered head to toe in all sorts of garments), it was at this point that I decided that a home studio setup would be a better idea. I’d like to say I miss presenting in the wardrobe, but that would be a lie.

Some highlights for me have been being at home a lot more and not constantly travelling.

We sold our house in Glasgow last September and moved to Taynuilt in Argyll. This is the home village of my wife, Hannah.

We bought a bit of land and are currently building a house in the village. We’re also blessed to be expecting another wee girl this July, so as much as it’s been a crazy year, we are very thankful that we still have lots of lovely things to look forward to this summer when I won’t likely be back out on the road touring with the band.

I can’t wait to see family and friends again.

I’ve really missed seeing them all and of course performing with my band mates. From the smallest to the largest of stages, getting the opportunity to perform again in front of anyone is going to be amazing and I don’t suppose any of us will ever take it for granted again.

You can find out more about me, my music and all forms of mischief at www.garyinnes.com or on all social platforms if you search my name.

Gary Innes Lauren MacColl

My instruments are Fiddle & Viola.

I grew up on the Black Isle and learned most of my early traditional music through the summer schools and classes of Fèis Rois. My early influences would've been a lot of Highland and Gaelic music, which continue to inform my playing now. I'm fascinated by the old printed collections.

I was on tour with the group, Salt House, last March in the south of England.

We came home mid-tour when lockdown forced venues to close their doors. Over the last year, I should've been touring extensively in the UK and for two weeks in Germany with both RANT and Salt House, running the Black Isle Fiddle Weekend for its 10th Year, and continuing to teach many private pupils across Strathspey and Easter Ross.

As the year ahead was gradually cancelled and reorganised, I have spent 3 days a week teaching private lessons on Zoom, and some community classes. In the early part of lockdown there was a lot of video/recording/filming work happening, which forced me to learn new skills. I live in Strathnairn, south of Inverness, and spent a large part of the summer last year doing up our house and getting to know our local area better. Lauren MacColl

I released my latest solo album, Landskein, during lockdown.

I felt really lucky to have had that recorded and 'conceptualised' before the pandemic began.

Promoting the album and dealing with the publicity and orders kept me busy in the autumn and it felt really lovely to have made lots of connections with people who found the music during this time. I also hugely enjoyed recording fiddle and viola for Rachel Newton's latest album - in the living room!

I am most looking forward to getting back to collaborating with people in person.

The online world has been amazing for keeping us all going, but nothing can replace the very powerful experience of hearing the vibrations of another instrument beside you, or two voices singing in harmony. I look forward to playing for audiences again, when it is possible, and to sharing in music socially.

I think the biggest lesson for me this year has been ‘patience’.

As freelancers, we are used to being very much in control of our schedule for the next 18 months. To have such uncertainty can be unsettling for many, but it has been hugely encouraging to see the music community come together over the last year.

My latest album Landskein (a collection of mainly old traditional airs, recorded in Abriachan Hall) is available directly at www.laurenmaccoll.bandcamp.com

You can find out about my music at www.laurenmaccoll.co.uk and my bands, RANT (at www.rantfiddles.com), and Salt House (at www.salthousemusic.com).

Lauren MacColl (Photo: Somhairle MacDonald)

Alistair McCulloch

My instrument is the Fiddle.

I’m based in Ayrshire. I grew up playing in the Ayr & Prestwick Strathspey and Reel Society, and Ayrshire Fiddle Orchestra.

I was a member of the SFO for 16 years.

My playing has been influenced by many people including Douglas Lawrence (who was my teacher), Willie Hunter, Aly Bain, Jerry Holland, Cathal Hayden, Tommy Peoples, Liz Carroll and many more. I like to play in a range of styles and have been a member of numerous bands and ensembles playing trad music in many forms (ceilidh/dance bands, folk groups, duos, solo fiddle, larger projects).

AlistairAlistair McCulloch McCulloch I was incredibly lucky to tour for three weeks in the USA in January /February 2020.

All other tours, concerts, festivals, gigs, summer schools were cancelled or postponed. e.g. China tour with the Alistair McCulloch Trio. 20th anniversary Scottish tour with Alistair McCulloch Trio, gigs in Poland and Ireland, Niel Gow Festival, Land O’ Burns Fiddle Weekend, Dunoon Trad Summer School.

The furthest I have travelled in the past year was a day out to Northumberland.

The vast majority of my work at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland has been online. It’s the same for my private teaching.

I have collaborated with other string instructors recently to produce educational videos for the East Ayrshire Primary Schools Strings Project.

I am also one of the founding trad music tutors for the new online Scottish Music Academy (the brainchild of a certain Blair Parham!). I have created two complete video courses in Intermediate Scottish Fiddle and Advanced Scottish Fiddle techniques. I’m currently creating a third course in the Art of Strathspey playing.

I’ve also had more time this past year to compose music.

There have been a few musical highlights even apart from the US tour.

I enjoyed collaborating with musicians in the USA to be part of a virtual band for New Hampshire Folk Festival.

I was also involved in Ed Pearlman’s (fiddle- online.com) Covid concert series which featured fiddlers from across the world. Other online performances included concerts for: NTS USA; the Chicago Scots; the Scottish lowlands virtual tour; and the Niel Gow Festival. I have been a guest on Travelling Folk, Take the Floor, Tartan Tunes and Radio Shetland.

On the Burns Gregg fiddle I was lucky to be filmed on location at Burns Cottage, the Bachelor’s Club and Ayr’s Gaiety Theatre for various virtual events including the Burns Big Night In, the Burns Cottage Burns Supper and the Burns Humanitarian Award.

I’m really missing performing live.

Also, all the elements associated with live performance: e.g. travel, meeting new people, the social side. I can’t wait to get back to playing live but it will probably take a period of Alistair McCulloch transition and adjustment.

I will never take for granted all of the amazing experiences and opportunities I have had in my career as a musician. I may slow down a bit too and take more time to enjoy the simple pleasures of life. For me, that’s the outdoors, walking, fishing, birdwatching, wildlife, and cooking,

Website – www.alistairmcculloch.com Facebook – Alistair McCulloch Music Tuition www.coila.com Last album – Off the Hook by the Alistair McCulloch Trio Alistair McCulloch Collection tunebooks.

Thank you to all the musicians who took the time and trouble to tell us about their experiences of the last year.

Please investigate their wonderful music further and support them in any way you can.

We hope that, by the time of the next Newsletter, we will have a completed rebrand and a new website to reveal and report to you.

It will mean a new look for the newsletter too.

As ever, we remain hopeful that 2021 will see us return to a concert hall near you.

Thank you for your continued support.

SFO Contacts

Secretary SFO Secretary, 44 Roman Road, Almondbank, Perth PH1 3LQ

Treasurer SFO Treasurer, 0/1 162 Hill Street, Glasgow G3 6US

Patrons/Friends SFO Patrons/Friends, 24 Golf Crescent, Troon, Ayrshire KA10 6JZ

Postal Sales SFO Merchandise, 3 Crummieholm Gardens, Troon, Ayrshire, KA10 7HZ

Forthcoming concerts

Aberdeen Beach Ballroom 24 April 2021 CANCELLED

Edinburgh Usher Hall 12 June 2021 CANCELLED

Glasgow Royal Concert 21 August 2021 Tickets not yet on sale Hall

Edinburgh Usher Hall 30 December 2021 Tickets not yet on sale

Perth Concert Hall 26 February 2022 Tickets not yet on sale

Clickable links to the ticket booking pages for the various concerts above (when tickets go on sale!) can be found on the SFO’s home page at http://sfo.org.uk/ - HERE