Personnel
John Mason
John M. Mason, MBE Music in general and Scottish music in particular have been the lifelong interests of this lawyer from Troon in Ayrshire, whose fiddling stems from his Orcadian roots followed by his later upbringing in Wigtownshire. The Scottish Fiddle Orchestra is largely his creation and he has been its Director of Music and Principal Conductor since the first performance in 1980. With few exceptions, the orchestral arrangements, both instrumental and vocal, have been penned by John and these now approach some 400 items! He maintains that he could wallpaper his house with all the handwritten parts but it would be a bit boring. In 1987 John’s efforts both in music and in and raising of charity monies through music were recognised in his being awarded the MBE by Her Majesty the Queen at Buckingham Palace which is a day he will never forget. It is generally accepted in Scottish musical circles that John has been very much responsible for the “popularising” of Scottish fiddle music over the last thirty years and he has seen the change of teaching attitude towards such music from being the “poor relation” in violin teaching to the vibrant force the “ fiddle” presently enjoys.
Musical Director
Blair Parham
Blair has been a member of the orchestra since 1995, when he joined as a cellist. Since then he has taken part in numerous roles within the orchestra, one of which, believe it or not, was to lower the average age of the Glee Club by twenty years…. In 2008 he was delighted to be asked to take up the baton alongside John. After completing a degree in Genetics and a postgraduate diploma in Information Technology, he lived and worked for a year in Canada and Australia. On his return to Scottish shores in 2001, he was invited to take up the assistant musical director role of the Ayrshire Fiddle Orchestra, a youth group with which he had played since the age of ten. His music has seen him perform all over Europe, Australia, New Zealand, China and North America, including The White House. In 2003 he completed his Postgraduate Certificate of Education where he was awarded the university's Court Medal for Academic Achievement, and now teaches Biology and Science to secondary pupils. He is still searching for a solution to hereditary high foreheads.
Blair Parham
Conductor
Bill Cook
Bill Cook Bill Cook has been the leader of the Orchestra since the early 1980’s and took over from the original leader, Willie Dunlop. He lives in the historical town of Clackmannan and takes part in many of the local musical activities. He is also the conductor of The Stirling Caledonian Strathspey and Reel Society, holding this post since 1970. Bill is also involved in the Country Dance Band scene and has broadcast with numerous dance bands. A well-known figure in traditional and Scottish traditional fiddling circles, Bill has been invited to adjudicate at many prestigious competitions and, as a soloist of note, has played in most of the larger venues in Scotland. He has published a number of books, the most important being “A Guide to Scottish Fiddling” which is on its third reprint.
Leader
More Articles...
Page 1 of 2
«StartPrev12NextEnd»
