We are offering a free opportunity for you to sample some of John’s own compositions that he scored for the SFO, as well as some of his evocative arrangements of compositions by others (and of some traditional melodies). This is in the form of an email series which will give you a weekly John Mason tune / arrangement direct to your inbox, with a link to a recording on YouTube and some information and background about the melody.
Over the last few hundred years, performers and composers of Scottish Fiddle Music have relied upon the commissioning of new music by generous patrons and sponsors. Think of the likes of Niel Gow, William Marshall and James Scott Skinner…
In August 1991, the SFO undertook its first ever trip to Ireland, playing concerts in Belfast and Dublin. In the words of the SFO’s John Mason at the time, he had “become enthralled with Ireland’s culture and its people”. He had already been a regular visitor to Ireland over many years…
We would love to see you at any of the six concerts we play in the UK each year – taking in some of the best concert halls across the land. Our international tours have taken us to North America, Asia and Australia.
This podcast features snippets from the SFO's concert at Inverurie Town Hall in September 2019. Podcast 2 - The SFO at Inverurie - September 2019 The following music and song is featured: Willie Kidd's Welcome to Orkney (intro) - by John Mason March Strathspey and...
James Scott Skinner (1843-1927), “The Strathspey King” was born in Banchory. He started his young musical career playing violincello for his elder brother, Sandy, and later for the celebrated Aberdeen fiddler and teacher Peter Milne. At a still early age, he became...
Would you be up for dancing at an SFO concert? The short video below features "The Wild Rover", part of a set of Sing-Along Waltzes we like to play at a regular point in our concert programme where we invite the audience (along with some members of the orchestra) to...
Virtually all SFO concerts begin with a tune in March tempo. The very first SFO concert at Aberdeen Music Hall on 22 March 1980 opened with John Mason's 'Patrol' March "Fiddlers to the Fore". The most popular Scottish dance with march-time backing is The Gay Gordons....
Scottish Fiddle Orchestra concerts include fiddle music. But we have a host of other instruments besides violins. Cellos, Double Basses, Flutes, Accordion, Percussion, Piano - sometimes Organ too - and, last but not least, the Human Voice. At the foot of this article,...
The SFO had a memorable concert in Inverurie Town Hall on 27 September 2019 as part of the town’s first In-Tune festival. We were delighted to be joined by our good friends, Colette Ruddy, mezzo-soprano, and Dennis Haggerty, tenor, for the occasion. The festival took...