Feis Rois CD
Item Posted: Wednesday 28th March , 2007
Fèis Rois CD
Review from Box and Fiddle:
Any initiative which encourages young performers to play in public has to be, prima facie, commended. Increasingly a large section of Scottish youth see traditional music as having a lot to offer, and role models from Plockton School of Excellence, RSAMD and the Young Traditional Musicians of the Year increasingly give our younger players something to aim for.
Often performances by the young are attended by doting family and friends, who, understandably, suppress their objectivity and critical faculties! But at festivals and workshops throughout Scotland there are a growing number of young players who can hold up their heads when compared with their seniors.
One of the many organisations who have instilled both enthusiasm and quality in their members is Fèis Rois. Deserved winners of the Community Project of the Year Award in 2004, Fèis Rois have gone a substantial and important stage further by producing a cd. The sheer volume of recordings being produced by the traditional music industry is growing exponentially. Cheaper technology, increasing audiences, more musicians playing professionally and touring, all play their part. That is not to say that it has become easy as the competition for the buyer’s wallet is fierce.
This cd should do well not just amongst the huge support base that Fèis Rois have built up, but also amongst those who want to hear fresh and young talent at its best.
Fèis Rois has established for 20 years as the main development organisation for promotion of Gaelic music and culture in Ross and Cromarty, has gathered forty seven of the finest teenage solo musicians and groups together on a compilation album of traditional and contemporary Highland music. The album combines solo and groups pieces and those familiar with the Fèis Rois Cèilidh Trail which entertain thousands of people each summer in Ross-Shire will be delighted with the many rich tracks from the group.
Fèis Rois manager Rita Hunter says, “This is a vibrant and exciting album which captures a taste of everything Fèis Rois has to offer such as our year-round weekly classes, monthly master classes, teenage groupwork, Summer Cèilidh Trail and of course our ever popular Senior Fèis, which reached its’ highest ever attendance level this year. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate our 20th Anniversary than with this heart warming album.”
Charlie McKerron won the Composer of the Year Award at this year’s Hands up for Trad Awards, and was seminal in his help in producing this cd, showing great encouragement and infinite patience to all the participants! He was also impressed by them, saying: “This CD showcases the wealth of talent coming through today and leaves me with no worried about the future of Scottish traditional music.”
Among the talented young Highlanders featured on the album are rising fiddle star Graham Mackenzie from Inverness who was the youngest ever winner of a Celtic Connections Danny Kyle Award and Dingwall’s very own Katie Mackenzie, who is currently studying Scottish Music at the RSAMD in Glasgow, leads the way with Gaelic song.
The album also features music from Fèis Rois’ sell out Celtic Connections concert in 2005 with a special guest appearance from former Fèis Rois participant and current winner of the BBC Young Folk Musician of the Year; Lauren MacColl.
The cd has been funded by Leader +, Ross and Cromarty Enterprise and The Highland Council, and is available direct from Fèis Rois on 01349 862 600 or email feisrois@feisean.org. Fèis Rois have been asked to return to Celtic Connections 2006, with their own concert and to perform with Donald Shaw of Capercaillie and his “Harvest” concert.