manx celtic music and dance

Fine Tunes at Bree Fiddle and Band Camp Feb 2012

01 Mar 2012


Young musicians met at Douglas Youth Arts Centre on Saturday 18 February for a special day of Manx music workshops. Violinists had the chance to work on their technique and learn tunes by ear with top fiddle player Katie Lawrence, as well as joining other instrumentalists to create interesting band arrangements, tutored by MHF Music Team and Beki Collings. Some of the players also composed their own tunes in the Manx idiom and the day concluded with a mini-concert for family and friends. All of the fiddle players performed ‘Slinky Thing’ by Gilno Carswell, before dividing into smaller groups for the rest of the concert. Fiddle Group 1 performed Paul Roger’s tune ‘Creggyn’ followed by ‘Mynor’ written by David Kilgallon and Gilno Carswell. Bree Band 1 then performed a three part arrangement of the air ‘Three Eeasteyryn Boghtey’ and Laura Rowles’ lively tune, ‘Slippers’. Fiddle Group 2 then took to the stage to play ‘The Broken Hair Clip’ and ‘Lheim y Vraddan’ by Peddyr Cubberley, and they were followed by Bree Band 2 who played ‘Illiam Boght’(with ‘Smoke on the Water’!) and Manx jigs ‘Creg Willy Syl’ and ‘Hop tu naa’. All of the members joined in for a grande finale of Bree favourite ‘Three Little Boats’.

The next Bree get-together for musicians in school years 6 – 13 will be an Irish workshop on Saturday 10 March, 3 – 4.30pm at the Nunnery Chapel in Douglas. At 3pm on Saturday 31 March, Bree will be hosting an informal session at the Northern Lights Community Centre in Ramsey as part of the Shennaghys Jiu Celtic youth festival.

Chloë Woolley

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