34th Festival 2008 at Dunblane Hydro
by James Coutts
B&F April 2008
By teatime on Friday 29th February, a large contingent of competitors and enthusiasts had gathered at Dunblane Hydro Hotel for the next day’s Festival. After a lovely meal and some fine wine we returned to the lounge area for a few drinks and some craic before trying, and failing miserably, to get to bed at a respectable hour given our early starts the next day. We were also treated to some great music on the Friday night with some relaxing piano music in the Balmoral Restaurant, some great easy listening and light jazz from a quartet in the Stuart Lounge which included the excellent John Sinton on bass, while in the Strathallan Suite where our own dance would take place the next evening, we were treated to the sound of the legendary Billy Thom, whose jazz quartet provided the music for the dinner dance.
By the time I surfaced at 6.30am on the Saturday the excellent hotel staff had all the halls laid out for the Festival and after quickly rigging up the PA system in the Strathallan, and an even quicker breakfast, we were open for business at 8am.
A competition entry of 260, the highest since 1985, ensured a busy and hectic admissions and registration desk. Inevitably with the change of venue, some Festival stalwarts were missing this year, but it was great to welcome many new faces to the Festival as well as welcoming back some people we hadn’t seen for quite a few years.
The tremendous entry levels, particularly in the fiddle sections gave us a bit of a scheduling problem, albeit a nice problem to have, but by and large we managed to fit in most sections comfortably, thanks in no small way to the efforts of the announcers, clerks and stewards in the various halls. Because the fiddle classes had to be held in the halls with pianos in them, it meant the accordion classes had to be held in some of the smaller conference rooms, most of which were well filled, creating a great atmosphere. However, the hall that held the Senior Trad Accordion, was filled to bursting point and this is something we will seek to address next year.
The compactness of the venue, with the Registration Desk and Trade Stands being right in the heart of the foyer gave the whole day a great buzz. The only couple of problems were in relation to queues for food and teas/coffees and car parking. The Hydro quickly acted to provide an extra catering outlet, which seemed to do a roaring trade and while most people who had difficulty in parking were considerate in where they did eventually park, a couple of people from the Festival were unfortunately less so. A Renault Scenic parked on a yellow box junction close to the corner of the hotel meaning a coach taking guests to Stirling was unable to get out, despite us making various pleas and announcements to move the vehicle. This meant the hotel having to transport the coach passengers to Stirling by their own transport, which incurred enormous expenses and inconvenience. I would therefore ask the guilty party to show more consideration if attending next year’s Festival as incidents like this can adversely affect our relationship with the Hotel, to everyone’s detriment.
However, back to the music and there was great feedback from both audience and adjudicators about the quality of music performed. It was nice to see some new names making the breakthrough into the prize lists alongside some of the familiar names. However, on the day two names really stood out. 15-year-old Maggie Adamson, who attends faithfully year in year out, all the way from Shetland, won both Junior Fiddle Classes and consequently The Judith Linton Trophy for the Best Overall Junior Fiddle, as well as winning the Own Composition Class. She is a tremendous young musician and will no doubt make an impact in the Senior Classes in the coming years. The other player worthy of a special mention is Tom Orr. Despite having won almost all the big competitions several times over by the ripe old age of 21, he still continues to compete at our Festival, which gives the Festival added prestige. However, it’s his willingness to play in bands and trios with even younger musicians on second accordion, piano and bass guitar, that makes him such a credit to the Festival and the accordion and fiddle music scene in general. It’s therefore worth mentioning that both Maggie and Tom played in the winning trio and band led by Andrew Gibb, another fine young musician.
After the Bands brought the competitions to a great climax as usual, it was ‘all go’ to get set for the concert, expertly compered by Dave Millward and John Caskie. It was nice to see a marked increase in the concert attendance this year, and although it was slightly shorter than normal, mainly due to many multiple prizewinners, the standard was excellent.
The Hotel staff, allied with a few volunteers within our own ranks, worked like Trojans to clear the rows of seats and set the tables out for the dance, and thanks to their sterling efforts the dance was underway at the scheduled start time of 9pm. Neil MacEachern and his Band provided some great swinging music, which ensured a packed dance floor from start to finish, and their efforts were thoroughly appreciated by the large crowd, which created a great atmosphere throughout the dance.
At the back of one, the crowds started to disperse to various late night parties within the lounge area and several bedrooms within the hotel, ensuring a few fragile individuals on the Sunday (including myself before someone else mentions it first!)
Overall, the feeling was that the Festival had been a success in its new surroundings, but we are always interested in hearing opinions on how to improve it and would particularly like to hear from people who chose not to attend this year.
As mentioned previously, because of the uncertainly surrounding the Brunton Halls refurbishment, Dunblane Hydro has been booked to host the 35th Festival on Saturday 7th March 2009. Plans are underway already and we look forward to welcoming you once again.
Finally, my sincere thanks go to all competitors, parents, adjudicators, stewards, helpers, enthusiasts, raffle donors, traders, advertisers, BBC Radio Scotland and, most of all the Festival Committee, especially Secretary Lorna Mair who, as always, makes an immense contribution to the Festival, ensuring my job is remarkably easy.
RESULTS
Junior Accordion
Under 10 Traditional Accordion Solo – Islesteps Shield
1) Jake Laing (Windygates)
2) Katie Todd (Dalkeith)
3)
Under 12 Traditional Accordion Solo – Pentland Cup
1) Emma Dickson (Dolphinton)
2) Adam Gibb (Biggar)
3) Calum Wilson (Seafield)
12 and Under 16 Traditional Solo – Jim Johnstone Cup
1) Craig Paton (Milnathort)
2=) Andrew Gibb (Biggar) & David Kennedy (Thornhill)
3)
Junior Accordion Solo Pipe Music – Bill Black Cup
1) Craig Paton (Milnathort)
2) Andrew Gibb (Biggar)
3) Luke Crawford (Ladybank)
Junior Traditional Duet – Angus Howie Cups
1) Andrew Gibb (Biggar) & Maggie Adamson (Shetland)
2) Mhairi Mackinnon (Perth) & Hannah Fraser (Bankfoot)
3) Kerry & Sarah Alexander (Buckie)
Overall Junior Accordion Champion – Alex Little Memorial Trophy
Criag Paton (Milnathort)
Senior Accordion
Senior Traditional Accordion Solo – Clinkscale Cup
1) Tom Orr (Lanark)
2) Gary Sutherland (Giffordtown)
3) Scott Stevenson (Kirkcaldy)
Senior Accordion Pipe Music Solo – Bill Powrie Memorial Cup
1) Tom Orr (Lanark)
2) Susan MacFadyen (West Kilbride)
3) Neil Angus MacNeil (Aberdeen)
Open Accordion Championship – Todhills Trophy
1) Susan MacFadyen (West Kilbride)
2) Graeme MacKay (Inverness)
3) Jim Gold (Douglas)
Senior Overall Accordion Champion - The Bobby MacLeod Trophy
Tom Orr (Lanark)
Open Buttonkey Accordion Solo – Windygates Trophy
1) Graeme MacKay (Inverness)
2) John Weaks (Glasgow)
3)
Trios – Jimmy Blue Trophy
1) Andrew Gibb (Biggar)
2) Karen Ferguson (Dunlop)
3) Luke Crawford (Ladybank)
Bands – Overall Winner - Iain MacPhail Cup
Andrew Gibb (Biggar)
Runners Up John Fairbairn Memorial Trophy
Craig Paton (Milnathort)
Gary Sutherland (Giffordtown)
Band – Rhythm Section - Arthur Easson Memorial Trophy
Cameron Kellow (Kinross)
Own Composition – Willie Wilson Cup
1) Maggie Adamson (Shetland)
2) Greg Brown (Cupar)
3) Walter Rutherford (Keith)
Under 12 Classical Solo – Kelso Cup
1) Emma Dickson (Dolphinton)
2) Adam Gibb (Biggar)
3) Valerie Barr (Wishaw)
Under 14 Classical Solo – Aberdeen Cup
1) Duncan Muir (Thornhill)
2) Owain Ramsay (Gullane)
3) Rebekah Mitchell (Paisley)
Under 16 Classical Solo – Dundee shield
1) Andrew Mortimer (Dumbarton)
2) Alistair Barr (Wishaw)
3) Adele Queen (Thornhill)
Under 14 Classical Polka Solo – Newtongrange Shield
1) Steven Todd (Dalkeith)
2) Calum W. Muir (Carnwath)
3) Lauru Crawford (Ladybank)
Open Classical Solo – Clinkscale Shield
1) Grant McFarlane (Paisley)
2) Gillian Taylor (Elderslie)
3) Antonia Costello (Paisley)
Under 13 Classical Duet – Beith & District A&F Club Cups (Willie Wilson Memorial Trophies)
1)
2)
Under 16 Classical Duet - Alex MacArthur Cups
1)
2)
3)
Open Classical Duet – Dunfermline Cup
1) Grant McFarlane (Paisley) & Paula Kelly (Renfrew)
2) Kirsten McSporran & Rebekah Mitchell (Paisley)
3) Gillian Taylor (Elderslie) & Alistair Barr (Wishaw)
Classical Polka
Under 10 Classical Polka Solo – The Todhills Trophy
1)
2)
Under 14 Classical Polka Solo – Newtongrange Shield
1)
2)
3)
Open Classical Polka Solo – Tign-Na-Gorm Cup
1) Grant McFarlane (Paisley)
2) Andrew Mortimer (Dumbarton)
3) Luke Crawford (Ladybank)
Under 14 Classical Musette Accordion Solo – John Laidlaw Memorial Trophy
1) Calum W. Muir (Carnwath)
2) Valerie Barr (Wishaw)
3) Roy Anderson (Rosewell)
Open Classical Musette Accordion Solo – Christine Hunter Memorial Trophy
1) Craig Paton (Milnathort)
2) William Scott (Dumbarton)
3) Andrew Mortimer (Dumbarton)
Fiddle Sections
Under 12 Fiddle Solo – NAAFC Musselburgh Festival Trophy
1) Hannah Renton (Aberdeen)
2) George Davidson (Tarves)
3) Eilidh Anderson (Tarland)
Junior Fiddle Solo – MSR – Strathspey and Reel Association Cup
1) Maggie Adamson (Shetland)
2) Mhairi Mackinnon (Perth)
3) Kerry Alexander (Buckie)
Junior Fiddle Solo – Slow Air – Dougie Welsh Cup
1) Maggie Adamson (Shetland)
2) Kerry Alexander (Buckie)
3) Mhairi Mackinnon (Perth)
Senior Fiddle Solo – Slow Strathspey, MSR – St. Boswell Cup
1) Raemond Jappy (Findochty)
2) Graham Mackenzie (Inverness)
3) Nicola Auchnie (Turriff)
Senior Fiddle Solo – Slow Air – Ron Gonella Cup
1) Nicola Auchnie (Turriff)
2) Iain Anderson (Edinburgh)
3) Raemond Jappy (Findochty)
Open Fiddle Championship – Banchory S&R Society Trophy
1) Graham Mackenzie (Inverness)
2) Gemma Donald (Shetland)
3) Maggie Adamson (Shetland)
Overall Fiddle Champion - The Angus Fitchet Trophy
Raemond Jappy (Findochty) & Nicola Auchnie (Turriff)
Overall Junior Fiddle Champion – Judith Linton Trophy
Maggie Adamson (Shetland)
Open Fiddle Groups – Lesmahagow Quaich
1) Andrew Kain Fiddle Group (Newmains)
2) Kain’s Weans (Newmains)
3) Neil Tollan Fiddle Group (Newmains)
Youngest Girl Competitor – John McQueen Medal
Katie Todd (Dalkeith)
Youngest Boy Competitor – John McQueen Medal
Sean Allan (Newmains)
By the time I surfaced at 6.30am on the Saturday the excellent hotel staff had all the halls laid out for the Festival and after quickly rigging up the PA system in the Strathallan, and an even quicker breakfast, we were open for business at 8am.
A competition entry of 260, the highest since 1985, ensured a busy and hectic admissions and registration desk. Inevitably with the change of venue, some Festival stalwarts were missing this year, but it was great to welcome many new faces to the Festival as well as welcoming back some people we hadn’t seen for quite a few years.
The tremendous entry levels, particularly in the fiddle sections gave us a bit of a scheduling problem, albeit a nice problem to have, but by and large we managed to fit in most sections comfortably, thanks in no small way to the efforts of the announcers, clerks and stewards in the various halls. Because the fiddle classes had to be held in the halls with pianos in them, it meant the accordion classes had to be held in some of the smaller conference rooms, most of which were well filled, creating a great atmosphere. However, the hall that held the Senior Trad Accordion, was filled to bursting point and this is something we will seek to address next year.
The compactness of the venue, with the Registration Desk and Trade Stands being right in the heart of the foyer gave the whole day a great buzz. The only couple of problems were in relation to queues for food and teas/coffees and car parking. The Hydro quickly acted to provide an extra catering outlet, which seemed to do a roaring trade and while most people who had difficulty in parking were considerate in where they did eventually park, a couple of people from the Festival were unfortunately less so. A Renault Scenic parked on a yellow box junction close to the corner of the hotel meaning a coach taking guests to Stirling was unable to get out, despite us making various pleas and announcements to move the vehicle. This meant the hotel having to transport the coach passengers to Stirling by their own transport, which incurred enormous expenses and inconvenience. I would therefore ask the guilty party to show more consideration if attending next year’s Festival as incidents like this can adversely affect our relationship with the Hotel, to everyone’s detriment.
However, back to the music and there was great feedback from both audience and adjudicators about the quality of music performed. It was nice to see some new names making the breakthrough into the prize lists alongside some of the familiar names. However, on the day two names really stood out. 15-year-old Maggie Adamson, who attends faithfully year in year out, all the way from Shetland, won both Junior Fiddle Classes and consequently The Judith Linton Trophy for the Best Overall Junior Fiddle, as well as winning the Own Composition Class. She is a tremendous young musician and will no doubt make an impact in the Senior Classes in the coming years. The other player worthy of a special mention is Tom Orr. Despite having won almost all the big competitions several times over by the ripe old age of 21, he still continues to compete at our Festival, which gives the Festival added prestige. However, it’s his willingness to play in bands and trios with even younger musicians on second accordion, piano and bass guitar, that makes him such a credit to the Festival and the accordion and fiddle music scene in general. It’s therefore worth mentioning that both Maggie and Tom played in the winning trio and band led by Andrew Gibb, another fine young musician.
After the Bands brought the competitions to a great climax as usual, it was ‘all go’ to get set for the concert, expertly compered by Dave Millward and John Caskie. It was nice to see a marked increase in the concert attendance this year, and although it was slightly shorter than normal, mainly due to many multiple prizewinners, the standard was excellent.
The Hotel staff, allied with a few volunteers within our own ranks, worked like Trojans to clear the rows of seats and set the tables out for the dance, and thanks to their sterling efforts the dance was underway at the scheduled start time of 9pm. Neil MacEachern and his Band provided some great swinging music, which ensured a packed dance floor from start to finish, and their efforts were thoroughly appreciated by the large crowd, which created a great atmosphere throughout the dance.
At the back of one, the crowds started to disperse to various late night parties within the lounge area and several bedrooms within the hotel, ensuring a few fragile individuals on the Sunday (including myself before someone else mentions it first!)
Overall, the feeling was that the Festival had been a success in its new surroundings, but we are always interested in hearing opinions on how to improve it and would particularly like to hear from people who chose not to attend this year.
As mentioned previously, because of the uncertainly surrounding the Brunton Halls refurbishment, Dunblane Hydro has been booked to host the 35th Festival on Saturday 7th March 2009. Plans are underway already and we look forward to welcoming you once again.
Finally, my sincere thanks go to all competitors, parents, adjudicators, stewards, helpers, enthusiasts, raffle donors, traders, advertisers, BBC Radio Scotland and, most of all the Festival Committee, especially Secretary Lorna Mair who, as always, makes an immense contribution to the Festival, ensuring my job is remarkably easy.
RESULTS
Junior Accordion
Under 10 Traditional Accordion Solo – Islesteps Shield
1) Jake Laing (Windygates)
2) Katie Todd (Dalkeith)
3)
Under 12 Traditional Accordion Solo – Pentland Cup
1) Emma Dickson (Dolphinton)
2) Adam Gibb (Biggar)
3) Calum Wilson (Seafield)
12 and Under 16 Traditional Solo – Jim Johnstone Cup
1) Craig Paton (Milnathort)
2=) Andrew Gibb (Biggar) & David Kennedy (Thornhill)
3)
Junior Accordion Solo Pipe Music – Bill Black Cup
1) Craig Paton (Milnathort)
2) Andrew Gibb (Biggar)
3) Luke Crawford (Ladybank)
Junior Traditional Duet – Angus Howie Cups
1) Andrew Gibb (Biggar) & Maggie Adamson (Shetland)
2) Mhairi Mackinnon (Perth) & Hannah Fraser (Bankfoot)
3) Kerry & Sarah Alexander (Buckie)
Overall Junior Accordion Champion – Alex Little Memorial Trophy
Criag Paton (Milnathort)
Senior Accordion
Senior Traditional Accordion Solo – Clinkscale Cup
1) Tom Orr (Lanark)
2) Gary Sutherland (Giffordtown)
3) Scott Stevenson (Kirkcaldy)
Senior Accordion Pipe Music Solo – Bill Powrie Memorial Cup
1) Tom Orr (Lanark)
2) Susan MacFadyen (West Kilbride)
3) Neil Angus MacNeil (Aberdeen)
Open Accordion Championship – Todhills Trophy
1) Susan MacFadyen (West Kilbride)
2) Graeme MacKay (Inverness)
3) Jim Gold (Douglas)
Senior Overall Accordion Champion - The Bobby MacLeod Trophy
Tom Orr (Lanark)
Open Buttonkey Accordion Solo – Windygates Trophy
1) Graeme MacKay (Inverness)
2) John Weaks (Glasgow)
3)
Trios – Jimmy Blue Trophy
1) Andrew Gibb (Biggar)
2) Karen Ferguson (Dunlop)
3) Luke Crawford (Ladybank)
Bands – Overall Winner - Iain MacPhail Cup
Andrew Gibb (Biggar)
Runners Up John Fairbairn Memorial Trophy
Craig Paton (Milnathort)
Gary Sutherland (Giffordtown)
Band – Rhythm Section - Arthur Easson Memorial Trophy
Cameron Kellow (Kinross)
Own Composition – Willie Wilson Cup
1) Maggie Adamson (Shetland)
2) Greg Brown (Cupar)
3) Walter Rutherford (Keith)
Under 12 Classical Solo – Kelso Cup
1) Emma Dickson (Dolphinton)
2) Adam Gibb (Biggar)
3) Valerie Barr (Wishaw)
Under 14 Classical Solo – Aberdeen Cup
1) Duncan Muir (Thornhill)
2) Owain Ramsay (Gullane)
3) Rebekah Mitchell (Paisley)
Under 16 Classical Solo – Dundee shield
1) Andrew Mortimer (Dumbarton)
2) Alistair Barr (Wishaw)
3) Adele Queen (Thornhill)
Under 14 Classical Polka Solo – Newtongrange Shield
1) Steven Todd (Dalkeith)
2) Calum W. Muir (Carnwath)
3) Lauru Crawford (Ladybank)
Open Classical Solo – Clinkscale Shield
1) Grant McFarlane (Paisley)
2) Gillian Taylor (Elderslie)
3) Antonia Costello (Paisley)
Under 13 Classical Duet – Beith & District A&F Club Cups (Willie Wilson Memorial Trophies)
1)
2)
Under 16 Classical Duet - Alex MacArthur Cups
1)
2)
3)
Open Classical Duet – Dunfermline Cup
1) Grant McFarlane (Paisley) & Paula Kelly (Renfrew)
2) Kirsten McSporran & Rebekah Mitchell (Paisley)
3) Gillian Taylor (Elderslie) & Alistair Barr (Wishaw)
Classical Polka
Under 10 Classical Polka Solo – The Todhills Trophy
1)
2)
Under 14 Classical Polka Solo – Newtongrange Shield
1)
2)
3)
Open Classical Polka Solo – Tign-Na-Gorm Cup
1) Grant McFarlane (Paisley)
2) Andrew Mortimer (Dumbarton)
3) Luke Crawford (Ladybank)
Under 14 Classical Musette Accordion Solo – John Laidlaw Memorial Trophy
1) Calum W. Muir (Carnwath)
2) Valerie Barr (Wishaw)
3) Roy Anderson (Rosewell)
Open Classical Musette Accordion Solo – Christine Hunter Memorial Trophy
1) Craig Paton (Milnathort)
2) William Scott (Dumbarton)
3) Andrew Mortimer (Dumbarton)
Fiddle Sections
Under 12 Fiddle Solo – NAAFC Musselburgh Festival Trophy
1) Hannah Renton (Aberdeen)
2) George Davidson (Tarves)
3) Eilidh Anderson (Tarland)
Junior Fiddle Solo – MSR – Strathspey and Reel Association Cup
1) Maggie Adamson (Shetland)
2) Mhairi Mackinnon (Perth)
3) Kerry Alexander (Buckie)
Junior Fiddle Solo – Slow Air – Dougie Welsh Cup
1) Maggie Adamson (Shetland)
2) Kerry Alexander (Buckie)
3) Mhairi Mackinnon (Perth)
Senior Fiddle Solo – Slow Strathspey, MSR – St. Boswell Cup
1) Raemond Jappy (Findochty)
2) Graham Mackenzie (Inverness)
3) Nicola Auchnie (Turriff)
Senior Fiddle Solo – Slow Air – Ron Gonella Cup
1) Nicola Auchnie (Turriff)
2) Iain Anderson (Edinburgh)
3) Raemond Jappy (Findochty)
Open Fiddle Championship – Banchory S&R Society Trophy
1) Graham Mackenzie (Inverness)
2) Gemma Donald (Shetland)
3) Maggie Adamson (Shetland)
Overall Fiddle Champion - The Angus Fitchet Trophy
Raemond Jappy (Findochty) & Nicola Auchnie (Turriff)
Overall Junior Fiddle Champion – Judith Linton Trophy
Maggie Adamson (Shetland)
Open Fiddle Groups – Lesmahagow Quaich
1) Andrew Kain Fiddle Group (Newmains)
2) Kain’s Weans (Newmains)
3) Neil Tollan Fiddle Group (Newmains)
Youngest Girl Competitor – John McQueen Medal
Katie Todd (Dalkeith)
Youngest Boy Competitor – John McQueen Medal
Sean Allan (Newmains)