Liam Stewart
by William Boyd
One phrase has become something of a mantra in the Clubs – “The future of our kind of music is safe in their hands”. That said, there are many talented and very well taught youngsters coming along today which does indeed bode well for the future. I thought, however, something else might be done hence this is the first of what we plan as a series. You, dear reader, can let us know, politely please, whether you approve or, if you think to the contrary, that “the tyranny of youth” has gone too far.
Mair by guid luck than guid judgment I had already interviewed two young accordionists, both of whom subsequently reached the finals of this year’s All Scotland Open Accordion Solo Championship at Perth and one of them, Liam Stewart, the subject of this profile, won it. (They seem to be getting younger every year, or am I just getting old?) A lifetime ambition achieved at the tender age of nineteen – oh help, doesn’t that make you feel inadequate? As the story unfolds you will see why his success is well-deserved.
Family influence has been very strong; Granddad Billy is a fiddler, but more usually is seen playing the drums. Ayrshire enthusiasts will know Billy, along with David Ross, as the stalwarts behind the Galston Club where Liam too has been a regular for some years. Father Bobby, no mean accordionist himself, plays second box in Roy Hendrie’s band and possesses a considerable repertoire of Continental music, much to my liking I may say. Participation in Festivals runs in this family because Bobby used to do the competition circuit some 25 years ago, though not with quite as much success as his son has now achieved. Indeed both Father and Grandfather generously state is now a better player than they are. With a lineage like this it is hardly surprising that he is keen on the accordion, but the equation would be incomplete without factoring in the effect of his teacher, Ian Muir, to whom he pays tribute.
Liam intends making music his career, for he is currently doing a Bachelor of Education Degree at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, his first instrument being the accordion and his second, the piano. His tutor is none other than Ian Muir. Keyboards are not Liam’s only musical instruments as he is often seen at the drums backing others at his local Galston Club. His Granddad has an interesting dictum about drumming, namely “The drums should be felt, not heard”, an injunction which no doubt Liam heeds.
Whilst taking part in competition his face conveys a look of total concentration and dedication developed over the decade since he started playing at the age of eight. His route into the competition world was not, however, the usual one. In primary school his teacher suggested he enter the ‘Junior Burnsian of the Year’ run by the World Burns Federation which he did – and duly won. That was in 1995 and he followed this up by winning the ‘Young Burnsian of the Year’ in 2000. Open to correction, but we think he is the only young person to have won both titles. While many readers may not have heard of this event it is worth noting that almost 160,000 entries are received from all round the world so this was no mean feat (160,000 entries! That’s a number to give Bill Wilkie and James Coutts sleepless nights!)
Liam has some interesting views on the right approach to competition. It is essential to have some nerves he says, adding, “And you can quote me on that”. Watching him you would hardly know it, such is his calm, assured manner. What he didn’t say, being a rather modest, self effacing type, was that his preparation is nothing if not thorough. Others following in his footsteps may care to note this example. He used the Ayrshire Scottish Music Association Festival just three weeks before Perth as his test run for the latter, playing the same pieces so that he could sort out any wee problems in the interim. Obviously it worked on the big day in the Fair City. I telephoned his afterwards to congratulate him when he admitted that his win had only just begun to sink in; his one memory being of the thing “….passing in a blur”. (Don’t worry Liam, once you see your name engraved on the Jimmy Shand Shield you will know you won it!)
Others beware! He is talking about trying to win it again, but not next year. While chatting to him at the Ayrshire Festival he said that the only title he still wanted to win was the Senior Solo at Perth. Well, he wasted no time about it and that win completes the magic quartet for him, namely The Junior and senior solo titles at both Perth and Musselburgh. And he is still not aged twenty! Liam’s present accordion is a Hohner Morino IV, but he originally played a 96 bass Borsini for which he obviously still has a lot of affection as he was at pains to stress that he won a lot more competitions with it.
Oddly enough, I became aware of Liam, not in the competition scene, but when he turned up three years ago as the guest artist at my local Club. I was very interested to hear this lad perform and he was quite a revelation. Rightly or wrongly, I tend to watch a player’s left hand to see how ‘strong’ it is. (I would be curious to learn the views of others on this). One set Liam played was Never on a Sunday and Zorba the Greek when at one point he swung his right hand away off the keyboard playing the tune entirely on the left. There were gasps of amazement. It is not the sort of thing you forget in a hurry; in fact the wonderful memory of it still lingers. With his wide repertoire including many Continental pieces and, coupled with an easy manner at the microphone, he was a big hit. I always regarded him as a solo performer, or, with his granddad as a duo, but Liam heads The Clachan Ceilidh Band with fiddlers like Neil Adams of Prestwick or Andy Kain doing the usual round of gigs, weddings and dances.
As we can see he has a wide range of musical tastes, though I await the day when he will slip Mozart’s Rondo alla Turka into a set as I saw his mentor, Ian Muir, do on one occasion. (Purists will wince, but I enjoyed it – many thanks Ian). Early influences in Liam’s life were the bands of Jim Johnstone, John Ellis and Iain MacPhail, while today he nominates The MacPhail Band and The Black Rose Ceilidh Band as being his top choices. Isn’t it amazing how many youngsters name The Black Rose as their favourite band?
With Liam following his mentor into a career in music teaching this is just what the accordion scene in Scotland needs and we must all wish him well. After I had a bad experience forty years ago learning piano at the hands of a tyrant we parted company, but I never lost the idea that I might…(No Liam, if you are wise you won’t ever take me on as a pupil !) All being well it looks as though we are all going to have the great pleasure of hearing this talented young man for years to come.
Box and Fiddle
December 2003
Mair by guid luck than guid judgment I had already interviewed two young accordionists, both of whom subsequently reached the finals of this year’s All Scotland Open Accordion Solo Championship at Perth and one of them, Liam Stewart, the subject of this profile, won it. (They seem to be getting younger every year, or am I just getting old?) A lifetime ambition achieved at the tender age of nineteen – oh help, doesn’t that make you feel inadequate? As the story unfolds you will see why his success is well-deserved.
Family influence has been very strong; Granddad Billy is a fiddler, but more usually is seen playing the drums. Ayrshire enthusiasts will know Billy, along with David Ross, as the stalwarts behind the Galston Club where Liam too has been a regular for some years. Father Bobby, no mean accordionist himself, plays second box in Roy Hendrie’s band and possesses a considerable repertoire of Continental music, much to my liking I may say. Participation in Festivals runs in this family because Bobby used to do the competition circuit some 25 years ago, though not with quite as much success as his son has now achieved. Indeed both Father and Grandfather generously state is now a better player than they are. With a lineage like this it is hardly surprising that he is keen on the accordion, but the equation would be incomplete without factoring in the effect of his teacher, Ian Muir, to whom he pays tribute.
Liam intends making music his career, for he is currently doing a Bachelor of Education Degree at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, his first instrument being the accordion and his second, the piano. His tutor is none other than Ian Muir. Keyboards are not Liam’s only musical instruments as he is often seen at the drums backing others at his local Galston Club. His Granddad has an interesting dictum about drumming, namely “The drums should be felt, not heard”, an injunction which no doubt Liam heeds.
Whilst taking part in competition his face conveys a look of total concentration and dedication developed over the decade since he started playing at the age of eight. His route into the competition world was not, however, the usual one. In primary school his teacher suggested he enter the ‘Junior Burnsian of the Year’ run by the World Burns Federation which he did – and duly won. That was in 1995 and he followed this up by winning the ‘Young Burnsian of the Year’ in 2000. Open to correction, but we think he is the only young person to have won both titles. While many readers may not have heard of this event it is worth noting that almost 160,000 entries are received from all round the world so this was no mean feat (160,000 entries! That’s a number to give Bill Wilkie and James Coutts sleepless nights!)
Liam has some interesting views on the right approach to competition. It is essential to have some nerves he says, adding, “And you can quote me on that”. Watching him you would hardly know it, such is his calm, assured manner. What he didn’t say, being a rather modest, self effacing type, was that his preparation is nothing if not thorough. Others following in his footsteps may care to note this example. He used the Ayrshire Scottish Music Association Festival just three weeks before Perth as his test run for the latter, playing the same pieces so that he could sort out any wee problems in the interim. Obviously it worked on the big day in the Fair City. I telephoned his afterwards to congratulate him when he admitted that his win had only just begun to sink in; his one memory being of the thing “….passing in a blur”. (Don’t worry Liam, once you see your name engraved on the Jimmy Shand Shield you will know you won it!)
Others beware! He is talking about trying to win it again, but not next year. While chatting to him at the Ayrshire Festival he said that the only title he still wanted to win was the Senior Solo at Perth. Well, he wasted no time about it and that win completes the magic quartet for him, namely The Junior and senior solo titles at both Perth and Musselburgh. And he is still not aged twenty! Liam’s present accordion is a Hohner Morino IV, but he originally played a 96 bass Borsini for which he obviously still has a lot of affection as he was at pains to stress that he won a lot more competitions with it.
Oddly enough, I became aware of Liam, not in the competition scene, but when he turned up three years ago as the guest artist at my local Club. I was very interested to hear this lad perform and he was quite a revelation. Rightly or wrongly, I tend to watch a player’s left hand to see how ‘strong’ it is. (I would be curious to learn the views of others on this). One set Liam played was Never on a Sunday and Zorba the Greek when at one point he swung his right hand away off the keyboard playing the tune entirely on the left. There were gasps of amazement. It is not the sort of thing you forget in a hurry; in fact the wonderful memory of it still lingers. With his wide repertoire including many Continental pieces and, coupled with an easy manner at the microphone, he was a big hit. I always regarded him as a solo performer, or, with his granddad as a duo, but Liam heads The Clachan Ceilidh Band with fiddlers like Neil Adams of Prestwick or Andy Kain doing the usual round of gigs, weddings and dances.
As we can see he has a wide range of musical tastes, though I await the day when he will slip Mozart’s Rondo alla Turka into a set as I saw his mentor, Ian Muir, do on one occasion. (Purists will wince, but I enjoyed it – many thanks Ian). Early influences in Liam’s life were the bands of Jim Johnstone, John Ellis and Iain MacPhail, while today he nominates The MacPhail Band and The Black Rose Ceilidh Band as being his top choices. Isn’t it amazing how many youngsters name The Black Rose as their favourite band?
With Liam following his mentor into a career in music teaching this is just what the accordion scene in Scotland needs and we must all wish him well. After I had a bad experience forty years ago learning piano at the hands of a tyrant we parted company, but I never lost the idea that I might…(No Liam, if you are wise you won’t ever take me on as a pupil !) All being well it looks as though we are all going to have the great pleasure of hearing this talented young man for years to come.
Box and Fiddle
December 2003