Author Archives: Gordon

Edinburgh FluteFling Tenth Anniversary Weekend

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Edinburgh FluteFling 2024 – Newhaven

A great turnout for the Edinburgh FluteFling in April (c) Gordon Turnbull

Well, we did it again! The 10th Anniversary Weekend was a great success, with our biggest ever concert and sold-out workshops. The sun shone for us too!

Thanks to everyone who helped to make this a success, and we look forward to seeing you at the next one.

Friday

The weekend opened with a stellar concert headlined by the award winning Calum Stewart with Luc McNally accompanying on guitar and Sophie Stephenson bringing her Scottish step dance footwork for percussive and visual interplay.

Dougie Pincock performing solo at Edinburgh FluteFling 2024. (c) Gordon Turnbull

There was a veritable buzz and a sense of occasion as people gathered in the atrium and the hall beforehand. The first half of the evening saw Dougie Pincock take the stage in front of a packed hall to promote the humble D whistle with a versatile and dazzling performance that included tunes in keys that normally wouldn’t be played on the instrument. The audacity and dexterity brought audible gasps from an audience that included many musicians.

Freya Rae (flute) and Siannie Moodie (clarsach) performing at Edinburgh FluteFling 2024. (c) Gordon Turnbull

Freya Rae took the stage next, accompanied by Siannie Moodie on clarsach. A multi-instrumentalist, Freya is known in Edinburgh for her Boehm flute playing of traditional music and we were treated to some recent dynamic compositions that went down well with the audience. If the duo were at all nervous, it wasn’t apparent in an assured and tight set. Hopefully we will all be hearing more of their music together, as their interplay and sound was perfect for what was to come.

Luc McNally, Sophie Stephenson and Calum Stewart in concert (c) Gordon Turnbull

The main concert lived up to its promise, with an energetic and vibrant performance from Calum, Luc and Sophie, three performers at the top of their game, complementing and playing off each other throughout. The uilleann pipes were crisp and clear, the flute rich and sonorous as Calum presented new material alongside more familiar tunes from earlier recordings.

Luc McNally and Calum Stewart (c) Gordon Turnbull

A mix of newly composed tunes with older ones from his native Moray, the blend was finely balanced. Luc’s guitar alternated between rhythm and melody, the bell-like tones augmented by a bass octave pedal to give a sudden sonic depth to the music. The top end of the sound was provided by Sophie’s intricate percussive steps, sometimes highlighting the beat, at other times playing off the melody line.

One the strands of FluteFling is participation, and after the encores, the room was turned around to create a session space for the many musicians in the audience, and continue the music into the night.

Edinburgh FluteFling Friday night session (c) Gordon Turnbull

Saturday

The workshops were the busiest yet, the Anchor Hub building buzzing with activity as people caught up with each other in between immersion in flute talk and playing. The relationship between the pipes and the flute, Boehm system, keyless systems and whistles were all explored.

Workshop with Dougie Pincock (c) Gordon Turnbull

Workshop with Sharon Newton Creasey (c) Gordon Turnbull

Flute-maker George Ormiston had a pop-up space that allowed people to try out various models of his instruments and there was a constant flow of people in and out all day.

Sharon and Kenny try out George Ormiston whistles. (c) Gordon Turnbull

While the flute workshops were taking place, Sophie Stephenson also held a couple of dance workshops and joined Calum for a demonstration and talk on the relationship between dance and music in what became a celebration of two reviving traditions, Scottish step dance and Scottish flute.

Calum Stewart and Sophie Stephenson demonstrate aspects of playing for dancing. Host Peter Saunders looks on. (c) Gordon Turnbull

Everyone reconvened later that evening for another session into the night at the Heart of Newhaven Community.

The Saturday night session at the Heart of Newhaven Community (c) John Crawford

Sunday

We tried a new venue for the Sunday farewell session, having outgrown the Sandy Bells space, which struggled to accommodate the numbers last year. Thanks to Marie-Elaine Maguire for suggesting Leith Depot, which is on main public transport routes and has good food and drink. The atmosphere was relaxed and the tunes mellow.

Leith Depot Session (c) John Crawford

Leith Depot Session (c) John Crawford

Leith Depot Session (c) Gordon Turnbull

Leith Depot Session (c) John Crawford

What people enjoyed

What did people say they enjoyed about the weekend? This is some of the feedback we had.

Meeting other flute players

New ornamentation techniques, a fantastic session experience and a sense of community.

Varied and interesting teaching sessions

There were some great pieces of advice in the workshops… Reminders of various techniques for practising tone… relationship between Scottish piping & fluting… a more general understanding of the flute in Scottish trad.

An inspiration to look out more in the way of resources on the internet, and a resolution to: pay more attention to embouchure and tone; and to pick up the flute every day.

…inspiration and new musical connections

Would certainly recommend it.

Really enjoyed the workshops… Already recommended it to a friend.

Loved it, can’t wait til the next one

Excellent event and would definitely recommend it

Positive & reinforcing. Just good to hang out with other flute players who have similar enthusiasms. Always good to see younger people as a part of the whole thing. Would and have recommended to others.

 

Next: Aberdeen 1-3 November

After drawing breath, the team are now looking towards making Aberdeen a success. The event takes place 1-3 November 2024, so look out for tickets going on sale later in the summer. We’re also making plans for Edinburgh 2025 and will reveal more towards the end of the year.

As always, make sure you are signed up to the mailing list to hear about it all first before tickets go on general sale.

Flutes and whistles at Stonehaven

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Workshops and concerts featuring whistles and flutes at Stonehaven Festival

A woman holds a wooden penny whistle as she looks at the camera. She is smiling. The background shows an image of an array of penny whistles in an open cloth carrying case.

Joannie Madden from Cherish the Ladies will be appearing at Stonehaven Folk Festival. (c) Joannie Madden

Stonehaven Folk Festival takes place 11-14 July this year and our friends there have organised a weekend that features a number of whistle and flute concerts and workshops that are worthy of your attention.

With Joannie Madden and our own Kenny Hadden amongst them, there is something here for everyone and spaces available at the time of writing. Like many of these things, if we’re able to support them then they will continue to be offered.

Stonehaven flute and whistle workshops

Whistle (Intermediate) – JOANIE MADDEN
Friday, 12 July 11:00-13:00 – Community Centre £12.00

Whistle (Intermediate) – KENNY HADDEN
Saturday, 13 July 10:30-12:30 – Community Centre £12.00

Flute (Intermediate) – GUILLERMO DEL VAL
Saturday, 13 July 13:30-15:30 – Community Centre £12.00

Groupwork (Intermediate) – ROSS AINSLIE, TIM EDEY, MARC CLEMENT
Sunday, 14 July 10:30-14:30 – Community Centre £12.00

The main website is here:
https://tickets.stonehavenfolkfestival.co.uk

Thanks to John Crawford for sharing the information.

 

Alex Green Whistle Festival

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Alex Green Whistle Festival – Aberdeen 1-3 March

It seems that there is so much more on for flute and whistle players to attend these days and it is great to see that the inaugural Alex Green Weekend will take place in Aberdeen 1-3 March. The weekend celebrates the NE whistler with an impressive lineup of concerts and workshops organised by The Elphinstone Institute, which is part of the University of Aberdeen.

Featured performers and tutors are Cathal McConnell, Mary Bergin, Fred Morrison, Dougie Pincock, Claire Mann, Tom Oakes and Kenny Hadden in a range of events, some of which are free to attend.

It’s a good chance to see and hear so many contributors to The FluteFling Collection – five of those mentioned are included. You can get your copy here or catch Kenny Hadden over the festival weekend.

Tickets are on sale through Aberdeen Performing Arts and at the time of writing this is the best way to find out what is happening.

Update 2 February: The full programme is now available on The Elphinstone Institute website.

About Alex Green

Alex Green had a unique and authentic style of playing, which has been described as “spit-staccato” (I’m sure there must be a better and more attractive descriptor — maybe someone who knows NE Scottish dialects can suggest one). A highly influential and generous musician by all accounts.

Alex Green passed away in 2017 and has since been inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame. You can learn more about his life at Hands up for Trad.

His album Whistle O’er The Lave O’t has an accompanying video:

The Return to Aberdeen

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Aberdeen FluteFling 3-5 November 2023

In Scotland when the clocks are turned back in October, you know you’re getting deep into Autumn, with darker days and longer nights. Which makes the thought of being indoors with others to play music so much more inviting, as it was for the first FluteFling outing to the Granite City since 2019.

Niall Kenny takes a group at the Saturday workshops (c) Gordon Turnbull

Niall Kenny and Munro Gauld had previously taught at FluteFling in Edinburgh but this was the first time Tina Jordan Rees had taught with us, so it was a departure from our previous outings. Indeed, this was the first time that none of the core tutors were teaching.

This year we were based at Ruthrieston Community Centre, with sessions at The Blue Lamp (Friday and Sunday) and at Cults Bowling Club (Saturday). The latter was unusual for us and made necessary by the lack of available venues in the city, a problem we found when organising the Edinburgh weekend in May and part of a wider problem across the country. However, we were made very welcome and had the space to ourselves.

Storms Babet and Ciarán had battered the NE of Scotland and made travel plans for many a bit tricky but we were all there to enjoy a well-attended event — the highest numbers we have had for the Aberdeen weekend.

The Friday night session at The Blue Lamp in Aberdeen. (c) Malcolm Reavell

With familiar faces gathering at the Friday night session, we eased ourselves into remembering what these gatherings are all about. Where else can you be in the company of such great flute players and fellow aficionados without apology? Digging out the musical gems from the back of the mind, sharing knowledge and news together. It was an informal way to warm ourselves up and reorient ourselves to the flute world.

Saturday

FluteFling at Ruthrieston Community Centre, Aberdeen (c) Gordon Turnbull

The Saturday venue at Ruthrieston was new to us and well-scouted by John Crawford, who once again had done a great job to ensure that a FluteFling weekend could go ahead. Sadly, John wasn’t able to attend in person until the final session, but we hope he is on the mend and in good fettle for the next outing. Kenny Hadden was of course on hand throughout the day and Coralie Mills returned to the front desk to ensure everything ran smoothly from registration to packing up and all things in between.

Tina Jordan Rees leads a workshop. (c) Gordon Turnbull

Once again, we rotated three groups around the three tutors so that everyone got a range of different perspectives and focus. The longer breaks were a great chance to catch up, try out flutes and clarify teaching points. We were joined just before lunch by flute maker George Ormiston, who was great company and had brought some of his flutes and a whistle for people to try.

George Ormiston during on the breaks between workshops (c) Gordon Turnbull

We were struck by the fact that almost all of those attending the weekend were playing modern flutes and only a handful of older flutes were being played. It’s a sure sign of how flute making has come on in recent years that so many high quality instruments are now available to musicians. We didn’t do a survey, but as well as numerous Ormistons, there were examples by Aebi, Gabriel, Windward, Lehart, Thomson, Wilkes and certainly others. Maybe next time we should do a survey.

Munro Gauld (L) and Dougie Pincock (R) in conversation. (c) Gordon Turnbull

The talk at the end of the day was an interview with Munro Gauld led by Dougie Pincock. The focus was Munro’s work in exploring some of the vast archives of Scottish traditional music, in particular rediscovering the lost music of the Gàidhlig Highlands.

In particular, Munro stressed the importance of connecting the music to place, people and story. This roots the music in history and directly connects the present day musician and listener to people, events and emotions of the past, giving it an additional depth and heft that might otherwise be missing. Munro went on to describe how we can all do this for ourselves, digging where we stand. It is clear that there is much to be unearthed and brought to light, and that many were clearly inspired to do so.

Personally, I felt that there was possibly a natural synergy in rediscovering forgotten Scottish music on flutes, an instrument long forgotten in Scotland, now becoming remembered.

I have been aware of Munro’s work for a while and his talk was originally going to be at Edinburgh in 2020, which of course fell foul of Covid. For those who were not there on this occasion, the interview was recorded by Peter Saunders for The Scottish Flute Channel on YouTube and will be published in due course.

The evening session was slightly out of town, where Cults Bowling Club made us feel very welcome, giving their space over to us entirely. Lots more tunes, some Bb flutes and an A flute as well.

The Saturday session at Cults Bowling Club (c) Gordon Turnbull

Gordon Turnbull (L) and Peter Saunders (R) playing Bb flutes. (c) Chris Cracknell

Overall, there was a good turnout from Aberdeen and the surrounding area, but people had also travelled from Inverness, Stirlingshire, Dunbar, Edinburgh, Perthshire, Glasgow, Lancashire, Germany and Sweden. It was particularly delightful to finally meet Joel Hagen from Gothenburg, who had been trying to attend a FluteFling weekend since 2020. Joel plays with the Swedish group Jaerv, which are definitely worth checking out. As hoped, he treated us to some Swedish tunes, while Chris Cracknell introduced us to some German tunes as we made common cause with the flute as a lesser-known instrument in other traditions.

The Sunday Survivors’ Session at The Blue Lamp (c) Gordon Turnbull

The Sunday Survivors’ Session was well attended, with two sittings. Making the most of the daylight for driving meant that I only briefly saw John Crawford to thank him for the successful arrangements, and was literally heading out of the door when Peter arrived with George Ormiston and Munro, fresh from interviewing for the Scottish Flute Channel. From conversations with Peter, I think we are in for a treat over the rest of the winter as the interviews are published.

Thanks to everyone who helped to plan the weekend and ensure that it ran smoothly, in particular John Crawford, Peter Saunders, Kenny Hadden, Coralie Mills, Lorna Aucott, Dougie Pincock and George Ormiston, plus of course the three fine tutors themselves. Thanks too, to all of the venues for accommodating us so well.

Postscript:

Munro has since shared a link on Facebook to a blog on some of his work. He writes:

Here is the second blog of research from the An Cuinneachadh project looking at C18th music connected with Fort Augustus. This episode focuses on the then owners of the land at the southern end of Loch Ness – The Lovat Frasers. Their story is “colourful” and encompasses bigamy, treason and beheading, as well as Royal recognition and great honours for victory in the battles of Britain’s emerging empire. These events were captured at the time by music and song (the social media of their day). Playing these reels, strathspeys, marches and Gaelic songs helps us journey back 250 years to get a sense of a very different Scotland …
The blog is available in either English or Gaelic.

 

Other traditional flute events coming up in Scotland

The next FluteFling Weekend will be in Edinburgh to celebrate our 10th Anniversary 19-21 April at the Heart of Newhaven Community. We’re already making plans and I’m sure it will soon be upon us.

Wintertrad

Wintertrad, led by FluteFling supporter Tom Oakes with Shetland fiddler Ross Couper, is 24-26 November in Edinburgh, again at the Heart of Newhaven Community and around Leith Walk. Highly recommended, with great concerts, workshops and sessions. Flutes are a big focus of course.

 

Tradwinds

Tradwinds afternoon workshop on Saturday 2nd December 1-4pm. Come along to work on Scottish tunes and techniques for flute and whistles with Gordon Turnbull. Some experience is needed, but it is a mixed and supportive group, teaching material supplied in advance. Fisherrow Community Centre, Musselburgh.

The Road to Edinburgh 2023: behind the scenes

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The Road to Edinburgh 2023

Tom Oakes leads a workshop at the Heart of Newhaven Community venue as part of FluteFling Edinburgh weekend 2023.

The Edinburgh FluteFling Weekend took place in May and marked a return to in-person events following the Covid years. With a new venue, a Friday concert added to the usual Saturday workshops, there were many adjustments to make to ensure the weekend was a success.

Returning to in-person events was always going to be tricky as I quickly found out in January, my previous time for getting a March-April event in place. I used to do it over a week, but the post-lockdown world and cost of living crisis has caused amenities to reduce hours or even close, and for prices to rise. It began to feel as if putting on a grassroots event in an increasingly corporate Edinburgh geared up for tourists and big money festivals was no longer an option.

A meeting with Dave Francis of the Trad Music Forum helped to clarify that this issue is part of a wider debate regarding smaller venues, particularly in the capital. Previously FluteFling had been able to avoid these problems, but no longer so it would seem, and we were back to the drawing board.

John Crawford kindly offered to assist as it became impossible to meet our own deadlines and an alternative date in May was settled upon. If it hadn’t been for John, it would be safe to say that the weekend wouldn’t have gone ahead at all. We explored all manner of venues and options, including not holding the event in Edinburgh at all. All of this was useful, but brought us no closer to a conclusion.

In the end, Tom Oakes pointed us towards The Heart of Newhaven Community, which proved to be a perfect venue. Providing spaces for a concert, a workshops hub, talk and sessions in one location, the staff and volunteers couldn’t have been more helpful and the venue was perfect for us. We have already booked next year’s weekend at the same venue, which will take place 19-21 April 2024.

Challenges always present opportunities of course, and of huge assistance over the weekend were Linda Harkness and Coralie Mills, who managed the desks, checked the tickets and ran the raffle. They were invaluable in ensuring that things ran smoothly in a new venue with a tweaked format, and I can’t see how we managed before without them. Particular thanks too must be passed on to Peter Saunders who made himself available on the day.

FluteFling Edinburgh Friday concert. At the door: (L-R front) Linda Harkness, Coralie Mills; (L-R back) Sharon Creasey, Gordon Turnbull. Photo: (c) John Crawford.

Since I began writing this, I see that the Edinburgh Jazz Festival is taking some of its events out of the city centre, so perhaps we aren’t alone in our experience of Edinburgh venues. Going forward though, it is clear that many hands working together can overcome these and other barriers and long may it continue.