Congratulations to Gavin Marwick who has been nominated in Composer of the Year sponsored by PRS for Music in the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards 2014. Vote now!
We asked Gavin Marwick the following questions.
Tell us about yourself
“I’m a fiddle player/composer, originally from Edinburgh and now living in Galloway. Over 25 years as a professional musician, I’ve taken great inspiration from the people, places and cultures that life has introduced me to, and mixed with the opportunities to compose for various bands, musicians, theatre, TV, other different commissions or indeed just for fun, I’ve written some 3000 tunes altogether. In 2014, thanks to a grant from Creative Scotland, I self-published a first collection of tunes, called ‘Horizons’ (200 tunes), and also released a companion double album, recorded with a large bunch of musician friends, called ‘The Long Road and The Far Horizons’.”
Why are you involved in Scottish music?
“I’m the youngest of quite a large family who were all interested in Scottish music, my parents were keen dancers and I had older brothers who were learning to play various instruments so it was a very encouraging environment to learn the fiddle. It wasn’t long before we had a ceilidh band – The Amazing Spootiskerry Ceilidh Band – and that was a great way of getting used to being on a stage, so I’ve always enjoyed both playing recreationally and performing. Being part of the traditional culture has given me a firm grounding and the confidence to explore music more widely as a result. Plus it’s great crack.”
Any particular career highlights?
“Touring with Iron Horse was a great way to see the world; ‘Up in the Air’ CD with Jonny Hardie and Davy Cattanach; composing the score for ‘Heritage’ at the Traverse; being asked to play with the Unusual Suspects (the musical equivalent of being picked to play for Scotland); working with Dogstar Theatre’s ‘The Tailor of Inverness’; releasing ‘Tangents’, the first Bellevue Rendezvous CD; New Voices at Celtic Connections ’08; The Journeyman Spectacular at Celtic Connections ’14 and the release of ‘Horizons’ (tune book) and ‘The Long Road and The Far Horizons’ (double CD of original material); finally, of course, being nominated for the MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards 2014 :-)”
What are your plans for the future?
“The plan is to publish more tune books and release more albums of original material in an ongoing series: I have a lot of material to sift through and if I don’t do it then no-one else will. I would like to keep the Journeyman Spectacular format as a way of recording and performing, the solos/duos/trios/big band flexibility is very rewarding musically. A new Bellevue Rendezvous recording is in the pipeline too.”
Read more about Gavin Marwick
http://gavinmarwick.co.uk
Buy a ticket for the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards on Saturday 13th December in Inverness Leisure, start time 7pm. You’ll have a great time!