{"id":1508,"date":"2015-05-07T09:40:18","date_gmt":"2015-05-07T08:40:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/hall-of-fame\/?page_id=1508"},"modified":"2015-05-07T09:40:18","modified_gmt":"2015-05-07T08:40:18","slug":"jessie-newton","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/hall-of-fame\/jessie-newton\/","title":{"rendered":"Jessie Newton"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Jessie-Newton\"<\/a>Jessie Newton, organiser, F\u00e8is Dh\u00f9n \u00c8ideann<\/p>\n

JESSIE Newton was born and raised in Achiltibuie, Wester Ross, but settled in Edinburgh in 1970 after graduating from teacher training college. Her daughter, Rachel \u2013 now a well-known harpist \u2013 attended the Gaelic Medium School when it was based at Tollcross Primary, and it was in the mid-Nineties, when Rachel took advantage of the opportunity to attend F\u00e8is Rois in Ullapool, that Jessie first became acquainted with the F\u00e8is movement.<\/p>\n

She was impressed by the opportunities these organisations were bringing to youngsters in the Highlands and islands, creating an enjoyable learning environment that naturally combined Gaelic music, language and culture. \u201cThe F\u00e8is,\u201d she says, \u201cseemed an ideal way for young people in the Edinburgh area to partake of traditional Gaelic cultural activities, learning from experienced performers and artists.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jessie had been brought up by Gaelic-speaking parents who, like many others of that generation, didn\u2019t speak the language to their children as they felt they needed English \u201cto get on\u201d. \u201cI\u2019m the oldest so I knew more Gaelic than the others,\u201d she recalls, \u201cbecause I wanted to find out what my folks were saying \u2013 they\u2019d speak to each other in Gaelic if they didn\u2019t want us to know what they were saying. So when Rachel went to the Gaelic medium school I did Higher Gaelic. I\u2019m not a fluent speaker but I can understand it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Returning to Ross-shire on family holidays, Rachel started to attend F\u00e8is Ross with her cousins, and the movement had quite an impact on her mother. \u201cI thought it was great how everyone was involved and I felt sure that this was something we could be doing in Edinburgh, because we had the Gaelic school there and that was teaching the language, but we needed wider activities as well and music seemed to be a good vehicle for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her idea of starting a F\u00e8is in Edinburgh was greeted enthusiastically by the city\u2019s Gaelic community and by local musicians, and with support from the umbrella body, F\u00e8isean nan G\u00e0idheal, the Edinburgh organisation got underway in 1996. Nineteen years on, Jessie remains the organisation\u2019s voluntary organiser and chairperson of its committee.<\/p>\n

Numbers, she says, have stayed fairly even during that time: \u201cI don\u2019t think we wanted it to grow too much in size, otherwise we\u2019d lose some of the atmosphere. You want the classes to be big enough for the kids to have a challenge, but not so there\u2019s too many and it becomes just another class.<\/p>\n

\u201cF\u00e8is Dh\u00f9n \u00c8ideann<\/a> was, and is, highly successful,\u201d comments Arthur Cormack, chief executive of F\u00e8isean nan G\u00e0idheal. \u201cIt\u2019s different in character to the F\u00e8isean in rural areas. Jessie ensured that the best of what she had experienced in her native Ross-shire was transplanted to Edinburgh, but also made sure that what F\u00e8is Dh\u00f9n \u00c8ideann offered was relevant to the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorking with young people with additional support needs during the day, she ensured that nobody was excluded from taking part in the F\u00e8is and that it has one of the most effective, year-round programmes of classes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jessie, adds Cormack, has always been willing to involve the local body with national showcase opportunities such as the Ce\u00f2l nam F\u00e8is, giving young Edinburgh musicians the chance to meet and perform alongside their peers from across the country.<\/p>\n

Having remained involved in the Edinburgh F\u00e8is long beyond her own interest as the parent of a young musician, Jessie has also served in a voluntary capacity on the boards of F\u00e8isean nan G\u00e0idheal and Voluntary Arts Scotland. And she stresses that F\u00e8is Dhun Eideann is run by volunteers: \u201cIt simply would not happen if people did not give up their time.\u201d<\/p>\n

She finds that one of the most rewarding aspects of her work is following the trajectories of former participants \u2013 not least her daughter, Rachel \u2013 who have gone on to make traditional music their career, having been influenced by their experience of the F\u00e8is and the opportunities it offered them.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the satisfying aspects is welcoming back former participants to teach at our classes and workshops,\u201d says Jessie, \u201cand I feel proud that a lot of our kids are now themselves teaching and passing on the tradition. It\u2019s great the way the whole F\u00e8is movement provides the opportunity for young musicians to play and teach \u2013 it\u2019s like a big family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Traditional music, she feels, \u201cis accessible to everyone: people can find it enjoyable even if they don\u2019t know a lot about it, and I think it\u2019s definitely been a lead into the Gaelic language for some.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a pleasure to be part of such a vibrant organisation and to share in the enthusiasm of participants, tutors and volunteers.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jessie Newton, organiser, F\u00e8is Dh\u00f9n \u00c8ideann JESSIE Newton was born and raised in Achiltibuie, Wester Ross, but settled in Edinburgh in 1970 after graduating from teacher training college. Her daughter, Rachel \u2013 now a well-known harpist \u2013 attended the Gaelic Medium School when it was based at Tollcross Primary, and it was in the mid-Nineties, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1509,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-1508","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/hall-of-fame\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/hall-of-fame\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/hall-of-fame\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/hall-of-fame\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/hall-of-fame\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1508"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/hall-of-fame\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1508\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1510,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/hall-of-fame\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1508\/revisions\/1510"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/hall-of-fame\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/hall-of-fame\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}