Blazin in Beauly was started with a very specific principal and philosophy. “We wanted it to be the best music school in Scotland,” boldly states Bruce MacGregor, founder member of the Blazers and the music school.
It’s easy to say “we want to be the “best”” but just what does that mean?
Bruce takes us back to the year 2000 when the seed of the idea was planted. “I was just back from Valley of the Moon, Alasdair Fraser’s fiddle camp in the Redwood forest in California; an amazing experience. I knew,through personal experience, that there was nothing like VOM in this country and it seemed mad, that a country so brimming with talent and music, didn’t have anything approaching the vitality or overall experience being offered in the States”
So what is the “experience”?
“Well it involves more than just learning the tunes. It means looking at the history, discovering the characters, learning the dance, the song and sharing that experience with like minded individuals. It means immersing yourself in the culture of the Highlands” explains Bruce
After visiting many locations in Scotland, Beauly was selected as the perfect site. There were a few important reasons for this. Firstly the size and feel of the village. Beauly is a picturesque Highland town just west of Inverness, with many shops owned by families for generations. Butchers, bakers, even official tweed suppliers to the Queen, are dotted between cafés and bars. However for such a small village, what made it really appealing for a music school was the fact it had three hotels which could cater for the numbers Bruce hoped to attract. It also had the Phipps Hall which capable of hosting concerts for two hundred music fans.
The clincher though was the musical heritage of the area. The renowned fiddle teacher, tutor to Blazin founders Duncan Chisholm, Iain MacFarlane and Bruce himself, lived and taught on a croft just up the hill. The local ironmongers, Morison’s, had been a refuge for the 19th century Scottish fiddle genius, James Scott Skinner, when times had been hard for the “Strathspey King”. Indeed Scotland’s “Paganini”, played in the Phipps Hall shortly after it opened. The place had character and musical pedigree.
Over the years the band has invited tutors from throughout the world to supplement the basic ingredient – Highland fiddle music. Legends of the fiddle world involved over the years include
Paddy Glackin, Bruce Molsky, Frankie Gavin, Alasdair Fraser, Douglas Montgomery, Greg Lawson, Carina Normannson, Annbjorg Lien, Liz Doherty, Mairi Rankin, Chris Stout, John McCusker, Archie McAllister, Charlie McKerron, Gordon Gunn, Pete Cooper, Eilidh Shaw, Fidil, Tom McConville, Harald Haugard, and Casey Driessen as well as all the Blazers past and present!
However it’s not just about the fiddle. Classes in group work have been run by the imperious Rick Taylor, one of the only tutors ever to get a standing ovation at the end of his class! Singing classes are offered in the afternoons to help ease those weary fingers and there are an assortment of master-classes, talks and informal sessions throughout the day. There is never a dull moment and the evenings consist of concerts, ceilidhs, sessions and general good craic around the towns pubs. There have been bus tours, whisky tastings, beer festivals, plays, quiz nights, fancy dress events and there’s the now legendary, Monday evening variety show, where the Blazers reveal they are truly game for a laugh mixing music with sketch shows and lampooning themselves and the folk world mercilessly!
In this year, the 14th, the band are delighted to welcome two magnificent fiddle players. Paul Anderson is without doubt the foremost exponent of the East Coast tradition. His wife Shona Donaldson, a first class fiddle plater herself as well as being a Bothy ballad champion, will also be joining to teach song. Alasdair Savage will be passing on his knowledge at master-classes as well as performing on the Wednesday concert. Alasdair is member of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra but is rooted in the music of his native Ayrshire.
“It’s been an amazing journey over the years with this musical extravaganza, I don’t ever think of it as just a music school”, laughs Bruce, “Some of the performances we’ve witnessed over the years, many of the sessions we’ve been lucky enough to be part off, and of course, all the laughs we’ve had along the way, truly make this an event we can all feel immensely proud about, and savour in its continued success.”
What makes Beauly truly special is the community spirit within the village for the week. The locals welcome “the fiddlers” with open arms and many participant come year after year going home with a bag full of tunes and a years worth of inspiration!
The week long course plus all concerts costs £265.25 including all booking fees and tickets can be purchased from https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/d/united-kingdom/blazin-in-beauly/?view=list
There are also limited numbers of day-class tickets available.
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