Hands Up for Trad’s Women in Music and Culture 2024 list has been announced to celebrate just some of the women working in Scotland.
Launched as part of International Women’s Day 2023, we shine the spotlight on 12 women who all contribute towards Scotland’s cultural landscape through their work. Read the 2024 list here.
We asked Anna-Wendy Stevenson to tell us more about there work, influences and ambitions for the future.
How did you first get involved in the arts and who were your early influences?
I was fortunate enough to have been brought up in a family steeped in the arts. My father Gordon Stevenson is a violin maker and he encouraged me in classical music, taking me to hear Yehudi Menuhin playing Mendelsohn’s violin concerto when I was 8 and from then I took lessons and in my teens was a member of the wonderful Edinburgh Youth Orchestra, National Youth Orchestra of Scotland – and the Lothian Schools Strathspey and Reel Society. My father took me to folk clubs and to concerts in Edinburgh and I saw inspirational performances from the likes of Relativity and Aly Bain and Phil Cunningham at the George Square Theatre, Dick Gaughan and Capercaillie at the Queens Hall, Dougie MacLean at the Penicuik Folk Club. My late grandfather, composer and pianist Ronald Stevenson shared his passion for piano (my first instrument) and for many musical cultures from around the world. Grandad was also wonderful piano accompanist for me. We made an album together ‘Gowd and Silver’ (2005) of his arrangements of predominantly Scottish repertoire – including settings of Hebridean Folk songs collected by his friend, Margaret Fay Shaw. After studying classical music at university, I spent my 20s and early 30s focused on traditional music, touring the world playing fiddle in traditional music groups; Anam, Fine Friday and in a duo with James Ross, composing my own music and teaching for various community organisations. In my mid 30s, I moved to the Outer Hebrides to teach music for Lews Castle College and discovered my passion for integrating teaching and creative practice as a career; and from there developed the BA (Hons) Applied Music with the University of the Highlands and Islands.
At a time which has been very challenging for many people working in the arts, how did you use the last 3 years to develop your creativity?
Just before the pandemic I started working with Gaelic singer Ann Martin who led a group of women on developing a production ‘Ann Tinne’ – the Chain. It charts the journey of a family cleared along with all other villagers from Greaulin, Isle of Skye – to Geelong in Australia. This is a deeply powerful and profound piece which considers colonisation, oppression -oppressed becoming oppressors and includes collaboration with Australian musicians. As soon as the lock-downs were over, we re-convened and resumed – but An Tinne was percolating throughout the pandemic. I also focused more of my time on my tune composition -three of which were included in Kathryn Tickell’s wonderful ‘Tunes from the Women’ publication last year. In my role as senior lecturer with UHI, and working in partnership with Xponorth and Scoredraw Music in Belfast, I focused on developing new covid -resistant curriculum – upskilling modules for students and creatives working in the highlands and islands to learn about the opportunities in music sync and placement (putting music to film, TV adverts etc.). This has been incredibly successful and has resulted in graduates finding employment in this area and I’m very proud of this.
Who or what interests you creatively?
Who: I am reading the American composer – Tina Davidson’s autobiography at the moment. She has undertaken some transformative work with composition, music and community, including working with homeless women some of whom had lost their children to foster care, helping them to write operas of their lives. Her approach is so person centred and facilitatory and chimes with my values.
What: Collaboration, cultural exchange, teaching and learning: I am inspired by interdisciplinary collaboration -theatre, film, dance. As well as writing music, over the past few years I have enjoyed writing poetry and have had poems published. I’ve enjoyed collaborating with poet Gerda Stevenson to compose music for her poetry which was commissioned for An Tinne. I am also inspired by the learning and teaching processes in music -especially if we combine this with cultural exchange. For example I cherish the partnership I have co-created with Dorset musicians Alex Roberts and Dan Somogyi director Soundstorm Education and with whom we have developed professional opportunities for students and graduates to create new music and deliver workshops in schools across the UK. I composed Suite Uist for this group – my homage to the Hebrides and released this on the first album ‘Far Flung Corners’. Our third album – ‘To a Sea Cliff’, is inspired by Dorset landscapes and was made entirely online during lockdown and has just released this February. It contains many beautiful moments.
What are your plans for the next year or so and/or what are your longer term creative ambitions?
I’m playing at the Edinburgh Trad Fest in May as part of the Simon Bradley Trio. Over the past couple of years I have engaged in consultation to support the development of Llar Folk in Asturias (Northern Spain)- which is a new organisation which seeks to address the revitalisation of Asturian Traditional Music, with workshops and cultural events. I’ll be teaching at the Llar Trad Festival 28th June – 1st July. Long-term creative ambitions: I am going to record an album of new music – which I will play on the first violin my father made. It is a beautiful instrument and has already inspired new composition
Find out more about Anna-Wendy Stevenson here.
Read the Hands Up for Trad’s Women in Music and Culture 2024 List
Hands Up for Trad are an organisation who work with Scottish traditional music, language and culture. If you would like to support our work you can donate here.
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