Ellie McLaren is performing at Celtic Connections festival’s The New Tradition: Rejuvenation concert on Saturday 22nd January at 1pm in Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
We asked Ellie about the music they will perform in the concert.
I’ve been playing the fiddle since I was 8 years old, learning from various fiddlers across the country including Heather and Paul Anderson, Iain MacFarlane, Marie Fielding and Laura Wilkie. My style is predominantly North East, as this is where I am from, but over the years I have taken inspiration from pipe music and traditions from other Celtic countries including Ireland and Cape Breton, as well as the other regional styles of Scotland.
In July 2021, I graduated from the BA (Hons) Applied Music degree, and now I am looking at starting my career as a freelance musician. I’m currently teaching as well as performing and composing, and this project has been an ideal chance to challenge and push myself into creating and arranging new music.
My performance includes two tunes which I played regularly when I was younger – The Lament for Sir Harry Lumsden of Auchindoir, which is a lovely slow air, and The Balmoral Highlanders which is a classic 2/4 pipe march. When I was growing up, I competed in various festivals nationwide, and had a lot of successes over the years. These are two tunes which I had in my competing repertoire, and therefore I wanted to include them.
I have also included 3 of my own tunes – Julie’s Beetroot, again a pipe march, which was inspired by The Balmoral Highlanders, then two jigs – The Blobby Scone and The Naked Hill Runners (I enjoy funky tune names!), which have a more contemporary feel to them. The final two tunes are both reels written by close friends of mine, Eddie Seaman and Ciar Milne, both pipers.
I recently recorded an EP which was based around pipe music, therefore most of my repertoire for the arrangement can be played on the pipes. However, the main theme of my music is the old and the new – tunes which have inspired me over the years and tunes I have written as a result.
Find out more about Ellie at their website.
Thanks for Celtic Connections and Stonehaven Folk Club’s Folk In Crisis Fund for supporting this concert.
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