{"id":4148,"date":"2019-11-04T08:30:21","date_gmt":"2019-11-04T08:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotstradmusicawards\/?p=4148"},"modified":"2019-11-06T07:56:36","modified_gmt":"2019-11-06T07:56:36","slug":"mg-alba-scots-trad-music-awards-2019-fiona-ross","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotstradmusicawards\/mg-alba-scots-trad-music-awards-2019-fiona-ross\/","title":{"rendered":"MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards 2019: Fiona Ross"},"content":{"rendered":"

Congratulations to Fiona Ross who has been nominated in Citty Finlayson Scots Singer of the Year sponsored by TMSA in the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards 2019. Vote here! Vote now!<\/a><\/p>\n

We asked Fiona Ross the following questions.<\/p>\n

Tell us about yourself<\/strong>
\nI\u2019ve loved singing Scottish songs since I was wee. My dad had a real love of Scottish music so we listened to it all the time when I was growing up in Glasgow. I lived all over Scotland \u2013 Blairgowrie, Aberdeen, Stornoway, Edinburgh\u2026before moving to Australia 10 years ago. I now live in a former gold-mining town called Blackwood – population 275 – surrounded by the Wombat State Forest. (As I write there\u2019s a band of yellow-crested cockatoos screeching outside my window\u2026!). When I first moved over here, the lovely Gordeanna McCulloch kept me supplied with a steady stream of Scots songs and ballads to add to my repertoire. Gordeanna encouraged me to \u201ckeep the tradition going\u201d here in Australia. I work at doing just that.<\/p>\n

Why are you involved in Scottish music?<\/strong>
\nAs soon as I set foot in the Edinburgh Folk Club (several decades ago now!) and started hearing great singers performing traditional Scots song, there was no turning back\u2026I\u2019ve been hooked on the songs and immersed in the traditional style ever since. Scots song covers the gamut of human emotion, and I appreciate being part of a community that has a deep knowledge of and respect for the material. And really\u2026what\u2019s not to love about the big ballads? Here in Australia, I enjoy being able to share the songs with audiences who might not have had the chance to experience the tradition in all its richness and diversity.<\/p>\n

Any particular career highlights?<\/strong>
\nSince moving to Australia, I\u2019ve been fortunate to perform with wonderful musicians at a host of amazing folk festivals all across the country. At the same time, it\u2019s really important to me to stay connected to the heart of the tradition and I continue to take part in traditional singing festivals and events in Scotland whenever I can. I\u2019ve learnt a huge amount from other singers of traditional song, and I\u2019m especially grateful to Andrew Hunter for all he has shared with me. I enjoy the freedom of singing unaccompanied, but I\u2019ve also been very fortunate to work with some incredible guitarists in recent years. My last album – part of The Tradition Bearers series of recordings – was with Tony McManus. I\u2019ve also toured with ex-Steelye Span guitarist Ken Nicol. Right now I work mostly with Aria award-winner Shane O\u2019Mara. When I\u2019m back in Scotland I love hooking up with Brian Miller who I was in the band Handsel with\u2026many moons ago!<\/p>\n

What are your plans for the future?<\/strong>
\nI\u2019m working on a new album of Scots song with Shane O\u2019Mara at the minute. Other than that, I\u2019m happy to keep doing what I do \u2013 flying the flag for the Scots song tradition in Australia through my concerts, workshops and talks. I\u2019m hoping to spend even more time in Scotland, retaining strong links with the traditional singing community there. Oh\u2026and I\u2019m doing a PhD in ethnomusicology at the University of Melbourne Conservatorium. I\u2019ve been interviewing traditional singers in Scotland to explore and document their perspectives on Scots singing. My plan is to finish writing up my thesis and get it submitted\u2026soon…!<\/p>\n

Read more about Fiona Ross<\/a>
\nhttp:\/\/www.fionaross.com.au<\/a>
\nFacebook: http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/fiona.ross.355<\/a>
\nTwitter: http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/@scots_song<\/a>
\nInstagram: http:\/\/www.instagram.com\/fiona_ross_sings_trad<\/a><\/p>\n

If you wish to attend the final ceremony, tickets are are priced \u00a325 (+ Booking Fee), and Concessions are available. To book please call Aberdeen Music Hall Box Office on 01224 641122, or visit: https:\/\/www.aberdeenperformingarts.com\/whats-on\/all-shows\/the-mg-alba-scots-trad-music-awards\/2734<\/a>. Bands performing on Saturday 7th December include Skerryvore, Session A9, Benedict Morris (BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician Award Winner 2019), Heisk, Aberdeenshire Youth Band, Sian, Robyn Stapleton, Mairi Campbell and the Pendulum Band, Susan MacFadyen Scottish Dance Band and more to be announced. There will also be a late night ceilidh after the Awards till 1am.<\/p>\n

If you would like to support Hands Up for Trad in their work with Scottish trad music and musicians please consider supporting our Patreon<\/a> campaign. We have 3 tiers starting at $1 a month and everything helps support us in our work. Read more at www.patreon.com\/handsupfortrad<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Congratulations to Fiona Ross who has been nominated in Citty Finlayson Scots Singer of the Year sponsored by TMSA in the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards 2019. Vote here! Vote now! We asked Fiona Ross the following questions. Tell us about yourself I\u2019ve loved singing Scottish songs since I was wee. My dad had […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4295,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","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":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4148","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nominee-2019","8":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotstradmusicawards\/files\/2019\/11\/img_1141.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotstradmusicawards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotstradmusicawards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotstradmusicawards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotstradmusicawards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotstradmusicawards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4148"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotstradmusicawards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4148\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4389,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotstradmusicawards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4148\/revisions\/4389"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotstradmusicawards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotstradmusicawards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotstradmusicawards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotstradmusicawards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}