Peter McFarlane will lead our November workshop. The focus of the workshop will be determined shortly, but we know whatever it is, it will be fun and very instructive.
About Peter MacFarlane
Peter has been performing Scottish traditional music for well over three decades. Primarily a dance musician, he discovered the music through Scottish dancing, and this informs and infuses his playing. He cut his musical teeth in the hot seat as an itinerant fiddler with most of the Scottish dance bands in the south of England, learning from master accordionists. Later, as his own fiddle & piano duo, he performed in much of England and Wales, as well as the European continent.
In 1990 Peter inherited the mantle of organisation of the Aylesbury Fiddle Rally, an annual gathering of over 60 fiddlers to perform a concert of Scottish traditional music for an audience of ten times as many. He continued to organise and lead this event throughout the 1990s. During that time he was also invited to teach various fiddle workshops, notably for the UK’s Hands-on-Music series as well as at Pinewoods Scottish week in 1994, his first foray across the Atlantic. Since immigrating to Vermont in 2003, Peter has been teaching fiddle privately, along with workshops, such as at the Flurry Festival, NEFFA, Pinewoods, and several more.
Whilst he plays more now for contra dancing (with Atlantic Crossing & Frost and Fire), Peter still plays for a number of Scottish dances in northern New England each year, and occasionally beyond, as well as for celebrations with Scottish flavour, such as wedding ceilidh dances and Burns Nights. He has also co-founded, and is musical director of, the Champlain Valley Scottish Fiddle Club, an informal group which gathers monthly to enjoy playing Scottish traditional music. And most recently, in January 2020, he was appointed music director of the Vermont Fiddle Orchestra.
When not playing and teaching music, Peter can be found either in his workshop building cedar strip canoes or paddling them on remote waters, where he gains inspiration for new tunes. He has published two volumes of his own compositions, entitled North Country, and also recorded a CD (2003) of original Scottish-style tunes with Lilian Linden. More recently (2017) he has made a solo recording of several of his self-penned waltzes. Books, CDs and canoes can all be obtained directly from him.
Everyone please arrive in time for a prompt 1 p.m. start.
Following a break for stretching, refreshments, and visiting, we resume with our regular tune circle.
We always try to have extra copies of the music for newcomers, however ear-players are welcome as well.
Questions? NHScottishMusic@gmail.com