International Cultural Connections

 By Siannie Moodie

I come from Conon Bridge in the Scottish Highlands. I have played music with Fèis Rois since I was wee, about 8 or 9, and started learning the clarsach at the Feis Rois weekly instrument classes when the Feis loaned me one of their harps. For the summers of 2010, ’11 and ’12, I took part in the local 'Fèis Rois Ceilidh Trail' which toured around the county of Ross-Shire playing traditional and modern Scottish music to tourists and locals alike. Since then, I have continued my involvement with the Fèis by teaching younger members, through gigs with the Fèis agency and playing at a few Feis concerts.

In Melbourne, we had some great concerts, such as performing at Arts Centre Melbourne in support of the Heartstrings Quartet and the Immigration Museum, as well as playing for the children at North Fitrzroy Primary, and working the camera in a Viking-themed photo shoots (yes, Viking, you read correctly) We spent a weekend in workshops with about 30 young Australian trad musicians learning a wonderful new piece of music composed by the Scottish musician, John Somerville. It was very rewarding to learn his piece with some extremely talented local Celtic and folk musicians. I think we all formed a special bond, flung together, as we were, with one common goal, which was to learn and perform an exciting new piece of traditional music. I have learned and played clarsach with Fèis Rois for a number of years now and had some great opportunities, of which visiting Australia must be one of the most incredible. It was very interesting to meet other young musicians from around the world who also played the type of music I learned through Fèis Rois. I think that they would also enjoy and benefit from Fèis Rois-type initiatives and opportunities to support their talent. It might add a new dimension to an already expanding wealth of Celtic music opportunities available to young people in Australia. Therefore, it is very exciting to hear that the Fèis Rois Ceilidh Trail Model might be developed for Australia, and I would love to hear more about how it is coming on! And of course, if anyone wants any help and needs someone flown out to help in any capacity, I won’t say no ;)

After Melbourne, some very knowledgeable drivers (I now know a little of the history of Philips Bay and a little more about the colonization of the south coast of Australia, very interesting indeed!) drove us to Portarlington, a town that reminded me rather a lot of Ramsay Street in Neighbours. They kindly dropped us off with generous supplies of delicious cakes to our snazzy house to rest and practice for the National Celtic Music Festival... I. Love. This. Festival. I have played at Belladrum, Orkney Folk, Cambridge Folk and the Hebridean Celtic Music festivals, and been to a couple of others, and I can honestly say it was one of the friendliest and welcoming festivals of the lot. I didn’t see as many of the other acts as I would have liked, but the line up looked eclectic yet well thought out, and the audiences really informed about celtic music in general. Saying that, I did get a couple of, “oh look, an Irish celtic harp,” rather than a “oh look, a Scottish clarsach,” but I get that at home too, so I can’t complain. Nonetheless, it was a privilege to see and session with (!!), in particular, the Beaton Sisters, Tolka, Barrule and the Mae Trio in such a welcoming and intimate atmosphere.

It was a joy to watch the other acts, and play music with them, and it was also a joy to play to the audience! They were very forgiving of our attempts at the Australian accent, and I think rather enjoyed our enthusiasm for all-things Aussie. I can only hope that they enjoyed the music too, their reaction seemed positive both while we were on stage (clapping along to the music etc.) and when we were off (coming over to chat and ask about CDs). I had good chats with members of the audience who were intrigued to see harps played in the Scottishy way I play. It was also wonderful to have conversations with people who had strong links with Scotland, and I think they enjoyed hearing more about the places, music and culture that their family and friends came from. The festival all in all had a very welcoming, warm and friendly vibe, from the both the performers and the audience, and THANK YOU so much everyone for letting me be a part of it.

We were in Australia on a musical exchange, but it wasn’t all “work” (but then, who said playing music was work?), Jack, Una and the other lovely Australians organised some pretty awesome experiences for us Highlanders. One of my fave experiences has to be the Aussie Rules Footy... Oh my goodness, it was so exciting! At first, we just enjoyed the surroundings and rated the players - in terms of looks, of course - but Jack explained the rules and it was fun to see their athleticism and mish mash of sports. Another highlight had to be the food; as a veggie I was very impressed by the choices in the restaurants. I’m talking - butternut squash, falafel, avocados, tacos, pine nuts, sweet potato, The Best sushi… a delicious mix of Autumnal goodness. Oh yes, because 20+ degrees in Australia means Autumn and keeping cozy with warming food and mulled wine; whilst 20+ in Scotland would mean summer dresses and ice cream! I also went hipster and got unusual, and some slightly regrettable, $1 dollar dresses from ‘Op Shops’, drank fancy cocktails on a rooftop bar in trendy Fitzroy, and went to Irish sessions in bars in the center of town. Melbourne was a fun and thriving place, made accessible by our lovely hosts.

The whole experience helped me grow in confidence as a performer, in all of its meanings. I progressed musically through interaction with different Celtic music styles, and through continuous playing to large audiences. A performer must also act their role, by communicating with audiences and giving them an all round positive experience, and I think Australia gave me the opportunity and confidence to do just that. Finally, by actually traveling that distance, Australia gave me a sense of that successful touring artist lifestyle, which fostered within me self-assurance of my performing abilities. Fèis Rois and the National Celtic Music Festival in Australia is an impressive and worthwhile partnership, and I just hope that future musicians will have the opportunities that I am so grateful for because of it.