Those of you who came to the tutor concert will have heard Twa Fields O Dreams, a song written by Bobby from The Bethany Christian Trust along with Scott Murray during SMG’s Inspire Project last year.

Scott remembers the moment when the idea for the song emerged: “Bobby, a lifelong Hearts fan, was appalled at some sectarian chanting he heard at a Hearts – Hibs derby match. ‘There’s no place in Edinburgh for that rubbish. Let’s write a song praising both teams,’ he said. So we did.”

Little did Bobby know that Hearts & Hibs would be meeting in the Scottish Cup final in 2012 for the first time in 116 years. We at SMG decided that it was a great moment to bring the song to a wider audience, and have recorded the song. You can download it here and see our YouTube video too, featuring some SMG folk modelling the latest in football scarf fashion!

Please tell all your friends…we hope it will bring valuable publicity for SMG and The Bethany Trust as well as celebrating one of the many great moments of the Inspire Project.

Well done Bobby & Scott!!

Scots Music Group is delighted to announce the receipt of funding from Creative Scotland’s First in a Lifetime programme for Inspiring Leith, an initiative expanding on our very successful 2010/11 Inspire project. The fund aims to promote opportunities to take part in creative activity for those who would not normally have the chance to do so. Our project will work in partnership with various community and support groups in Leith to offer traditional music tuition and participation, with a particular focus on singing and song writing. We’ll also be running a main SMG programme class in Leith to link in with this and expand the geographical spread of our current activity.

The feedback from the previous Inspire project was that it had a hugely positive impact on the lives of participants, tutors and community audiences. We are very excited to be able to develop this into a further celebration of the passion and power of music and song. Through reaching new audiences we also hope to achieve crossover between the project and our current classes, ceilidhs and other activities, encouraging more folk to join the Scots Music Group family.

Watch this space for further news as the programme gets up and running over the next few months.

Is there anyone out there who would like to join SANGKIDS?
We’re an offshoot of Sangstream which aims to take Scottish children’s songs into schools, currently targeting lower primary P1-P3.
We start with a warm up then teach the kids a couple of Scottish playground songs with actions. The kids have been really enthusiastic & the sessions so successful we’ve have been invited back to at least one school!
We don’t have an adequate number of members from Sangstream mainly because of daytime availability for both practices & school sessions. If you remember singing & enjoying “Three Craws” or “Sook a Bar o’ Chocolate” or just fancy a morning of fun then come & join us!!
We really need a few new members to come for a practice session before we book schools for the summer term or postpone till Autumn. Practices are usually at Gorgie City Farm on a Friday morning.
Contact Neil Duguid at stcolmes@googlemail.com

A day of great traditional songs and tunes from members of SMG classes and friends

Saturday 12th May at St. Colm’s Church on Dalry Rd from 11 am till 4 pm

Tea and coffee, second-hand CDs and books for sale, delicious home baking – please bring your own lunch

Family and friends welcome – entry £1.50 adult, 50p child and all proceeds to SMG

Groups who wish to book a performing slot (about 10 min) please contact Alison Bramley through the office at admin@scotsmusic.org with your preferred time and a rough idea of the number in your group

Please donate (good quality!) CDs and books and donations of home baking also gratefully received!

Further enquiries and offers to help on the day please contact Mary McCann via the office on admin@scotsmusic.org – thank you!

Folk at The Counting House

Please go along to a new open floor session at The Counting House, 38 West Nicolson Street (above the Blind Poet) on every third Monday of the month. The next session is held in the lounge on 21st May and it starts at 8pm.

All are welcome – from beginners to experienced instrumentalists, singers, from unaccompanied to accompanied. Go on your own, take a friend…take lots of friends! £1 to cover costs.

On Saturday 26th May 2012 Angus Folk are hosting a singing workshop led by Karine Polwart in The Guide Hall, The Roods, Kirriemuir, from 10am to 4.30pm (registration from 9.30am).

Go along and lend your voice to vibrant vocal harmony arrangements of folk, roots and contemporary songs. All teaching will be by ear. No music theory required. Age 12 years and over.

Tickets are £18 full price and £14 for members and concessions. The price includes tea/coffee and cake but lunch is not provided.

To book a place on the workshop please complete a workshop booking form by following the link at www.angusfolk.org/workshops.asp or leave a message on our mobile phone: 07842 227202

Karine Polwart draws from folk music’s long tradition while keeping pace with the ceaselessly changing times. Having won four BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, she is one of Scotland’s most popular folk singers and songwriters. She also has the purest and most approachable of singing voices, drawing the listener towards her in the same way one might lean towards a late night tale by the fireside. “For me” says Polwart, “music is one of the most powerful ways of making sense of the world. It’s for celebrating, grieving, sharing, wondering.” Karine has experience teaching vocal harmony workshops for community groups, youth projects and at music festivals, and is also an occasional tutor for the Scottish Music course at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and on the folk degree course at Newcastle University.

Details of this and all other Angus Folk events can be found on our website www.angusfolk.org

A new class for the Summer Term with Innes Watson (fiddle & guitar) and John Somerville (accordion)

COURSE NOW FULL

For the summer term, we’re introducing this limited four-week course looking at band work, offering advanced tuition to those looking to move their skills from the SMG classroom to small ensemble performance level. Focusing partly on the traditions of the Scottish Borders, Innes and John will take you through the creative arrangement processes they employ in their wide variety of musical projects.

Tuesdays 24th April & 8th, 15th, 22nd May at Boroughmuir High School, 7-9pm.
(note a one-week break between weeks 1 and 2)

Places are strictly limited to 12

As part of Ceilidh Culture 2012 Café Ceilidh will be held in the Scottish Storytelling Centre on Tuesday 10th April starting at 2pm

This very popular song and music session is hosted by Linten Adie and friends. All are welcome to either take part or listen. Go early to get a good seat!