Maggie sees off stiff opposition to become Glenfiddich Fiddle Champion

Talented isles fiddler Maggie Adamson has won the prestigious Glenfiddich Fiddle Champion 2011, beating off stiff competition from six other top young musicians.

It had been her ambition to win the event, held annually at Blair Castle, Perthshire, after coming second last year.

The 19-year-old said she was “thrilled” to have won the title, deemed to be the country’s most prestigious, and in which players compete by invitation only.

Maggie, who comes from Cunningsburgh but who is now a second-year student at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, said it was great to have finally gained the title. It was brilliant to be invited along to the competition, and her aim had been to go one better than last year.

She said: “I was so delighted that I had really achieved it. I’d been aiming for this one since I first started to compete, it’s amazing that I’ve won.”

In the championship contestants had to play three sets demonstrating various styles of music, lasting about 20 minutes. Maggie said: “I treated it as a concert as well as a competition. I never really get nervous.” She was rewarded with a trophy, a quaich to keep and £400 prize money.

The contest, now in its 22nd year, is known as the “Olympics” of fiddling, with the winner being referred to as the Champion of Champions, as all competitors have to have had other success during the year.

Maggie had achieved first and second placings in a competition in Perth the previous day, which she described as a “good warm-up.”

She said she would like to thank her accompanist Maureen Rutherford, and Alan Gifford and Douglas Lawrence for their help.

Peter Gordon, chairman of sponsors William Grant and Sons, said: “As ever we have been hugely enthused by the wonderful fiddle finalists, who offer a day of exceptional music.

“We would like to congratulate Maggie who impressed the judges with her flair and passion to take the title of Glenfiddich Fiddle Champion 2011.”