Society prepares for fiddler of the year contest

The Shetland Folk Society is gearing up for next week’s young fiddler of the year competition.

This year’s contest will be held in Mareel when scores of youngsters will be out to impress adjudicators Maurice Henderson, Claire White and Peter Gear.

Folk society members Valerie Watt and Vaila Grant are organising this year’s competition having taken over from Charlie Simpson and Douglas Sinclair who ran it voluntarily for many years. Charlie and Douglas are still office bearers on the committee.

Valerie said: “We are really looking forward to showcasing all our young fiddlers in the Mareel Auditorium. The high quality of fiddle instruction provided in schools across Shetland is something to be proud of.”

Vaila added: “We have over 80 fiddlers competing for six titles over three age groups under the age of 16 over both days. The Finals Concert will be worth seeing!”

The event starts on Friday 26th April with the final the following night. The auditorium is open from 9.15am both days for members of the public to drop in and listen.

On Saturday winners will be announced at the Finals Night Concert. Junior and Intermediate winners will perform as well as all the entries in the open section. The winning tunes from the Shetland Folk Society tune competition will be performed by Bryan Gear and adjudicated by Violet Tulloch and Debbie Scott. The concert will be compered by Valerie Watt.