Fiddlers Tent

Stringfiddle – Fiddle and Piano

For 300 years the fiddle has been the non-military musical instrument of Scotland, from the parlour to the concert hall, the dance hall and even the kirk (prior to a fiddler being woken during a long sermon and launching into The Devil Among the Tailors)!

Stringfiddle members Bob McInnes (fiddler) and Jane Ellis (pianist) will once again accompany the Scottish Country Dance display on the oval and perform in the Fiddlers Tent.

Bob and Jane have been presenting concerts at prominent folk festivals at Cobargo and Kangaroo Valley. Their repertoire includes selections from the great Scottish Fiddle Tradition – airs to tug at the heartstrings, snappy strathspeys, lilting jigs, and driving reels. They form the core of the Fiddlers Tent where they will be joined by friends from the Southern Highlands and beyond.

Mary Kiani – Vocalist

Mary Kiani is Scotland’s greatest export of song and Brigadoon’s Scottish Songbird! She is a well-known Scottish singer, songwriter, and vocal coach.

Mary has enjoyed a chart-topping solo career in Europe and has also appeared high in the UK, American, and Australian charts, including three top ten singles and eight top 40 singles in the UK and European charts. Mary has performed ‘Flower of Scotland’ on the main stage and in the Fiddlers Tent at the Bundanoon Highland Gathering.

Last year, Mary introduced ‘The Jeely piece song’ and ‘Donald Where’s Yer Trousers’ to the Fiddlers Tent and the audience couldn’t help but sing along and tap their feet. She is looking forward to entertaining you with more great tunes, joyous harmonies, and wicked banter in the Fiddlers Tent in 2024.

Sydney Scottish Fiddlers

Sydney Scottish Fiddlers are an all-inclusive community group, playing fiddles of all sizes (violin, viola, and cello), flute, whistle, and keyboards.

For over 25 years, Sydney Scottish Fiddlers have been sharing tunes with each other, with listeners, and with dancers. They perform toe-tapping jigs and reels, sporran-shaking strathspeys, waltzes, and tear-jerking slow airs. Their repertoire also connects with the long history of Scottish music and includes standard and lesser-known tunes from ancient to modern times. They also showcase local tunes by Sydney composers, including those by group members. They love sharing this music with audiences, who delight in the vibrant energy of Scottish tunes played by a dedicated group of amateurs.

Sydney Scottish Fiddlers warmly welcomes new members: all instruments, ages, and stages of musicianship are welcome.

.

Challis Singers are a mixed-voice community choir based in Turramurra, Sydney and conducted by Isabel Palethorpe.

The members of Challis Singers take great joy in singing together a wide range of different musical styles and genres, including rock, pop, jazz, gospel, madrigals, and contemporary classical music. However, one of their absolute favourites is Scottish music!

Challis Singers perform at several community events throughout the year as well as putting on their own annual concert. This year, their annual concert has the theme ‘Best of British’ and will be on Saturday 26^th October. For concert details, or to find out how to join the choir or its mailing list, please visit www.challissingers.org.au.

Demense is a Sydney-based vocal duo comprising Lisa Stewart (soprano) and Michael Handy (tenor).

Michael has been performing in musicals and operatic productions since the age of ten. More recently he has performed such diverse roles as Filandro in Le astuzie femminili, Paolino in Il Matrimonio Segreto, Spalanzani in The Tales of Hoffmann, Percy in The Scarlet Pimpernel, Utterson in Jekyll & Hyde, Joe Collins in Reedy River, The Defendant in Trial By Jury, Alexis in The Sorcerer, Lead Tenor in Handel’s Messiah, Ralph Rackstraw in H.M.S. Pinafore, Marco in The Gondoliers, Richard Dauntless in Ruddigore, and Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus. Michael’s high tenor voice sees him specialising in music of the baroque and early romantic repertoire.

Lisa has also been involved in singing and acting since childhood. More recently, she has played such roles as Ersilia in Le astuzie femminili, Elisetta in Il Matrimonio Segreto, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Goneril in Shakespeare’s King Lear, The Plaintiff in Trial By Jury, Aline in The Sorcerer, Adele in Die Fledermaus, Lucy Lockit in The Beggar’s Opera, Emma Darwin in short play The Origin of the Species, Mary Collins in Reedy River, Isabella in A Peculiar River (an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure), Queen Constantina in Cinderella. She has also had a variety of leading roles in pantomimes – fitting for someone whose part-time job is as a piano teacher for (mostly) school-aged children!

Demesne will entertain you in the Fiddlers Tent with solos and duets from traditional Scottish music, including some little-known works from the ballad opera of Allan Ramsay’s beautiful 1725 pastoral The Gentle Shepherd (which they are hoping to stage in full later this year).

Drawn together by a shared love of music and all things Scottish, the Haggis Tamers comprise Phil O’Connor (bodhran/vocalist), Leanne Ruggero (violin/vocalist), Chris Lupton (guitar), John Hogan (vocalist) and Mel Hogan (vocalist).

The Haggis Tamers have performed a variety of Robert Burns and Burns-inspired songs, along with other Scottish favourites, at Burns Suppers in Sydney for the past two years.

The group is looking forward to its Bundanoon Highland Gathering debut, where they’ll entertain audiences in the Fiddlers Tent with rousing renditions of The Bonnie Lass of Fyvie, Jacobites by Name, The Flower of Scotland, and other Burns and Scottish favourites.