Our Newsletter

Hello friends and family of the Melbourne Scottish Fiddle Club

We hope you've had a lovely start to 2021. We've got some updates and exciting news to share with you about what's new, and what's coming up for the MSFC, in 2021. Thanks to the much-improved COVID situation, we can finally get together to play and conduct our monthly meetings, and play for some live audiences!

Read on to find out more about:

• Performances we've got lined up for the next few months
• Scottish jam sessions we will be having at the Last Jar pub in Carlton
• A new foundation in memory of Peter Dwyer, a much-loved MSFC member we lost recently, to provide music therapy for sick people
• How you can support this new foundation too

Read on, reach out to us if you've got any questions, suggestions or requests for us email:  president@melbournescottishfiddlers.com - and like us on Facebook

All the best,

Jack Wilson
President, Melbourne Scottish Fiddlers

MSFC Members Newsletter February 2021

Fri, 12 Feb 2021

Welcome to 2021 Fiddle Clubbers!

We made it through 2020 bigger and stronger than ever. A few days ago, I would have said things are looking up for 2021. Hopefully this is just a little speed hump on an otherwise smooth road ahead. A special welcome and shout out to all our new members and online subscribers in 2020 - we got to meet some of you at our session in the park at the end of last year, and we're looking forward to meeting the rest of you ASAP.
 
We kicked off 2021 with a couple of fun events in January. We had a great online workshop with Kevin Henderson of Shetland - more on that from Roz in the newsletter - and we had a jam session last weekend at the Last Jar pub in Carlton. It was great to come together and play a few tunes! Hopefully we can continue to do so in the coming months...
 
2020 - The year we're all glad to put behind us
 
2020 was quite a year. We started off the year on a high with our debut at Newstead Live Festival (formerly held in nearby Chewton). It only took us about 15 years to get on the bill, but we did! Thanks Alex for writing a great application. A few gigs, a ceilidh and lots of fun over the Australia Day long weekend. Remember folk festivals?!
 
We had a couple of monthly meetings before we had to move it all online. We had a heap of activities online to keep us fiddling and coming together throughout the year. Friday night zoom jam sessions, Roz's fantastic tune share nights on Thursdays, a few Canadian tunes sessions, workshops and lessons with Patsy Reid/Adam Sutherland/Hamish Napier, masterclasses with Hanneke Cassel, Cathy Fraser, Rachel Johnson and Trent Arkleysmith. The list goes on! I know there's a heap that I've missed, but there's a snapshot. It was heartwarming to keep fiddling despite all the doom and gloom.
 
Late last year, we lost our friend and stalwart member, Mr Peter Dwyer. Pete and Shirl joined back in 2004 (I think), and the club changed the club forever! Pete rarely missed a gig or a rehearsal over all those years, and he made every occasion so much more fun with his warmth and kindness, his good humour, his beautiful voice and playing and his on-stage dancing and general hijinx. It was lovely to come together in December to remember Pete, to play some of his favourite tunes and sing the songs we will remember him by. We will miss him dearly.
 
2021 - The year that will be
 
Dare we make any plans or predictions for what 2021 has in store for us?! Yes we dare! We're pushing on with good music and great times in whatever capacity we can. More on what we've got planned for this first monthly meeting for the year below. Whether online or in-person, we're planning a range of sessions and workshops and all things fiddling for this year. Hopefully the situation with COVID and restrictions means that we can continue to come together.
 
With the prospect of any live performances looking pretty slim in the next few months, hopefully we can have a few more sessions. Great excuse to come together, play some music, have some fun and - of course - eat some food!



Jack Wilson
Club President

Greetings fiddle clubbers. July is already upon us! What a year 2020 has been so far. What was going to be another jam-packed year of gigs, festivals and celebrations for our 25th anniversary as a club has turned out quite differently.

COVID-19 has presented a massive challenge to us as a club. It's robbed us of our famous afternoon tea, and it has made it impossible to come together and make music at our monthly meetings, rehearsals and many of the other things both musical and social that we do as a club.

I'd like to thank the committee - and in particular Roz, Bill, Kirsty and Katy - for their tireless efforts to put together a fun and interesting online program to keep us going in these challenging times. It can never be the same as being together in the flesh, but it's a good second best.

I'd also like to thank so many non-committee members of the club who have stepped up to lead breakout rooms in our monthly meetings, Thursday night tune sharing sessions, Friday night session sessions, and so many other things that we've been doing together online. There are so many of you! Cathy Blake, Jean, Alex and Howard, Marguerite, Rachel B, Dave and Di and so so many more of you. It has been great to be a part of it with you all. This is what the club is about! Sharing our love for the music, and our favourite tunes and handy techniques, to make new friends and great music. If you'd like to be involved in any way - sharing a tune or some techniques, leading some session sets in our monthly meetings or during evening sessions, or anything else - please let us know! Reach out to me (Jack), to Maggie (our amazing newsletter editor), or to Bill Martin or Katy Addis. We'd love to have as many people as possible taking part and having that opportunity to share and contribute.

As we head into another 6 week lockdown, just as things were beginning to look up early last month, the challenges continue. I know that COVID has had a negative impact on the professional and personal lives of many of our members, and I hope that fiddle club can remain a positive outlet for your creativity and a source of fun in difficult times.

There is so much fiddle stuff happening online, both here in Australia and further afar in Scotland, America, Canada, New Zealand and many other places. We're going to continue with our online programming, and we'll be reaching out shortly to ask you for your views on how it's been going, and what you'd like to do next. We'll be starting a round-up of online fiddle workshops/concerts/events that we know about to give you even more options on your free evenings and weekends. We'd love for you to share with us any such events that you know of coming up soon. Again, send an email to me (Jack), Maggie, Bill or Katy - or share it in the MSFC Members Facebook Group - and we'll put it in the weekly(ish) round up.

Thank you all for being part of our great club!

Jack Wilson
Club President

Dear Friends of the Melbourne Scottish Fiddle Club

We have an exciting Monthly zoom meeting coming up on the 21 June with special guest and long time friend of the club - Andy Rigby
"Those of you who know Andy are well aware of his many talents, playing and making more instruments than you've heard of.. He's a true Victorian folk legend, and a modest man.

You can subscribe to MSFC zoom sessions via the website or Click here