Editor's note: The Coast String Fiddlers are in Aberdeen, Scotland for the Aberdeen International Youth Festival. Parent chaperone Kathy Wood and some of the participants will be updating Coast Reporter readers in the next few weeks of their trip.
Just thought we'd send you out a little update on the Coast String Fiddlers. We arrived on Thursday, July 29, and it is now Monday, Aug. 2. We have been kept very busy.
Saturday, July 31, we marched alongside 30 other international youth groups in a parade down Union Street in Aberdeen to celebrate the opening of Aberdeen International Youth Festival. Canada was represented by a Ukrainian dance group from Edmonton, the North Shore Celtic Ensemble and Miyanda, an African dance group, both from Vancouver. This was a great way to connect with the people of Aberdeen who are so supportive of this festival.
Our evening saw us perform in the Music Hall, a very old theatre with amazing acoustics and atmosphere that we have never experienced before. We performed alongside the Northern Youth Symphony Orchestra, Vivalini (from Russia), and the North Shore Celtic Ensemble and collaborated to perform Neil Gow's Lament (to his second wife). Henry Wood soloed along with a representative from each contributing group.
We are enjoying every minute of our stay in Aberdeen and find ourselves busy with performances each day. We have been fortunate to meet youth from all over the world. We are happy to be reunited with Stushie, the youth who recently attended our Sunshine Coast School of Celtic Music at the beginning of July.
The Coast String Fiddlers have been doing a great job and continue to delight their audiences with their diverse mixture of music that certainly reflects the multicultural fabric of Canada.
- Kathy Wood
