Fèis Rois
Background
Annual Fèis programme
Other activities
Fèis Rois celebrates its 21st anniversary in 2007, and its Adult Fèis takes place in May.
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Fèis Rois is a Ross-shire based organisation which promotes Scottish Highland culture through an annual tuition festival (Fèis) programme. It is part of the broader Feisean movement which continues to grow in popularity throughout Scotland. |
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Fèis Rois’s year-round tuition programme further encourages participants to develop their skills.
Fèis Rois began in 1986, aiming to provide a platform for the tuition and performance of traditional music, song and dance in Ross and Cromarty, and now stages three residential tuition Fèisean (festivals) as part of its core activity.
Junior Fèis
At Easter, Fèis Rois held their 22nd Fèis Rois Oigridh (Junior Fèis), welcoming 153 Primary children to Ullapool for the week.
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The children attended daily classes in all the instruments, Gaelic language, Gaelic song, drama and dancing and the week closed with a sell-out Ceilidh featuring every participant. Of the 30-strong team of very talented, energetic and enthusiastic tutors and supervisors, almost all were past Fèis Rois participants. |
Senior Fèis
The Senior Fèis - Fèis Rois nan Deugairean - is a five-day residential tuition festival for teenagers, which takes place in the October school break. It was the first Fèis to provide a festival for this age group, and over 100 participants now take part. The Senior Fèis builds on the skills taught and learned at the Juinor Fèis, developing them to an advanced level, with a strong emphasis on groupwork. Participants can choose tuition in accordion, bagpipes, chanter, drumming, fiddle, Gaelic song, groupwork, guitar, harp, keyboards and tin whistle.
Adult Fèis
Fèis Rois Inbhich is a weekend-long tuition festival for adults (18 years and over), and takes place in Ullapool at the end of April. Tuition is offered in Gaelic song and language and a variety of instruments, as well as group playing, creative writing, step dance and reels. Over 300 people attend the weekend, which is tutored by high-profile musicians offering tuition across a range of abilities – from beginner to advanced.
This year the tutor team includes Iain and Allan MacDonald (pipes), Fred Morrison, Nuala Kennedy and Cathal McConnell (whistles and flute) and Maggie MacDonald and Rona Lightfoot (Gaelic singing).
Seven levels of fiddle tuition are offered from tutors including Aidan O’Rourke, Bruce Macgregor, Louise Mackenzie, Ronan Martin, Iain Fraser, Anna Wendy Stevenson and Alasdair White. Guest tutors for the 2007 Adult Fèis are fiddlers Yvonne and Liz Kane from Connemarra.
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The guitar team includes Kris Drever and Ian Stephenson. Groupwork will be led by Phil Cunningham. There is also tuition for complete beginners in keyboards, whistle and guitar, led by Valerie Bryan. |
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Creative writing classes will be led by Aonghas MacNeacail. Gaelic Language is offered at the Fèis at beginner and intermediate levels.
Participants choose one morning study and one afternoon study, and the days are rounded off with sessions, cèilidhs and a dance.
Fèis Rois holds regular classes, as well as workshop events and monthly masterclasses in fiddle and harp, throughout the year.
The Cèilidh Trail gives student musicians the opportunity to spend a week training in performance skills. This is followed by three weeks of touring in venues around Ross and Cromarty. This year, Fèis Rois’s Cèilidh Trailers will once again be performing at the Blas festival in August.
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For more information on Fèis Rois and their full programme of activies, visit the Fèis Rois website. Visit our Gaelic pages for more on Gaelic arts and culture. | |