Strathclyde Suite, Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, 23 January 2010

Catriona MacDonald (photo - Leila Angus)

WHILE the adage “If you’re good enough, you’re old enough” is more commonly associated with football, the same could be said about folk music – such is the amount of young, talented folk musicians on the scene today. For every Innes Watson (Treacherous Orchestra) and Rachel Newton (The Shee), there is a Jeana Leslie, Jenna Reid or Dave Wood (Malinky), too.

All of the aforesaid musicians studied traditional music at the RSAMD (in Glasgow) and Newcastle University, and numerous others like them have also gone on to forge a career within what is an extraordinarily difficult profession to make a living from.

So, with these two institutions responsible for churning out such an abundance of talent, it was only fair (and not before time) that the two came together to showcase today’s folk stars of tomorrow.

First up, then – and introduced by Phil Cunningham – the RSAMD’s first year Scottish Traditional Music group were given the task of opening the two-hour spectacle. Loaded up with the full gamut of folk instruments (fiddles, accordions, harps, pipes, etc.), the youngsters were clearly – though only naturally – nervous.

However, if there were any blips, trips or missed cues during their 20-minute blast of Gaelic songs and Strathspeys, then it wasn’t apparent. An arrangement of Silly Wizard’s ‘Lover’s Heart’ was an early highlight, but if that wasn’t impressive enough, you only had to look toward the second year’s offering.

Having heard several stunning voices echo over the Strathclyde Suite during their wee stint, it came to everyone’s surprise to learn that despite the strength of singing involved, none of the second-year students study singing as their lead subject. If that truly is the case, Karine Polwart and Emily Smith might be wise to start looking over their shoulder.

Before the third and fourth year students took to the floor, though, it was time to take a look at what tutor Catriona MacDonald had prepared for us with her Geordie bunch. Sporting 14 fiddles onstage, plus double bass, mandolin and a cellist who also dabbles in a spot of nifty clog-dancing, the wide variety of nationalities amongst the group ensured a wider variety of styles, including Swedish polskas. Dark, yet slickly executed, it is to MacDonald’s credit that she has inherited and honed such a tightly-knit unit.

Back to Glasgow, then, and the fourth year students, who, stripped back to just a seven-piece, were forced to recruit former RSAMD graduate, Findlay Napier, on guitar to provide accompaniment aboard a stage lop-sided with pipers. They didn’t look the happiest bunch, nor did they sound incredibly in-tune, either. Then again, they did have to play – no pun intended – second fiddle to the third years, whose bossy attitude proved they also have a bit of rock and roll in them, too.

Regimented though relaxed, tight but loose when it mattered, they brought things to a fitting end before everyone – and I mean everyone – returned to the stage for some bombastic, big-band show-stoppers that, to my eyes and ears anyway, echoed a junior version of The Unusual Suspects.

Overall, then? A high-quality showcase of talent full of outstanding instrumental flair and cutting-edge arrangements. Granted, it would have been nice to have heard more self-penned numbers in the sets – it should also be mentioned that it is a little rude to announce the sets and not tell us who wrote the music, or where it came from – but that’s just nit-picking.

And while it’s fair to say that a large amount of the audience was made up from proud family and friends, with the RSAMD and Newcastle University turning out talent like this year after year, it won’t be too long before these traditional music students start packing the place out off their own backs.

© Barry Gordon, 2010

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