11/03/2021
Our second guest on Sunday is Shona MacFadyen
Shona started playing violin at the age of 8 at school and later became enthralled with Scottish music when her sister started learning the accordion.
Shona was brought up with Scottish music around her and the family would always have Take The Floor on BBC Radio Scotland on a Saturday night playing.
One band in particular, that was a favourite in the household, was John Ellis & His Highland Dance Band. This band has been a huge influence on the style that Susan and Shona play in their own band.
Shona’s musical influences range from fiddlers like Bryan Gear of Shetland & Archie McAllistair from Campbelltown to band fiddlers like John Ellis & Angus Fitchet.
Shona has received lessons from several different teachers including Jenna Reid from Shetland, Gill Simpson from Dundee and more recently Douglas Lawrence from Aberdeenshire but now based in Glasgow.
Shona has won numerous competitions, including the RSCDS Class at the NAAFC Competitions that were held in March last year where she also won the Overall Senior Fiddle trophy. Shona competed in this years NAAFC ‘Virtual’ Festival where she won the Senior Fiddle Solo class where there were 10 competitiors in the class. Shona also won the All Scotland Senior Slow Air class in Perth in 2018 and was the All Scotland Senior Fiddle Champion in 2019. Prior to that Shona has won slow air, championships and march, strathspey & reel competitions all over Scotland including Perth, Banchory and Oban.
Shona also competed in the prestigious Glenfiddich Fiddle Championship and also the first ever Niel Gow Scottish Fiddle Awards 4 years ago.
Shona has played for country dances up and down the UK and further afield with her sister, Susan’s band for the last 14 years and has recently been playing with the Glencraig SDB whom she has played in Bahrain with for the last 5 years and in Shetland for the annual Up Helly Aa Fire Festival for the last 3 years.
Shona has been involved with the RSCDS Summer School for the last 7 years, firstly as a tutor on the musicians course along side, then, Musical Director, George Meikle and as a class musician for 6 years. Shona has also played for Winter School in Pitlochry on 3 occasions as well.
Along with her sister, Susan, Shona attended the MG Alba Na Trads Awards – the Scottish Musics version on the “Oscars" where they walked away with the title of Scottish Dance Band of the Year 2018. The band returned to the Na Trads in 2019, which were held in Aberdeen’s Music Hall, to perform a couple of sets which were broadcast on BBC Alba later that same month.
