SCOTTISH FIDDLE ORCHESTRA
Nottingham Royal Concert Hall

A taste of The Highlands visited Nottingham last night with The Scottish Fiddle Orchestra​ and what an extremely entertaining evening of traditional reels, jigs, hornpipes and popular Scottish songs we were treated to.

Mixed in with many traditional tunes were favourites like "A Scottish Soldier" and "Will Ye No Come Back", the former sung by tenor Dennis Haggerty and the latter by the lovely mezzo soprano Colette Ruddy. Both guests treated us to several songs throughout the night. There was also a bit of traditional highland dancing by sisters Catriona and Marnie Clark and all seamlessly strung together by the instantly likeable compere Mr Robert Lovie who also provided some comedy and poetry along the way.

Joining the wonderfully tuneful orchestra were the Nottinghamshire Police Pipe band, after all you can't have a traditional Scottish night without some bagpipes can you?

There were many various tartans on show with almost all of the men in the orchestra adorned in kilts and the ladies also showing off their own tartans. Colette's second outfit was magnificent in silver.

Although, as you'd expect from a fiddle orchestra, the majority of the musicians were playing the fiddle, but there were double bass, cello, flutes,a piano, guitar and three excellent percussionists, who got their time to shine in the magnificent "The Drummers".

Blair Parham, the Scottish equivalent to Andre Rieu, conducted this magnificent orchestra and there was a lovely solo by Gold Fiddle Award winner Yla Steven.

This was the orchestra's debut appearance in Nottingham, although they have performed all over the world, but by the rapturous applause they received at the end of each piece and the finale of "Scotland The Brave" and "Auld Lang Syne", it should make sure that Nottingham is one place they will be visiting again