1. References

Named after a sandbar at the mouth of the Dornoch Firth, Gizzen Briggs was founded by the then Principal Teacher of Music in Tain Royal Academy, Kathryn Wilkie. At the outset it took the form of a lunchtime club for pupils of the school, but numbers grew quickly and the group’s reputation spread. A small number of pupils from schools in the surrounding area became involved, attending the Monday evening rehearsals. The group has continued to include pupils from other schools.

Kathryn Wilkie was joined in her development of Gizzen Briggs by several other members of staff: Debbie Swanson (strings tutor, who would become Mrs Debbie Ross); Roddy McLean (Music teacher); Jimmy McLean (Principal Teacher of Technical); Mairead Simpson (Art teacher). In later years Iain Carlton (Physics teacher) also joined the staff group. A number of parents became very actively involved in providing practical help. One, David “Dagger” Gordon, a notable musician in his own right,^[2] joined the group as a mandolin player. He also helped develop a number of pupils’ mandolin and guitar skills.

Debbie Ross, who is well knows as a musician in Easter Ross,^[3] has played a particularly significant role over the years. As a strings tutor she has developed the skills of primary age pupils and has continued to work with them at secondary school level. This has been extremely important in providing a steady flow of musical talent to form the core of Gizzen Briggs.

A feature of Gizzen Briggs’ activities has been the group’s annual Fiddlers’ Rally, the first of which was held in 1994. Guest artists and guest conductors are invited to these events, as are musicians from the surrounding area. The 10th and 20th anniversary rallies were held in Eden Court Theatre in Inverness. Both were sell-out events.

Each Fiddlers’ Rally has featured an invited guest artist. These have included a number of notable names such as Ishbel Macaskill,^[4] Saltfish Forty,^[5] Charlie McKerron,^[6] Anna Massie^[7] and Sheena Wellington.^[8]

Gizzen Briggs has been a fertile development ground for young musical talent, with several members going on to study music at a high level and, in some cases, establish a national profile in traditional music. Rona Wilkie, for example, won the title of Young Traditional Musician of the Year in 2012.^[9] Lauren MacColl won the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award in 2004^[10] and then in the 2009 MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards she was named Instrumentalist of the Year.^[11] Mark Bruce went on to make a reputation with the band Elephant Sessions^[12] and Laura Wilkie received acclaim as a member of the Kinnaris Quintet.^[13] Kari Macleod’s album The Fugitive showcased her talents as singer-songwriter and Colin Gordon (with his father “Dagger”) also has a recording to his name.

Fiona Dalgetty went on to build an extensive curriculum vitae in the world of traditional music, including her appointment as Chief Executive of Feis Rois.^[14]

The group has regularly performed at many musical and social events locally, but has also been invited to a number of highly prestigious occasions to provide music. One such occasion was the opening of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood in Edinburgh in 2004, where they played at the Presiding Officer's official reception.^[15]

Tours have been a regular feature of Gizzen Briggs’ activities. In addition to many tours in parts of Scotland, the group also travelled to Montana in 1998, where they took part in local musical events and played with local musicians, as reported by the Lake County Leader newspaper in their edition for 23rd July 1998.

In 2013 Gizzen Briggs was invited to support Run Rig^[16] in their 40th anniversary concert, Party on the Moor.^[17]

Gizzen Briggs has produced a number of recordings of traditional music: Gizzen Briggs; A rithist; Turus Eile; Ceithir; Out of the Blue; Making Their Mark. Among the recorded tunes are some written by group members themselves.

In addition to performing traditional music, Gizzen Briggs has also helped promote the Gaelic language. Various members of the group had learned Gaelic in the local Gaelic medium primary school and some came from Gaelic speaking families. Many of the group’s Fiddlers’ Rallies used Gaelic speaking comperes, along with English speaking ones.

References

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