We’re the Gordon Gaitherin and our aim is to foster interest and participation in the musical and cultural heritage of the North East by means of regular festivals.
We’re looking for support - from the business community, from charitable bodies, from anyone who is excited by our aims. If you can help us in any way, financial or otherwise, we want to hear from you.
We’re a group of enthusiastic parents, assisted by community education workers who set up the first Gordon Gaitherin in 1993. A tuition festival has been held every year since then. It’s a week-long event for children between 8 and 13 years of age - a chance for them to actively learn more about the culture and heritage of the North East through music and drama.
Inspired by the successful Feis Rois, the Gaelic-based festivals in Ross and Cromarty, they saw the need to revive and rejuvenate the culture by encouraging the young folk to use their own idiom. The best example of this so far has been the re-telling of the legend of Jock O’Bennachie, rap-style!
In 1993 70 young people from Gordon District gave up the first week
of their Easter holidays to come along to the first Gordon Gaitherin at
Insch. By 1995 there were 120 of them, receiving tuition in: 
At enrolment, each young person is offered the choice of tuition on up to three different instruments. Most of them choose an instrument they already play for their first choice and the tutors look to see a significant improvement in their proficiency at the end of the week. Tutors, however, also actively encourage the children to try something new. Most of the second and third choices are instruments entirely new to the participants.
All our tutors are professional musicians who share the same sense of purpose, the same sense of dedication and, perhaps most importantly, the same sense of fun. Among them we have been proud to number piper Ali Bremner of Bucksburn Pipe Band, all-round musician Jonny Hardie, currently playing with Aberdeen’s Old Blind Dogs, broadcaster and singer Frieda Morrison and legendary tin whistle player Alex Green from Udny.
The timetable and format of the classes ensures that all the children thoroughly enjoy the Gaitherin, as well as significantly improving their skills.
It’s a busy week, but there’s still time for other activities. We think it’s important to strike a balance between work and play, thus harnessing and maintaining the children’s undoubted enthusiasm for learning and practising the traditional music of the North East. Stanley Robertson has thrilled with his story-telling. We’ve also had Scottish country dancing, outdoor activities, swimming and crafts.
The Gaitherin culminates in a ceilidh performed by the young people for their parents and friends. All of the children are involved performing and it gives them a chance to show off their skills. They’re particularly proud of being able to play a tune on an instrument which was entirely new to them at the beginning of the festival.
The children - and the tutors - love the Gaitherin and they want it to keep going. We’re delighted by our success but we’ve had to recognise that we’re going to need a new approach to develop, organise and manage future Gaitherins. Amongst other strategies, we are looking to the establishment of the Gordon Gaitherin as a charitable trust.
With your support, we hope that the Gordon Gaitherin can grow to offer more tuition to more children - and possibly even adults. In this regard, we are looking at the possibility of running shorter festivals at other times of the year from the main one.
Success is wonderful, but it brings its own challenges. We know we need to raise awareness of the Gaitherin among the business community of the North East. We also need to raise funds to ensure an adequate provision of tutors, musical instruments and other services which will contribute to the future development and smooth running of the Gaitherin.
Past sponsors have included Grampian Television, the Clydesdale Bank, the Royal Bank of Scotland, the Scottish Arts Council, Thermocrete, Leonard’s Music, Inverurie Round Table and Aberdeen Folk Club. We have also received help from Grampian Regional Council and various community education area management committees.
Well, we’ll naturally be issuing a lot of printed material. We already have a newsletter up and running and we send out regular press releases to the media. Closer to the date of the each Gaitherin we’ll be stepping up publicity and circulating posters. There will be many ways in which we’ll be able to see that sponsors get appropriate recognition for their contributions.
By giving the Gordon Gaitherin your support, you’ll be ensuring the continuation of the rich musical heritage of this very distinctive part of Scotland. Our young people are our future. They are the torchbearers who will carry the music and language of the North East into the next millennium. Your support will help them learn about their cultural birthright in a fascinating and fun way from committed and gifted tutors. It will also enable these same tutors to pass on their musical skills and enthusiasm to the next generation.
If you can help us in any way, financially or otherwise, or if you would like any further information about the Gaitherin, please get in touch with: george@tillybin.wintermute.co.uk
We have more pictures of the children and their tutors in our photo
album
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