Based in Dingwall, Fèis Rois is widely recognised as a national leader in the arts, particularly in music education. The organisation aims to give young people and lifelong learners the opportunity to experience and engage with traditional music and Gaelic culture in a way that supports them in developing their social skills and inspires them to reach their full potential.
Fèis Rois’s annual programme of residential fèisean (music schools or festivals) is central to their activity. These fèisean bring people together to learn and develop skills in traditional music, as well as exploring a range of other art forms and the Gaelic language. The residential fèisean are supported by a busy year-round programme of music-making activities in both the formal education and informal education sectors.
Fèis Rois has been a key partner in several multi-arts projects, both internationally and at home and offers a wide range of services and online resources to the traditional music community.
Whether you are already involved in traditional music, or you are brand new to this genre of music, everyone is very welcome at Fèis Rois!
Residential Fèisean
Youth Fèis (October 2023)
See also: Scottish Traditional, Community Hubs, Instrumental Specialism, Creative Learning, Primary, Secondary.
Taking place in Ullapool during the October holidays, Fèis Rois is offering a 5-day residential Fèis experience for young people from P4 to S6 from Monday 16th to Friday 20th October 2023.
Learners in P4-7 have parallel timetables and separate accommodation to the S2 to S6 participants. Those in S1 can choose to take part in either group. Learners choose different class options from a list, including various musical instruments, Gaelic song, sound engineering, composition, song writing, drama, dance and more. Fèis Rois also offer instruments free of charge, so you can try something new, if you wish!
Youth Fèis (April 2024)
See also: Scottish Traditional, Community Hubs, Instrumental Specialism, Creative Learning, Primary, Secondary.
In 2023 Fèis Rois made some changes to its holiday programme, replacing the April residential Junior Fèis with three separate non-residential events in Ullapool, Dingwall, and Tain. This format will remain in place for 2024 and the dates will be 1st to 4th April 2024.
Professional musicians will tutor at each site, and there will be the opportunity to participate in a local ceilidh and watch the musicians perform. Making new friends, receiving high-quality tuition, trying out new instruments and having fun are key ingredients for this week.
This event is open to young people in P4 up to S6.
The organisation has recently adopted a “pay what you can” pricing model in order to make this event as financially accessible as possible. More information about this event will be shared towards the end of 2023 and places can be booked via the website.
Adult Féis (May 2024)
See also: Scottish Traditional, Community Hubs, Instrumental Specialism, Creative Learning
The next Adult Fèis, Fèis Rois nan Inbheach, is in Ullapool from 3rd to 6th May 2024.
This annual 3-day festival caters for beginners right up to accomplished musicians. There is no requirement to read music, or to have previous knowledge of traditional music to enjoy our Adult Fèis. Instruments can be provided for anyone signing up for beginner classes.
In addition to the high-quality tuition, there is also an exciting fringe programme including sessions, lunchtime recitals, evening gigs, and an informal Gaelic conversation circle. Classes are grouped into ability levels, with a first choice class in the morning and a second choice class in the afternoon.
Residential Weekends
See also: Scottish Traditional, Community Hubs, Instrumental Specialism, Creative Learning
Youth Residential weekends
Fèis Rois and Highland Culture Collective organised a series of residential weekends in 2023. Their focus was on creating a fun and supportive environment for young people to learn and use Gaelic – all whilst spending time with friends and meeting new people and trying different activities with brilliant tutors.
Keep an eye on the Fèis Rois website for future opportunities.
https://feisrois.org/residential-feisan/residentialweekends/
Weekly Classes
See also: Scottish Traditional, Community Hubs
Fèis Rois has a weekly, in-person, community classes programme for young people and adults, that runs throughout the academic year. Instruments taught include accordion, clarsach (harp), fiddle and guitar from beginner upwards. More information can be found on the Fèis Rois website or by contacting Tj at tj.bawden@feisrois.org
These instrumental classes are held in various venues in Dingwall and the youth classes are open to children and young people in P4 up to S6.
Fèis Rois offer a small number of one-to-one sessions for young people who, for whatever reason, are unable to take part in a group class. Get in touch with the Community Engagement Officer to find out more.
Subject to availability: free instrument hire is included in Fèis Rois classes.
Voices In Bloom
See also: Scottish Traditional, Community Hubs, instrumental specialism, ensemble experience, Voice.
Voices in Bloom is a free singing workshop for adults, running on Tuesdays, during term time, at the Perrins Centre, Alness. Each week participants learn popular songs and explore harmonies. Lyric sheets are provided, as well as free tea, coffee and biscuits and access to a tap to fill your own water bottle. The dates of these workshops, and how to sign up for free, can be found on the Fèis Rois website.
Fèis Club
See also: Scottish Traditional, Community Hubs, Instrumental Specialism, Creative Learning
Fèis Club is a new informal and fun after school music-making experience for children and young people in Tain, Invergordon, Alness and Ullapool. This project is funded by the Scottish Government’s Youth Music Initiative and is a partnership project with local schools.
Up to 16 young people in each area come along to enjoy a free, weekly, 1.5hour music-making session led by two experienced Fèis Rois music tutors. The sessions start with a free snack before lots of musical fun & games. Each week, the group explores rhythm, singing and playing together. No musical experience is necessary, and Fèis Club will provide instruments to anyone who would like to learn. We also encourage children who already play to bring along their own instruments too.
Ceilidh Trail
See also: Scottish Traditional, Community Hubs, performance specialism, ensemble.
The Ceilidh Trail is a paid summer job and professional development opportunity for outstanding young traditional musicians. The Ceilidh Trail works with musicians between 16 and 25 who spend the summer playing music, travelling throughout Scotland and beyond, and gain experience playing for a wide variety of contexts.
In the past, Ceilidh Trail participants have had the opportunity to collaborate with musicians from Australia, Canada, England, and Wales who come on exchanges during the summer.
Participants take part in a training week before the tour begins, where they take part in workshops about live sound, performance skills and dance calling, and work in groups to arrange a varied set of tunes and songs.
Following their summer gig programme, the Ceilidh Trail groups have often gone on to perform at festivals such as Celtic Connections. View one of their performances here:
To find out if a ceilidh trail is playing at a venue near you this summer, check out the gig listings here: https://feisrois.org/?projects=ceilidh-trail
Information on how to apply for the 2024 Ceilidh Trail will be available on the Fèis Rois website and social media platforms by the end of 2023. Auditions are usually held around January / February time.
Traditional Scottish Music in Schools
See also: Scottish Traditional, Community Hubs, Songwriting, Composition, performance specialism, primary, secondary
Fèis Rois works in partnership with Fèisean nan Gàidheal and High Life Highland, Dumfries and Galloway Council and Live Life Aberdeenshire to deliver traditional Scottish music programmes in primary schools in these local authority areas. The projects are funded through the Scottish Government’s Youth Music Initiative (YMI). In 2022-23 Fèis Rois delivered weekly traditional music projects with 280 primary classes across the country.
Fèis Rois also provides bespoke music education projects in primary and secondary schools across Scotland, based on the learning requirements of the individual schools and local authorities. For information, contact Education Manager, Rachael Duff at rachael.duff@feisrois.org
Resources
Fèis Rois Foghlam is a free music resource site. It has a database of traditional Scots and Gaelic songs suitable for using with school pupils. Each song has the sheet music, lyrics and an MP3 file. Some of the songs include pupil activity sheets, YouTube links and additional musical parts and all the material can be downloaded. http://www.feisroisfoghlam.org/
Online music activities, created by YMI tutors, can be accessed via the Fèis Time playlist on the Fèis Rois YouTube channel.
Also located on the Fèis Rois YouTube channel are a series of free Gaelic song, tin whistle, fiddle and guitar lessons. https://www.youtube.com/@FeisRois/playlists
Fèis Rois was a partner on the recent Dandelion Project. During this project a schools resource was created, which includes a new Scots and Gaelic digital songs book. https://dandelion.scot/schools/music-and-creativity/
Early Years
See also: Scottish Traditional, Community Hubs, creative learning, early years, participatory.
In 2016 Fèis Rois launched its first app, Fun Folk, aimed at young children. Through fun interactive activities, animations and films, the app helps introduce children, aged five and under, to Scottish traditional music, song, stories and ceilidh dancing. The app includes material in both Gaelic and Scots language and has a downloadable follow-up activity pack.
Inclusion
See also: Scottish Traditional, Community Hubs, participatory, ASN.
Fèis Rois is an inclusive organisation that supports people to participate in their regular programme of activities, wherever possible. Fèis Rois has also developed bespoke traditional music making projects for young people who, for various reasons, require a more bespoke learning approach. For example, Fèis Rois works in secondary schools with care experienced young people, and those struggling in mainstream education, to provide one-to-one or small group music sessions.
Through the Youth Music Initiative (YMI) Fèis Rois works with SEN schools and units across the country to deliver traditional music making and song workshops for young people with a wide array of learning and support needs.