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Age Group
TYF members range in age from around 10 to 18 years old, but the make-up varies according to who's around at the time. Unfortunately, we tend to lose the more senior players when they leave school to move on to
university or college, but they're always welcome to come back and join in when they're visiting Tayside! Some of our players have gone on to study music at a higher level at, for example, the Royal Scottish Academy of
Music and Drama. Musical Ability
The proficiency level of the players also varies and we would normally expect prospective new members to have had a couple of years' tuition and they will normally have reached
ABRSM Grade III standard. We are, however, very mindful that some of the greatest traditional fiddlers never took an exam in their lives, so we have no hard and fast rules about entry qualifications. Other Instruments
Whilst the fiddle is the main instrument within TYF, we do also welcome other compatible instruments and, in the past, have had viola, cello, guitar, drum and bass players in the group. Organisation
As well as the 25 or so youngsters, we currently have two Musical Co-ordinators, Karen Harper and Kevin Findlay, and our accompanist, Derek Ford. We are also fortunate to have
Paul Campbell, who is the father of two of The Fiddlers and who plays a mean guitar, helping the seniors with more advanced arrangements and performance techniques. On the 'administrative' side, we have a
Management Committee made up from parents of the Fiddlers. All the 'grown-ups' are volunteers who give generously of their time and expertise to make the TYF the success that it is. The Musical Co-ordinators are responsible for coaching, arranging music and setting the musical direction of the group. The committee does the behind-the-scenes work of arranging
concerts, keeping tabs on the financial side of things, communications, hiring accommodation, transport and all the other things that need to be done to keep the group running.You can view our Constitution here. Child Protection etc.
It is a sad sign of the times that child protection has become a major issue for organisations that involve young people. To help address this, the TYF is
affiliated to an organisation called Youth Scotland
which assists in ensuring that we have appropriate policies in place to minimise risks which might affect the young people. As well as child protection, this includes such matters as health and safety and insurance. All the volunteers have undergone criminal record checks through the Enhanced Disclosure Scheme administered by
Disclosure Scotland. |
