About Us

Past TMSA Projects

The TMSA Young Trad Tour and Cultural Exchange
Every year the TMSA organises a tour of the finalists, winner and past winners of the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year. The tour reaches some of the furthest flung areas of the country and introduces many musicians to what, for some of them, might be an entirely new experience

One of the most important elements of the tour is the Young Trad Tour Cultural Exchange, where the touring young musicians spend time with schools and community groups in the areas they are visiting and share some of their experience and music in workshop-style sessions.

You can listen to some clips of previous tours at our Myspace page.

TMSA Young Trad Tour 2010

Featuring:

Daniel Thorpe - 2010 winner, Fiddle; Ruaridh Macmillan - 2009 winnner, Fiddle; Lorne MacDougal - Pipes & Whistle; Kyle Warren - Pipes; Mairi Chaimbeul - Clarsach & Song; Hannah Phillips - Clarsach; Innes Watson - Guitar.

TMSA Young Trad Tour 2009

Featuring:

Ruaridh Macmillan – 2009 winner, Fiddle; Ewan Robertson – Guitar & Song; Kenneth Nicholson Gaelic song; Jack Smedley – Fiddle; Adam Holmes – Guitar & Song; Lorne Macdougal – Pipes and Whistle; Daniel Thorpe - Fiddle.

TMSA Young Trad Tour 2008

Featuring:

Ewan Robertson - 2008 winner, Guitar & Song; Catriona Watt - 2007 winner, Gaelic song; Amy Lord - Scots song; James Duncan MacKenzie - Pipes & Whistles; Robert Menzies - Accordion & Piano; Ailie Robertson - Clarsach; Steven Blake - Pipes & Whistles; Innes Watson - Fiddle, Guitar, Bodhran & Song.

TMSA Young Trad Tour 2007

Featuring:

Catriona Watt - 2007 winner, Gaelic song; Shona Mooney - 2006 winner, Fiddle; Darren MacLean - Voice; Mike Vass - Fiddle, Bodhran; Calum MacCrimmon - Pipes & Whistles; Calum Stewart - Flute; Martin Hunter - Button box accordion; Mhairi Hall - Piano & Backing vocals; Innes Watson - Guitar, Fiddle & Backing vocals.

TMSA Young Trad Tour 2006

Featuring:

Shona Mooney - 2006 winner, Fiddle; Stuart Cassells - 2005 winner, Highland & Border pipes; Darren MacLean - Voice; Kirsty Cotter - Fiddle; Christopher Keatinge - Button accordion; Hamish Napier - Piano, Flute, Backing vocals & Stepdancing; Fraser Shaw - Border pipes & Whistles; Innes Watson - Guitar, Fiddle & Backing vocals.

TMSA Young Trad Tour 2005

Featuring:

Stuart Cassells - 2005 winner, Highland & Border pipes; James Graham - 2004 winner, Gaelic song; Anna Massie - Guitar & Fiddle; Sarah Naylor - Fiddle; Maeve Mackinnon - Gaelic song; Darren MacLean - Gaelic song; Rachel Newton - Gaelic song; Mike Vass - Fiddle; Alli Vass - Piano.

TMSA Young Trad Tour 2004

Featuring:

James Graham - 2004 winner, Gaelic song; Sarah Naylor - Fiddle; Jenna Reid - Fiddle; Shona Donaldson - Scots song & Fiddle; Rosie Morton - Clarsach; Tom Orr - Accordion; Anna Massie - guitar & vocal; Hamish Napier - Piano, Flute, Vocals & Step dance.

Homecoming Trad Music Sessions

Supported by Homecoming Scotland 2009 and organised by the Traditional Music and Song Association of Scotland (TMSA) - a programme of over 300 Scottish traditional music sessions across Scotland from March to November 2009.

The Homecoming Trad Music Sessions will:

enhance the Homecoming Experience for visitors and Scots at home
showcase the diverse regional music and song traditions of Scotland
cultivate widespread awareness and interest in traditional music and song
extend the number of venues hosting traditional music sessions and events

TMSA McEwan's Sessions

hey The McEwan’s Sessions which ran from 2004 to 2007 were traditional music concerts and pub sessions held in venues throughout Scotland.

The aim of the TMSA/McEwan’s Sessions were:

To promote traditional music in Scotland by organising session musicians and singers for establishments participating in the McEwan’s Session programme.
Where practicable, to draw on the wealth of talented local traditional musicians and singers.
To include as many traditional musicians in the programme as is reasonably practicable.
To encourage wider participation in the McEwan’s sessions and to cultivate widespread awareness and interest in traditional music and song.
To encourage visitors from within Scotland and beyond to come into pubs to enjoy the session experience.

The McEwan’s Sessions were well received by both venues and musicians alike, with some pubs going on to organise their own sessions once the project had finished realizing positive effect of having traditional music in their venue.

2007 National Conference on Traditional Music

hey Organised by the TMSA, the overarching theme for the conference was “Passing on the Tradition”. Throughout the course of the day, the conference looked at current strategies within the formal and informal education sectors and the wider Scottish community.

The question of how we ensure that the many musical traditions of Scotland are passed down to a new generation was addressed. Speakers and topics included:

Karine Polwart; musician and award winning singer-songwriter:
“Community, Commerce and The Cult of Youth”

Alistair Anderson artistic director of Folkworks:
“Folkworks and folk music development in north east England and beyond”

Siân Thomas from Trac; folk development for Wales:
“Digging for Welsh Gold”

Andy Hunter singer and teacher at the RSAMD:
“Teaching & the Tradition in Scottish Folk Music”

Petrea Cooney Cultural Co-ordinator and SAC’s Youth Music Initiative sector officer:
“My Passing on of the Tradition”

Joshua Dickson Gaelic musician:
“An Update On the Scottish Traditional Music Graded Exams Project”

Arthur Cormack Gaelic singer and director of Fèisean nan Gàidheal a youth tuition festivals organisation:
“A’ toirt ar dualchais do ar n-òigridh ~ Passing on our tradition to our young people”

The conference was chaired by Mary Ann Kennedy who spent several years working for the Gaelic news service of the BBC and becoming BBC Radio nan Gaidheal’s news editor before leaving to concentrate on her musical career.

With over 100 delegates the day was well attended. There ware an opportunities for questions from the floor and “breakout sessions” for conference delegates to discuss the presentations. The day also provided a valuable opportunity for delegates to make connections with each other.