Fiddling with Scottish FIRE

FIRE

Musical resurgence can occur in satellite locations quite remote and independent from the principal core revival. An excellent case of this is to be found in the organisation Scottish F.I.R.E. According to the group’s Facebook page:

Scottish F.I.R.E. is Scottish Fiddling Revival, Ltd., the North American association for
Scottish Fiddling and all of its regional styles. (Cape Breton, Shetland, etc.) The
goals of Scottish F.I.R.E. are to preserve and promote Scottish fiddling through
education, competition, and the support of aspiring and established Scottish fiddlers.
In order to help preserve the Scottish fiddling tradition, Scottish Fiddling Revival
maintains a list of active fiddling clubs around the world. We also maintain lists of
links to related sites.

The FIRE website has a Mission Statement:

Scottish F.I.R.E. is Scottish Fiddling Revival, Ltd., the North American association for Scottish Fiddling and all of its regional styles. (Cape Breton, Shetland, etc.) The goals of Scottish F.I.R.E. are to preserve and promote Scottish fiddling through education, competition, and the support of aspiring and established Scottish fiddlers.

One of the foremost ways Scottish FIRE helps to preserve the Scottish fiddling tradition is by fostering and sanctioning Scottish fiddle competitions. As a non-profit organization since 1975, Scottish FIRE sets the rules and sanctions the many Scottish fiddling competitions held in the US, Canada, and other parts of North America.

Scottish FIRE also certifies judges for local and national competitions, and monitors the annual U.S. National Competition held at a sponsoring Highland Games during the Games season. In order to help preserve the Scottish fiddling tradition, Scottish Fiddling Revival maintains a list of active fiddling clubs around the world. We also maintain lists of links to related sites. 

Details of the current FIRE sanctioned competitions and judges can be seen at this web site.

The existence and activities of such an organisation are clearly of interest in connection with this blog and therefore it is interesting to note this award-winning paper on the group’s activities:

Reviving Scottish Fiddling: An Ethnographic Study of Scottish Fiddling Competitions in the United States by Deanna Nebel of Kent State University.

[Nebel, Deanna (2014) “Reviving Scottish Fiddling: An Ethnographic Study of Scottish Fiddling Competitions in the United States,” Excellence in Performing Arts Research: Vol. 1, Article 3. Available at: http://digitalcommons.kent.edu/epar/vol1/iss1/3]

Abstract: This paper examines the Scottish fiddling revival in America. Due to its rapid fusion into other fiddling styles, Scottish fiddling did not establish itself as a unique musical genre in the United States. One particular organization, titled “Scottish Fiddling Revival,” or “F.I.R.E.,” is largely responsible for the revival and has established all of the necessary elements within a revival framework to stimulate and maintain this style of fiddling. The organization sponsors official Scottish fiddling competitions, provides teachers to educate and maintain the style, and fosters a community to interact with the revival. This study examines the revival infrastructure and its implications according to an established framework for the continued development of Scottish fiddling in the United States.

I plan to refer to this again in due course.