Ayrshire Fiddle Orchestra

FUN AND FIDDLES!

The Ayrshire Fiddle Orchestra (AFO) gives young people the chance to have fun while learning to make music.

The Orchestra was founded by Wallace and Lex Galbraith in 1982, to encourage and develop Scots Fiddle Music among local young musicians.  Since then, the Orchestra has grown and thrived.  It now has 70 players aged between 11 and late teens, the majority of whom are violinists.  There are also cellists, double bass players, a percussionist, an accordionist, guitarists and a bagpipe player.  The Orchestra has a well-deserved reputation or producing some of the most entertaining fiddle music in Scotland.  AFO plays to packed audiences throughout Ayrshire, Scotland, UK and worldwide.

AFO is a registered charity run by a team of volunteers. Membership is free for all players, we only ask that the players’ parents, where possible, become volunteers and help with our activities and events.

Recruitment is via word-of-mouth and via music teachers in local primary and secondary schools.  There is no audition, we just require that young people joining the Orchestra can play at approximately Grade 3 violin level. The guiding principle is that “you learn on the job”.  It’s amazing how quickly beginners gain confidence and learn to fiddle at a fast and furious pace!

I first got involved with the Orchestra when I met and married my wife Kathleen.  She was a founder member of the Orchestra and it was only natural that when we had children of our own, they would join the Orchestra and we would become involved as parents.

Many former members of AFO have gone on to follow careers in music, most notably David Moore.  David was in Primary 7 when he joined the Orchestra. He is now our Music Director and makes a huge contribution to the success of the Orchestra.  

All our Office Bearers are volunteers. Our Assistant Musical Director is Neil Eggo, and the wider team of directors includes Kathleen Terras, Ellen Martin, Beth McClymont, Wallace Galbraith and myself.  We are supported by a huge group of parent volunteers. There are no paid staff, everyone is involved for the love of it.

 AYRSHIRE FIDDLE ORCHESTRA FUNDRAISING EVENTS

As a charity, we are responsible for raising our own funds.  Our regular fund-raisers include an annual Christmas Fayre, Quiz Nights, Coffee Mornings and playing a programme of concerts throughout Ayrshire and beyond.

In August 2024, we had a 24-hour Playathon, which began with a concert in Troon Town Hall, followed by a ceilidh, then overnight and during the next day, players played non-stop for24 hours.  Players did three-hour stints,senior members playing throughout the night and the younger members taking overand playing throughout the next day.

Orchestra performances are an important source of income.  We perform regular concerts and by invitation throughout the year.  Sometimes the whole orchestra is involved and on other occasions just a few members may be required.  For example, our regular concerts at Ayr Town Hall are whole-orchestra performances, whereas at an event in March 2025 to mark completion of one section of the Alloway Railway Tunnel Mural, only three players were involved.

Our 2025 season will see us perform at many venues including Maybole and Troon Town Halls, Dalmellington and Littlemill Community Halls, Brodick on the Island of Arran and the Cathedral of the Isles on Cumbrae, as well as a tour base at Ayr Town Hall where we regularly play a Christmas Concert and a Summer Concert.

For many years, to celebrate Burns Night in January, we have been going down to Westminster to perform at the House of Commons, the Scottish Office and at Number 10 Downing Street.  This year, six AFO players visited London.  They sat in on Prime Minister’s Question Time and had the privilege of playing at Keir Starmer’s Burns Reception!

We get requests to play at many events from glitzy balls to supermarkets, from Corporate events to small charity fund-raisers.  Our players are always keen to perform and always do the Orchestra proud.  It’s lovely to stand at the back of a hall after a performance and watch the applause.  That’s what makes all the effort so worthwhile.

 AYRSHIRE FIDDLE ORCHESTRA ON TOUR

I am Tour Organiser for the Orchestra. Every two years, we go on an international tour.  In the past we have been to US, Canada, China, South Africa, Japan, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.  Our latest tour was in 2023 when 56 players went on a US Southern States Tour, visiting Newnan, Memphis, New Orleans and Houston. For 2025 we are taking 52 players and 14 Adults for our two-week Iberia Tour of Spain and Portugal.  In February 2025, we held a sponsored Cyclethon to raise funds for the tour.  The Orchestra rehearsed for their next concert while cycling 1281 km, the distance from Barcelona to Porto via Valencia and Madrid -  the route of our Tour.

Although tours have to be carefully managed and timetabled, we still can take advantage of local opportunities as they crop up.  For example, on our Southern States Tour, we had the opportunity to play live at Graceland! We performed a magnificent concert which was live-streamed on Facebook, so that family and friends back in Scotland could join in and see the performance.  And on an earlier tour to Atlanta, we stood on the steps of the State Capitol and played both The Star Spangled Banner and Scotland the Brave!

However, Orchestra tours are not just about giving live performances.  They combine opportunities to network with other musicians in workshops and provide time to experience making music with musicians from different cultures. We have been warmly welcomed wherever we have travelled and many of our players have become lifelong friends with those they have met at workshops or concerts while on tour.  Being able to perform Scottish music to audiences worldwide a wonderful  experience for the members of our orchestra and rewards them for all the hard work they do at rehearsals.

 THE ALLOWAY RAILWAY TUNNEL PROJECT

The close association between AFO and the Alloway Railway Tunnel  came about more-or-less by accident.  Kathleen and I were walking through the Tunnel admiring the Mural and noticed the painting of Chris playing the violin!   This led me to wonder what the acoustics would be like in the Tunnel.  We clapped our hands and were amazed at the sound.  The acoustics in the Tunnel are brilliant! Thus, the seed of an idea to have the Orchestra pay in the tunnel was born! Our most recent venture was Tunes in the Tunnel on 18 May 2025, when players from AFO played traditional Scottish music in the Tunnel to raise funds for our forthcoming Iberia Tour and for the ART Project.

We look forward to further cooperation with the ART Project.

Euan Terras

Ayrshire Fiddle Orchestra

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