August 28th-31st, 2008
www.welshtraditionalmusic.com
This year’s Fiddle Festival of Wales is going to be the best yet. With workshops, concerts, the Welsh Celtic Fiddle Competition and sessions galore, if you can play, or can’t, we can help you do something about that also. Some of the best from Wales (Cass Meurig, Iolo Jones and IMM’s Sian Phillips ), Ireland (Liz Doherty), Scotland (Lori Watson), England (Pete Cooper), Sweden (Goran Premberg) and now, a late arrival to our host of tutors. Mark Oats from Australia has been playing fiddle since the age of four, growing up in Austinmere, NSW.As a teenager he became interested in Irish fiddle and during his twenties, then lived and worked in Europe for several years as a musician, perfecting his unique style of Celtic fiddling.

Returning to Australia, he became and still is Sydney’s premier Celtic fiddler, performing in just about every Irish pub in the city. He has toured with Irish dance shows such as Celtic Reign, and is in demand as a session fiddler all over Australia. As well as Australia, he has toured from Japan to Hong Kong with the Fiddlers Festival and performs regularly with his own quirky Irish Band Finn MacCool. The master class with Dave Swarbrick (Whippersnapper/Fairport Convention) should enthuse most young fiddlers. He’s been inspiring many since the early seventies and still amazes his audiences. He’ll be accompanied by the brilliant guitarist, Kevin Dempsey (Whippersnapper).
Check the website www.fiddlefestivalofwales.org.uk
for more information.