The Small Hall Band is a collective of children and parents from the Kelso /
Coldstream area. It was formed five years ago to encourage young people to learn about and
appreciate traditional music, to provide opportunities for them to play together, and to give them the
goal of reasonably frequent performances. These performances include both concerts and ceilidh dances.
The band has played for many village hall functions (hence the name - The Small
Hall Band), for family ceilidhs, for events at the Edinburgh 'Roots and Shoots'
festival,and for large amplified events such as the Hexham Folkworks Youth Weekend
ceilidh.
More recently we have been involved in concerts and ceilidhs beyond the Borders,
the most memorable being our three performances at the Millennium Dome on April
10th,2000, The music played by the band at the Dome is featured on five of the tracks on
the 'Land of Creativity CD'.
The Band continued to be busy throughout the rest of 2000 -making a recording for a Kentucky radio station, featuring at the Borders Tryst Music Festival at Thirlestane
Castle and providing the music for the Peebles Arts Festival
Ceilidh. Our own concert in St. Andrews Church raised funds for our newly
adopted children's orphanage violin group in Sarajevo.
New ventures in 2001 include supporting The First 'Border Gaitherin -Coldstream
2001' in May, and in June a trip to the French town of Vif for a week of music
making, concerts and ceilidhs.
While the band is fiddle dominated, there are also flutes, whistles, cellos,
guitars, harps, bodhrans, double bass and Scottish Small Pipes. The range of music fits all of the ceilidh dance requirements- jigs, reels,
marches, polkas, hornpipes, waltzes.
The influences on the band have increasingly come to reflect the interests of
the youngsters themselves as they have become aware of the range of traditional music. The band has also
had significant input from local players, such as Judith Linton, Jimmy Nagle,
and more recently, Iain Fraser, Ian Lowthian, Matt Seattle, Jennifer Wrigley and
Hazel Wrigley.
The Small Hall Band
Violins:- Innes Watson, Allan Hyslop, Christina Marroni, Helena Dellow,
Rachel Cross, Carly Blain, Gillian Young, Clare Horne, Robin Kinsman-Blake, Linda Kinsman-Blake, Lori Watson, Ali Young,
Sandy James, Amy Berrett,
Viola:- Laurie Martin
Cello:- Gemma Blain, Natalie Dickson, Emma Bain
Bass:- Ross Horne
Flute/Whistles:- Lilias Kinsman-Blake, Rachel Whittaker, Nikki Miller, Louise
Lillie, Martin Marroni, Arthur Cross, Philip Whittaker
Bodhrans:- Stephen Hyslop, Jemima Martin, Rankin Kinsman-Blake, Wilf
Hyslop,
Sonya Blain, Caroline Dellow
Guitars:- Liz Marroni, Ewan Cross, Sandy Watson
Scottish Small Pipes:- Jamie Young