The Gordon Gaitherin is a voluntary organisation with charitable status which currently works with young people from Central Aberdeenshire.

The Gaitherin hosts tuition festivals based on the musical and cultural heritage of the North East of Scotland.

We aim to put a knowledge of their culture into the hands of young people so that they can redefine it in their own artistic language.

The Gaitherin is unique in its approach in that young people are actively encouraged to decide the programme and content of events.

The first Gaitherin took place at Insch in 1993 during the first week of the Easter holidays.

By Easter 1995 the numbers attending has grown from 70 to 120 and it was decided to split the Gaitherin into two, week-long festivals; one at Easter for children aged 8 - 11 and one in October for young people aged 12 - 18.

The two major festivals now take place in Kemnay Academy and Community Education Centre.

The Gaitherin has continued to grow and now currently works with over 200 young people each year.

A varied programme of events is now offered by the Gaitherin throughout the year in music, drama, singing and dance.

At each week long festival the young people take part in three workshops daily from the following:

• Fiddle
• Tin Whistle
• Guitar
• Clarsach (Scottish Harp)
• Drumming
• Voice
• Pipes/Chanter
• Drama
• Keyboards
• Dance

In addition to the workshops there are various activities on offer during the two hour lunch break:

• Sports
• Ceilidh Dancing
• Arts & Crafts
• Circus Skills
• Outdoor Games
• Disco
• Story-telling
• Band Practice

The emphasis is always on blending committed quality tuition with fun and social opportunities. Our tutors are selected as much for their ability to work with young people as on their creative merits.

Each Gaitherin finishes with a participants' concert when the young people show off their newly acquired skills to parents, friends and members of the public. The concert at Easter 2000 attracted an audience of 450.

The two patrons of the Gaitherin are Evelyn Glennie OBE and Martyn Bennett.

The Gordon Gaitherin is now at an exciting stage of development and with the right funding in place we can continue to expand our programme and encourage more young people to become involved.

It is vital that the opportunity to take part in the Gaitherin's programme is open to all young people. Therefore we offer heavily subsidised places to those in the greatest need. We are also in the process of building up an instrument bank so that young people can get access to a wide range of musical instruments.

The Gaitherin aims to introduce the arts to young people who have never previously been involved. At this time of severe cutbacks within education, more and more young people are being denied the opportunity to take part in music, dance and drama.

Over the years the numerous benefits the young people have experienced have become obvious. New friendships with young people from different schools and towns have been formed thus helping to break down barriers. The energy of youth can be expressed through a strong involvement in music and drama rather than in more negative ways. Senior participants are encouraged and supported to return to the Easter Gaitherin as shadow tutors and shadow youth leaders. Some older participants now give concerts at various places around the community e.g. nursing homes, church groups etc.

A few of our older participants are now studying music and drama at Colleges and Universities throughout Britain.

Throughout the years the Gaitherin and the young folk have been involved in many exciting events. The highlight so far was the appearance of the Gaitherin band on The National Lottery Big Ticket which was broadcast on BBC1 at prime time on a Saturday evening. Around twenty young people and youth workers set off for a fun filled weekend in London where they mingled with the stars of the show including Anthea Turner, Patrick Keilty and Tessa Sandison to name but a few.

The 'Skye Banned' ( with members aged 15 -18 ) performed at the Millennium Dome on 30^th November 2000 as part of Scotland Day. As well as this great event the 'Skye Banned' is in great demand to play at Ceilidhs throughout the area.

The Gaitherin has attracted good media cover over the years having been featured many times in the local papers and also on Grampian TV.

Due to the ever increasing demand on our limited resources the Gaitherin is currently looking for premises that can be developed to form a centre of excellence for young people from the North East of Scotland.

The Management Committee is made up of parents, young people and musicians.

The annual financial costs associated with the Gordon Gaitherin are high and any donations received towards our running costs will be gratefully received.

• Aberdeenshire Council
• The Scottish Arts Council
• The Esme Fairbairn Trust
• AMEC Process and Energy Limited
• Chevron
• Whytes Coaches
• Grampian Television
• Leonard's Music
• Rizza's of Huntly
• Mitchell's Inverurie Dairy
• Mather's (Inverurie) Ltd
• Scotsfox Web Design
• Jack Cooper Bakers

Other items required by the Gaitherin include:

• Computer
• Colour Printer
• Photocopier
• Fiddles
• Drums
• Guitars
• Keyboards
• Chanters
• Bagpipes
• Accordians
• Clarsachs (Scottish Harps)

If you or your Company can help in any way please This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  us.

• Major sponsors will have their name and/or logo displayed on T-Shirts alongside the Gaitherin design. These T. Shirts are worn by all participants and staff at the participants concert and at various fund raising events throughout the year.

• All major sponsors will be prominently acknowledged in the 10,000 leaflets that are distributed to all families of school-age children in Central Aberdeenshire. They will also be acknowledged on all programmes and posters.

• All major sponsors will be given the opportunity to display information about their company during the festivals and on this website.

• All sponsors will be invited to the Tutors' Concert and the very popular participants concert and will receive as much recognition in all publicity events and press releases as possible.

• All sponsors will be publicly thanked at the participants concerts which annually attract audiences of upwards of 700 people.

• Any instruments purchased will have the sponsors name or logo prominently displayed. The instruments are used by many young people throughout the year and can be seen by a large cross section of the public at concerts and while out on loan.

• Sponsors will have the opportunity to be associated with a proven success which appeals to young people aged 8 - 18.

• All sponsors will be acknowledged on the Gaitherin website.

• Sponsors will be invited to other Gaitherin promotional events such as family ceilidhs, concerts etc.

• Sponsors names and logos will be prominently displayed throughout Kemnay Academy and on this website during the festivals.

If you wish any more information about this dynamic, youth led Arts Organisations please This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it