The San Francisco Scottish Fiddlers will work their musical magic again this weekend when they present their annual concerts, which they call a “stravaig.” As always, it’s going to be a lot of fun, but this year the mood will also have a bittersweet edge because Alasdair Frasier, their founder and guiding spirit, is retiring after 36 years.
Don’t be misled by the San Francisco tag. The fiddlers actually come from all over, including a sizable contingent from the East Bay. One of them is Pate Thomson, a retired cardiologist in Berkeley who, along with wife Judy, has been with the Fiddlers from the very beginning.
“I had played violin as a child, but I gave it up when I was 13, and the instrument rested in its case for the next 37 years,” Thomson says. “Then I met Alasdair. I attended a concert by three musicians playing Scottish music, and when I heard him my jaw dropped.
“I walked up to him, gave him my professional card and asked him if he was taking any students. He said he was working for British Petroleum, developing oil fields in Alaska, but he was thinking of a career change because in his heart of hearts what he really wanted to do was play the traditional music of Scotland, and he would need some students to survive.
“I was one of 15 or so students, and it was that group who formed the Scottish Fiddlers in 1986. Now it’s not uncommon to see 80 or more people playing on stage at the same time. It was a transformative event for me personally. It was not just the music, which was wonderful, but also the spontaneity inspired by Alasdair’s way of teaching.
“He told us not to worry about the guy next to you, not think of it as a competitive venture but plan your own journey. It was all carrot and no stick. Being a cardiologist is serious business, and I was working hard all the time, but playing Scottish music brought such joy into my life, and in the course of time these people have become my fast friends.
“This has opened up my life in so many ways: joyfulness, pleasure, satisfaction and fulfillment. All you need is a willingness to have a lot of fun.”
Pinole’s Deborah McCaskey, who — full disclosure here — used to be my editor at this paper, remembers the first time she attended a Scottish Fiddlers concert with her family.
“We were enchanted by the sound of this mass of fiddles playing these gorgeous tunes,” McCaskey says. “We found a sign-up sheet to join the Fiddlers, and little did we know we were acquiring something like a second family. There’s nothing like the feeling of this musical community, where we all learn from and support each other.
“It’s less structured than, say, a youth symphony or the school marching bands, so there’s plenty of opportunity to experiment and just to have playing music organically in your life.
“When we joined, a number of parents and children, or sometimes both parents and their children, also joined, and we’ve gotten to see an entire generation of young musicians grow up in the fiddle club. Participation in the Fiddlers has enriched our lives in so many ways.”
This year, the Fiddlers will present “Stravaig: A Musical Ramble” on Friday in Davis, Saturday in San Rafael and Sunday in Santa Rosa. The first two shows start at 7 p.m., and the Sunday show is a 3 p.m. matinee. You can get tickets at the door or online at sfscottishfiddlers.org.
Those locations may sound pretty far away, but I have no doubt a lot of people will be making the trip. Fiddle fans are like Deadheads; they’ll go anywhere the band is playing. So what’s a stravaig anyway?
“It’s journey without a map,” says Oakland’s Rob Godfrey, who organized this year’s concerts and will not only play a fiddle but also sing a ditty from the year 1708 called “Both Sides of the Tweed,” which he says “will resound in America today.”
And what’s the difference between a fiddle and a violin?
“It’s not the instrument; it’s the music you’re playing,” he says.
Martin Snapp can be reached at catman442@comcast.net.