Elphinstone Institute

Our busy summer continues, and it's difficult to believe that the Cullerlie Traditional singing weekend, which is now sold out, starts tomorrow! We're looking forward to this brilliant weekend of traditional songs, which will feature a tribute on the Saturday afternoon to the late Ian Russell, our former director, who was so involved in setting up the festival with Tam and Anne Reid.

The festival continues thanks to the tireless efforts of Eric and Tracey Walker, Scott Gardiner, Robin and Morag Dempsey, Norma Russell, as well as support from staff at the Elphinstone Institute and volunteers.

Doric Development Worker and 'prood Brocher' Charley Buchan represented The Institute at the Glover Festival in Fraserburgh last month. The day was a celebration of community, culture and the legacy of Thomas Blake Glover, the “Scottish Samurai,” who was instrumental in forging lasting links between Scotland and Japan.

Japanese Consul General for Scotland Mr Katsutoshi Takeda oversaw the renaming of a Fraserburgh Harbour pilot boat as ‘Glover’ and also enjoyed reading some of our Japanese folk tales translated into Doric (he nottit a han wi the Doric!) as well as admiring some of the puppets, based on the traditional song ‘Herrins’ Heids’ created by Fraserburgh schoolchildren and performed by pupils in Nagasaki during a cultural exchange programme with Institute Director Tom McKean and Honorary Research Associate Dr Irene Watt several years previously.

We're very excited to have special guest Luke Daniels joining us on 26th September to lead a day's tuition in B/C button box at the University of Aberdeen!

We will be running a tuition day for people of all levels to explore the wonderful B/C button box. Luke will be providing learning materials in advance to suit all levels.

The tuition day is from 9-5pm with an evening concert from 7:00pm in the Dunbar Street Hall. There will be other events over the weekend including informal music sessions on the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday!

Tickets for the tuition day and concert are £85/75 (Friends of the EI)/40 (students/under-25s) including lunch and refreshments. There are also a limited number of bursaries available - please contact [email protected] for more information.

The evening concert in Dunbar Street Hall is £15/12/6.

For more information and tickets, visit the website at www.buttonboxesandmoothies.com

This event has been made possible by the support from the Traditional Arts and Culture Fund, administered by TRACS, with support from the National Lottery through Creative Scotland.

Luke Daniels University of Aberdeen Aberdeen Folk Orchestra: The Woods Aberdeen City Council - City Events

The Friends of the Elphinstone Institute - Call for New Board Members!

Are you passionate about Northern Scottish culture and traditions? would you like to join the board of The Friends of the Elphinstone Institute and help support the vital work of the Elphinstone Institute? A centre for the study, promotion, and celebration of Northern Scottish culture and traditions based at the University of Aberdeen.

Our local and international members support the work of the Elphinstone Institute to research, celebrate and promote culture and traditions across the North of Scotland. Members include past and present students, local businesses, arts professionals, cultural workers, academics, and others with an interest in supporting our work.

We are looking for three new board members from September 2026. We welcome applications from across Scotland.

Deadline for expressions of interest: Monday 31st August 2026

For more information, contact David Francis - [email protected]

To find out more about what we do, visit www.elphinstonefriends.org

Seinn Spioradail Project Recognised by the University of Aberdeen's Principal

We are absolutely delighted that the Seinn Spioradail project, based here at the Elphinstone Institute, was explicitly highlighted by the University of Aberdeen's Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Peter Edwards, in his annual summer message to all staff.

In his address, the Principal praised the project as a flagship example of how research-led innovation can safeguard living heritage, noting that:

"...the Seinn Spioradail project is helping preserve Gaelic-language sacred song traditions through a digital archive of more than 300 recordings and a touring exhibition reconnecting communities with living Gaelic heritage. Together, these initiatives demonstrate our commitment to improving lives and safeguarding cultural heritage..."

To see our research celebrated alongside major medical and scientific breakthroughs is a wonderful testament to the importance of the arts, humanities, and ethnography in the modern world.

A huge congratulations to Dr Frances Wilkins, the project team and our wonderful museum and gallery partners, and our deepest thanks to the incredible tradition-bearers and communities whose voices make this archive possible.

🎶 Discover the living tradition and listen to over 300 sacred song recordings on our digital archive here: www.franceswilkins.com/seinn-spioradail

of Aberdeen University of Aberdeen Music Department University of Aberdeen LLMVC British Forum for Ethnomusicology

@🎻 Miss NAFCo already? Help us keep the music playing! 🎶

The North Atlantic Fiddle Convention may have wrapped up, but the work to preserve and celebrate our traditional culture continues year-round.

The Friends of the Elphinstone Institute are the backbone of many of the Institute's public events and projects, including NAFCo. Without the Friends, many of these events simply would not be possible.

If you enjoyed your time at NAFCo this weekend, please consider showing your support by joining the Friends! Membership is just £20 per year, and fees go directly toward funding various activities throughout the year.

To learn more about the Friends, what we do, and how to join, please visit our brand-new website at:
www.elphinstonefriends.org

What a brilliant way to end our North Atlantic Fiddle Convention. Well done especially to Kirsty Clements and Laura Harrington, our festival leads, who did an amazing job bringing this all together! And thank you to the dozens of volunteers who made this all possible, and to the many sponsors Kirsty and Laura brought on board. It was great seeing a real buzz about the city these past few days, with fiddle cases criss-crossing the city centre at all hours following the tunes!