Ciar Milne & Friends: a testament to Scotland’s strong traditional music education

One of the regular joys of Piping Live! over the last 20 years has been stumbling into a performance that you didn’t plan to see and being absolutely delighted with the experience.

Ciar Milne is a young piper from Dundee with a strong affinity to the isle of Uist, and he was accompanied beautifully by Iona Reid on keyboard and Ellie McLaren on fiddle. Playing a sheepskin bag with a B-flat setup, his pipes were deep and rich, and Reid’s keyboard work was rhythmic, tasteful and interesting. On fiddle, McLaren sometimes clung note-for-note with the pipes and then would soar off on another line, lifting it all up.

This performance was a testament to the strength of traditional music education in Scotland: young musicians with a solid grounding in traditions and technique, carrying the music forward with their own imprint.

This performance was a testament to the strength of traditional music education in Scotland: young musicians with a solid grounding in traditions and technique, carrying the music forward with their own imprint. This was an immensely enjoyable set of tunes from musicians both in charge of the music and having fun playing it, and the audience was enthusiastic and appreciative.

– Iain MacDonald, Regina