Emerging Artists Series: Siannie Moodie and Magnus Turpie

Usher Hall 27/1/25

Emerging Artists Series:  Siannie Moodie and Magnus Turpie

 The Usher Hall organ gallery is completely full and more people are seated on the stage for the very special last concert in this series of Emerging Artists concerts.  Carol Main, CEO of Live Music Now Scotland, says that this presentation style, with the musicians on the stage facing their audience in the gallery is unique to these events.  It certainly combines the grandeur and acoustic of the Usher Hall with the intimacy of seeing the performers close-up.  

She tells us about Magnus Turpie’s participation in the LMNS Pathways programme, which provides individualised support to disabled musicians. He has Down’s Syndrome and is proud of his work in challenging stereotypes and addressing the under-representation of people with Learning Disabilities in music education programmes.  He plays a diatonic c/c/c# ‘button’ accordion and currently performs with Siannie Moodie, an experienced clarsach player who has been part of LMNS since 2017.

They play a lively selection of Scottish tunes, often packaged in threes in the traditional ceilidh dance format. We have a Gay Gordons, a swirling Dashing White Sergeant, with plenty of toe-tapping to ‘The Braes of Killiecrankie’ and ‘The Bonnie Lass of Fyvie’, before ending with three Gaelic Waltzes, Michael MacKinnon’s ‘Leaving Barra’, Margaret Martin-Hardie’s ‘Leaving Lismore’  and ‘Teann a-nall’ by Gilleasbaig MacDhómhnail, which take us on a melodic tour of the Hebrides.  Magnus Turpie’s accordion style is ideally suited to the ceilidh repertoire: he regularly plays with his own band the ‘Magnus Turpie Combo’ and last March went on a tour of Skye with ‘Ester and Iseabail’s Kitchen Ceilidhs’.  He’s also a composer and the catchy ‘Magnus’s Polka’ is certainly designed to get everyone up on the floor!

 Siannie Moodie provides a flowing accompaniment to these tunes, and her clarsach has a bigger role in the selection of works celebrating Robert Burns.  Many of these are well known, and the audience hums along to ‘My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose’ and ‘Leezie Lindsay’.  The players put aside their instruments for a recitation of ‘Up in the Morning’, duetting on the finger wagging  “no for me!” while Siannie Moodie recites the verses. Before they play  the lovely slow air ‘Rosslyn Castle’ which dates from 1746, she tells us of Burns’ visit there on a walk after late-night carousing in Edinburgh.   It has a fine part for clarsach and she then plays a solo accompaniment to ‘A Man’s a Man’ which we’re encouraged to sing.  My neighbour and I (members of different choirs) manage most of the words between us.

The Finale includes the Burns song which we all know, ’Auld Lang Syne,’ before ‘Scotland the Brave’ which is followed by loud and prolonged applause.  And an encore, ‘Dark Island’, “Magnus’s favourite,” Siannie Moodie tells us.  This wonderful concert has kept us all, including Magnus Turpie’s family and friends, well entertained.  LMNS, the Kimie Trust and the Usher Hall deserve credit for their support of this and the other concerts in the Emerging Artists’ Series.

There’s more information about the performers at Live Music Now Scotland