Highlands and Islands Music Festival

Competitions

A group of eight secondary pupils travelled to Oban to compete in the Highlands and Islands Music & Dance Festival.

Read more below…

We left SGG at 3pm, leaving time for a break at the Green Welly Stop.

SGG Minibus at the Green Welly Stop.

We arrived in Oban and cooked dinner at the hostel, before having a wee session in the common room. The staff and guests were thrilled at the talent of our pupils –  we even got a mention on their Facebook page.

In the morning, we had breakfast and a few games of pool – and as Andrew found out to his cost, Ms McEachen is quite good!

It turns out that Ms McEachen is a formidable pool player!

Moilidh played in the Romantic Piano and Modern Piano competitions. She won Gold in both competitions, and was then awarded the Lady Fermoy Overall Piano Trophy.

Performing at St John's Cathedral.

After a final few practises at the hostel, we headed to the venue for the Traditional Music Groups competition.

Practising at Oban Backpackers.

Despite a note-perfect, enthusiastic and spirited performance, we came 3rd with a score of 92. You can listen to our rehearsal below – and given that they played even better in the competition, I think we were robbed!

We headed back into the town centre for dinner at the Oban Fish and Chip Shop, then went to spend our £15 prize money in the sweet shop – you can’t have a bus journey without sweets, apparently!

On the Esplanade.

Thanks to Ms McEachen for organising the trip and driving the minibus, and thanks also to the staff at Oban Backpackers for such a warm welcome. We’ll be back in Oban in October for the Royal National Mod – watch this space!