North fiddler Karen set for October tour after launch of brain bleed book
North fiddler and composer Karen Steven is preparing for an October tour that will include appearances in Aberdeen and Inverness as well as Caithness and Sutherland.
The programme is a mix of workshops and concerts, with Karen and fellow musician Alastair MacDonald being joined by Anna Magee for some events.
It follows the launch this summer of Karen's book, Nudged... A journey from music career to brain surgery and back again. She has spoken of how it took years to regain her love of playing and teaching music after surviving a life-threatening bleed on the brain, and how she owes her life to the neurosurgeon who treated her in hospital.
Karen is originally from Reay and began playing fiddle when she went to Thurso High School. She returned to Caithness in 2022 after 10 years in Aberdeen.
The tour starts on Saturday, October 14, at the MacRobert Building of the University of Aberdeen, with Alastair – originally from Wick – on accordion and Karen on fiddle. This event will be teaching a workshop for the charity Scottish Culture and Traditions, and afterwards Karen will be giving a talk about her book.
The day will be rounded off with a traditional music session with the two musicians inviting any players to join them for a few tunes.
On Monday, October 16, Alastair and Karen will be joined by keyboard accompanist Anna Magee, from Strathy, as guests of Highland Accordion and Fiddle Club Inverness.
Karen and Alastair will then stop off at the River Bothy café in Berriedale on Tuesday, October 17, to play a few lunchtime tunes from noon until 1pm. After sound-checking later the same day, Karen and Alastair will be joined again by Anna as guests of Wick Accordion and Fiddle Club.
On Friday, October 20, the three musicians will host a music workshop for Fèis air an Oir in Strathy hall, with adults and children welcome, from 2pm to 4.30pm. They will be teaching a variety of instruments by ear, and sheet music will be given out after the workshop.
Anyone attending the workshop is able to attend a concert and dance free of charge in the evening, from 7.30pm until 10.30pm. Tea and biscuits will be served at the interval and there will be a raffle.
Tickets are available from West End Stores, Melvich, and The Store, Bettyhill. Details are on the Strathy Community and Fèis air an Oir Facebook pages.
A few ceilidh dances will round off the night, which is a "BYOB" event.
On Saturday, October 21, with funding from Tasgadh, Alastair and Karen will accompany Highland dancers for a morning of choreography at the Ross Institute in Halkirk. Details are on the Tanya Horne School of Highland Dancing Facebook page.
For any musicians wishing to play a few informal tunes with Alastair and Karen, they plan to be at the Comm session in Thurso on the night of Wednesday, October 18.
"I am very much looking forward to going on tour," Karen said. "Previously, my music work was primarily through teaching.
"It has been a refreshing challenge to work on a variety of set lists for live concert sets."
Anyone wishing more information about any of the events can email Karen at k.l.steven@btinternet.com
Karen recently received an order for 20 of her books from Highland-based Woody's Express Parcels. The company requested that the books be donated to each of 20 Scottish high school libraries.
Woody's has depots in Stornoway, Inverness and Glasgow, and schools in all three regions have received copies.
Karen added: "I would love to invite any other businesses that may wish to donate one of my books to a school library."
