Ask: Kathryn Tickell

Jun 3 2007 By The Sunday Sun

Musician Kathryn Tickell's roots are firmly based in Northumberland, where many of her relatives still play traditional music.

Her father Mike Tickell is an acclaimed performer of the songs of this area. A passion for music clearly runs through her veins and she took up the Northumbrian smallpipes at the age of nine. By 13 she had won all the traditional open smallpipes competitions and was rapidly making a name for herself as a fiddle player.

At the age of 16, Kathryn released her first album, On Kielderside. Two years later - in 1986 - she turned professional. She has worked with a range of musicians, from Master of the Queen's Music, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, to pop star Sting.

Kathryn has also founded the Young Musicians' Fund. To date, some £98,000 has been raised to help young people in the North East realise their musical potential.

The latest offering from the Kathryn Tickell Band, Instrumental, was released last week.

Kathryn will be performing at Hall One, The Sage, Gateshead, on Saturday, June 23. Tickets cost £16, call 0191-443 4661.

* You have performed with Sting, who was recently voted the Sunday Sun's Hero of the North. Who is your hero?

That would have to be a man called Alistair Anderson. He is someone who has done a lot to promote Northumbrian music. There are people in this world who do something to promote themselves or do something just for the good of themselves. Then there are those who care little about themselves but do things for the good of others and Alistair falls into this category. The folk degree at Northumbria University exists due, in a large part, to him.

* You have toured around the world. Where is your favourite location?

I think it's got to be Italy. The food was wonderful and the hospitality of the people was very warm.

* How is the current tour going?

It is going very well but the travelling can take its toll. We have been performing lots of new material and the audiences have been taking to it very well. Whenever you play a concert people want to hear things they recognise but they really seem to enjoy the new stuff.

* What have you come across in life that inspires you?

Different things can inspire me but the landscape plays a major part. I love watching the light play across the landscape of rural Northumberland. Sounds can play a big part as well, such as listening to a stream rippling over rocks.

* Apart from the Northumbrian pipes what other instruments do you play?

I play the fiddle, which I am also known for playing professionally. I do play the piano, which I got to grade eight with but that is something which I tend to keep private and not put on any albums. I play the penny whistle and last Christmas I was also given a glockenspiel . . . the type you have for children. It has made a very minor appearance in some of the recent work.

* What are the best and worst things about touring?

The best bits are seeing the different countries and seeing how different audiences respond to the music. The worst parts are waiting around. I have lost count of the number of connections I have missed because of one delay or another and have had to wait at some obscure airport in the middle of the night.

* How close is the work you produce now to traditional Northumbrian music?

I think the best people to answer that would be those who listen to my music. I would say that there isn't much difference at all. I think I have kept to the traditions of it while allowing my personality to come through. Those who listen to it, though, might say I have strayed quite a bit from what they consider to be traditional.

* How do the Northumbrian pipes differ from other pipes?

They are bellows-blown, unlike the bagpipes. They also have a closed fingering system, which means when all the fingers are down there is no note. It can give the note a very different sound.

* What drew you to the instrument?

I have heard it all my life. When you are a child it is possible to make a very odd sound with them, which I always found very appealing.

* How important is it for you to keep Northumbrian music alive?

It is very important but I have never seen myself as some sort of campaigner. I keep it alive by doing what I enjoy and that is playing the instruments I love.

Ideally I would like everyone to love them as much as I do. I also enjoy working with younger generations of musicians and introducing them to the pipes.

* Are the pipes easy to write music for?

It's easy if you play them but if you come to music through a different instrument they can be problematic.