SHETLAND BLUES
AUGUST 2026

Inspired by the giant knitting piece 27 Shades of Shetland Blues by Fair Isle textile artist Marie Bruhat (in photograph above taken by Maëlys Gauthier), this project explored the colour Blue across artforms. On Shetland mainland we worked with the Shetland Youth Orchestra at Mareel in Lerwick; the young musicians of Bigton at Hymhus and rounded our time off on the mainland with a concert of blues, jazz and classical music at the community venue Hymhus, which also involved young musicians of Shetland Youth Orchestra playing side-by-side with us, and the audience joining in as a percussion section.

Then to Fair Isle, for a week-long residency that co-created blues pieces for performance, involving schools workshops in music, composition, performance, art and craft, and open-to-all workshops in music and craft, which included creating a giant knitted Fair Isle motif with Marie Bruhat; monochrome blue watercolours and cyanotypes - culminating in premieres of the children's pieces, and performances by and for the community woven into our culminating concert in the Hall.

Shetland Blues built on previous programmes of work. CHROMA has a relationship with the islands of Shetland and Fair Isle going back 24 years - this was our 10th visit. 

BIGTON feedbacK

Shetland Youth Orchestra
It was a privilege to start our academic year with a visit and workshop from the CHROMA ensemble. The piece of music chosen to work on was accessible and fun, Stuart was brilliant with the children, and I watched as the orchestra started hesitantly, and with support from all the CHROMA musicians, became confident and strong players. Many chose to come and listen to and perform in the evening’s concert. I strongly believe in the importance of striving for excellence, and how valuable it is for younger musicians to play with professionals. To have had the opportunity to play with such fabulous musicians is a rare and special opportunity, one which many will remember for the rest of their lives.

Annalie Hayward, Shetland Youth Orchestra

Bigton young musicians
The visit from CHROMA was a huge highlight at the start of term for the young people who usually attend Bigton Band. It was so exciting to meet and hear the performers and to learn about instruments that they don't often hear in this combination. The bassoon was a huge hit as many of the children had never heard a live bassoon and it was such a treat for them to hear it played so expertly and up close.
Many of the children had a really visceral response to hearing the ensemble playing together and they were quite mesmerised. Adam (10) said, "it's so amazing - when you look at each instrument it gets louder in your head". 
It was great fun to share the time together and we were most grateful to all the CHROMA musicians for doing some improvisation and teaching us all some new conducting signals! 
Hymhus Friday Friends lunch singalong
At Friday Friends craft and lunch group we usually have a bit of a singalong after our soup. In August we had the added bonus of the CHROMA ensemble (who were rehearsing in the Bigton Hall) joining us with a wonderful impromptu accompaniment! On the theme of Blue we sang Blue Moon and Blue Suede Shoes which went down a storm and many of the participants hadn't heard these instruments before. Thanks to the musicians for their willingness to muck in and their versatility!
Common Thead mending - to music
Our first mending session in our Common Thread series also coincided with the CHROMA visit and we were so pleased that Claire was willing to lead this pilot sewing session. Claire did a fabulous job of putting everyone at ease and giving us the confidence to try some new mending techniques. It was greatly enhanced by the beautiful background music as the CHROMA musicians rehearsed in the adjacent room. We'll have to try and add this element to all our mending sessions from now on! 
Hymhus gig with guest performers
The concert at Hymhus on Saturday evening was made all the more special with the inclusion of young musicians from the Shetland Youth Orchestra. For some of them it was the first time they have been to Hymhus and it felt like such an inclusive and energetic way to end the evening. The New Orleans Funk piece was technically challenging and it was so great to see the young players rise to these high expectations and gain confidence. It made it all the more exciting to watch as we all knew it had come together that day! Special thanks to Stu who did a fabulous job of directing and bringing everyone together with so many elements involved. 
Hymhus audience participation as percussion section
At Hymhus we like to promote active involvement in music making whenever possible so it was the icing on the cake to have the audience involved with percussion parts in the Saturday night performance. It was pitched so well - at just the right level of interesting, challenging but not too complicated. You could really feel the sense of connection between everyone in the room. What a joy!

Alice Ritch, co-founder, Bigton Collective

Team SHETLAND BLUES

CHROMA:
Stuart King, clarinettist and Artistic Director of CHROMA
Claire Shovelton, CHROMA Producer, art, photographer
Jo Turner, bassoon and textile artist Chihiro Ono, violin
Jessica May piano

FAIR ISLE:
Marie Bruhat textile artist

#shetlandblues26
@chromaensemble

FAIR ISLE FEEDBACK

The Fair Isle community has a treasured relationship with the CHROMA team, sharing wonderful musical and artistic experiences since 2002.  As the remotest inhabited island in the UK, you might think Fair Isle was isolated or insular, but it is the opposite and the whole community from our youngest children to folk in their 80s look forward to the visits of CHROMA, whether it be to join in the music, the creative sessions or just to enjoy the chance of listening to world class musicians in our island home.

For almost 25 years CHROMA have given the residents of Fair Isle (and lucky visitors too) the chance to be involved in a creative experience which really does enrich our lives.  Personally, I was 18 the first time CHROMA visited the isle and found the level of musicianship inspiring.  Now, my children have had the opportunity to take part with various projects with CHROMA and are equally inspired - as were their grand and great-grandparents.  How lovely that 4 generations of our and indeed other island families, have had the privilege of being involved in CHROMA projects.

Friendships have been made and we look forward to seeing the returning musicians each time, as well as making new friends.  When visiting the isle, the CHROMA team is invited to stay with islanders: eating together, having fun and sharing experiences.  Fair Isle is a strong, talented community which loves to join in.  Claire, Stuart and the team listen to the community when planning a project, taking inspiration from the wealth of riches Fair Isle has to offer, but adding aspects of music and art we would not usually have access to.  Ours is a friendship and indeed partnership which I hope continues to flourish, the benefit to all is very tangible - a CHROMA visit is one of the highlights of the year for our isle.

Eileen Thomson - Chair, Fair Isle Committee

The children of Fair Isle Primary School could not have enjoyed their week with the CHROMA ensemble any more. It was a fabulous week full of music making, composition and art creation. The energy, knowledge and passion from the ensemble meant the children were enthused from the very first session, carrying this energy all the way through the week in everything they did.
To see each child take part in composing their own piece of blues music was fantastic to see, with so many expressive arts skills honed and developed in the process. The afternoon art complemented the music in a way that brought the project to life even further, from cyanotype to watercolor to simply the freedom to express yourself through the paintbrush.
The planning and preparation behind the project was evident. What was fascinating to observe was how the musicians involved our children in the editing process, allowing them to feed back on how their pieces sounded and make adjustments and tweaks. The musicians deserve huge credit for the thought that went into each element of the learning that saw children make so much progress and gain confidence. Taking their bows at the Saturday night concert captured this perfectly and I am certain the children will remember this experience for years to come (one child even asked for multiple copies of his composition the day after so he could send them to all his family members far and wide).
We cannot wait for more projects in the future and are absolutely thrilled the children have such an experience here in Fair Isle.

Jonathan Pye Principal Teacher Fair Isle School

Luca (11): “I had such a great time and all the CHROMA ensemble are lovely.” 
Ander (8): “I had so much fun because they have been making music with us and I loved composing.” 
Teddy (11): “It was a good experience and I would love to do it again and again and again.” 
Khalicee (6): “I enjoyed meeting the musicians because it was exciting to meet new people and I love music.” 
Hetty (6): “I love spending time with the ensemble because I love music and they were energetic and kind.”