The brainchild of Kathleen McKellar Ferguson, “Classics at Kippen” was born in 2012. Its purpose is threefold. To provide much needed performing experience for young students, to raise money for charity and to provide a high class concert performance which makes for a lovely community event for the people of Kippen and further afield.
Link to Classics at Kippen website
These concerts, held in the beautiful Kippen Parish Church, could not be put on without the enormous support and generosity of a great many local friends whose unstinting support and encouragement has been essential.

To date “Classics at Kippen has raised more than £34,000 for the charities “Motor Neurone Disease“, “Parkinson“, “Crossroads“, “Erskine“, “Diabetes Research” and Kippen Parish church.

May 4th 2024: An evening of voice and clarinet music with students from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Dec 2022: Christmas Celebration

Dec 2019: Christmas Celebration

March 23rd 2018: Duet Recital featuring two of Kathleen’s former students, Hannah Sandison (soprano) and Annabella Ellis (mezzo soprano).
Along with pianist Chavdar Mazgalov.

JULY 2018: Summer Serenade

NOVEMBER 2016: “Words and Music from the Somme”. A programme to commemorate the centenery of the Battle of the Somme. In aid of Erskine hospital this concert raised £11,000.

JULY 2015; JULY 2016 & NOVEMBER 2016: “Raucous Rossini”, established by RCS alumni Max Fane, came to Kippen with 3 semi staged productions (“L’inganno Felice”, “La cambiale di matrimonio”, “L’occasione fa il ladro” ) were performed by a 17 piece orchestra and 5 singers from RCS to a packed audience who gave a standing ovation at the end.

NOVEMBER 2014: The second concert had a very different feel. This was a varied programme of solos, duets, trios and ensemble pieces showing singers of different voice types and at different stages of development from aged 16 to the very experienced singers of the Opera School and Masters Programmes at RCS. All, apart from the 16 year old young tenor Marcus Svietliki (one of my then private students now an undergraduate at RCS), were students at RCS at the time.

My own students….Heather Jamieson, Eilys Mafawnwy Davis, Julia Daramy Williams, Fiona Joice, Charlotte Hoather, Olenka Ivakina, Eva Macfarlane and Marcus Svietlicki were joined by Maximilain Fane, Kieran White and Colin Murray (also from RCS) and accompanist Zhenja Mocholova.

JUNE 2012:The first concert was given by 4 masters students from RCS. This was a performance of Brahms Liebeslieder Walzes sung by Soprano Emily Mitchell, Mezzo Soprano Lynda Jane Nelson, Tenor John Findon and Baritone Andrew McTaggart with Kathleen McKellar Ferguson and Daniel Gonsalves providing the 4 hands at the piano.

The second half of the concert was a selection of operatic arias and songs from the shows performed by the above singers and with a few solos from Kathleen herself!