The North East Folk Collective wowed audiences at Schools Proms The North East Folk Collective have already garnered an impressive reputation in the north-east of Scotland and the youngsters further enhanced their standing with a terrific performance at the National School Proms in London this week. It was the culmination of months of hard work and the 17-strong ensemble relished their trip to the Royal Albert Hall, as you can see from one of the pictures they sent us. The group hail from a variety of different north-east locations, including Aberdeen, Peterculter, Portsoy, Huntly and Edzell. They had qualified for their dream trip to the home of the Proms by beating their opponents in Perth and duly glittered at the three-day festival of every type of music. The Scots produced evocative and rousing renditions of a mixture of traditional and contemporary works by the likes of Karine Polwart, Scott Skinner and Jonny Hardie. And they revelled in the sense of occasion which surrounded the showpiece annual event while their tutor, Sharon Hassan, was equally thrilled with the response which the fiddlers gained from the audience. One of the NEFC members, 16-year-old Annabelle McLeod from Premnay, said "I have never been in such an amazing hall in my life, we got the biggest cheer I have ever heard. And all the other groups were so lovely and supportive. It was a really magical day. The NEFC couldn't have made the trip without the sponsorship of Genesis (Oil and Gas Consultants), who are based in Aberdeen, and provided what Hassan described as "invaluable" assistance But it was a fantastic experience for such prodigies as Annie Lennox (no relation to the Aberdeen popstar), who has been involved in traditional music from the age of three and was voted the Young Burnsian of the Year in April by the World Burns Federation. Annie has already played in some fantastic venues, including Balmoral Castle, to the Queen for the Olympic torch relay and at Edinburgh Castle for the First Minister. But this trip with the NEFC took her to a new level and, in common with colleagues such as Cameron Nixon, she loved it. Who knows how many of these kids will end up appearing at the full-scale Proms in the future?