UHI Institute for Northern Studies Alumna Celebrates the Publication of Her PhD

We're thrilled to announce that UHI Institute for Northern Studies alumna Jane Blair MacMorran has successfully published "The Legacy of Ron Gonnella: Scottish Fiddler 1930-1994," with The University of Tennessee Press as part of their esteemed Charles K Wolfe Music Series.

Jane’s PhD thesis focused on the musical legacy of Scottish fiddler Ron Gonnella, specifically his role in popularising jigs and revitalising the fiddle repertoire from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Born in Dundee in 1930, Gonnella was famous for his performances on BBC Scotland and had an extensive discography that featured Scottish fiddle and dance band recordings. He also served as a competition adjudicator and was an international performer, collaborating with the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society and its various branches.

Despite Gonnella's popularity and his extensive body of work, he has been largely overlooked in formal literature. Jane's thesis thus provides previously uncollected information about Gonnella’s life and works, representing a significant contribution to the formal literature on the Scottish fiddling tradition.

Jane’s book, which is based on her research conducted for her PhD under the supervision of Donna Heddle, the Director of the UHI Institute for Northern Studies, is the latest addition to the Charles K. Wolfe Music Series published by the University of Tennessee Press.

In “The Legacy of Ron Gonnella,” Jane Blair MacMorran provides the first comprehensive study of one of the most influential yet underappreciated figures in Scottish fiddling. Ron Gonnella's extensive discography played a significant role in revitalising traditional Scottish fiddle music during the latter half of the twentieth century, particularly in the United States.

Drawing on oral histories, archival sources, and interviews conducted during her PhD research, Jane traces Gonnella’s journey from Italy to Scotland and across the Atlantic. She places his work within the context of the shifting cultural landscapes and folk revivals of the 1960s to 1980s. This compelling study repositions Gonnella as a key contributor to the preservation and evolution of Scottish fiddling, offering new insights into his lasting impact on the tradition and its transatlantic significance.

Jane Blair MacMorran is director of Appalachian, Scottish, and Irish Studies in the Department of Appalachian Studies at East Tennessee State University. She is a former United States National Scottish Fiddling Champion and serves as an adjudicator for Scottish fiddle competitions in North America. Jane completed her PhD at the UHI Institute for Northern Studies and graduated in 2025.

“The Legacy of Ron Gonnella: Scottish Fiddler 1930-1994” is available for purchase at utpress.org and at bookshops.