Joan Blue admits to being so shocked when finding out she was to be awarded a BEM that she nearly spilled a cup of coffee on her clean carpet.
But the 89-year-old Bankfoot native also beamed with “delight” at being recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for her decades of service to education and music in Perthshire.
Joan had her first piano lesson at the age of 10 and has since then embraced her talent and used it generously to support education, charities and the local and wider community.
With decades of playing and teaching behind her Joan was described by the Crown as “one of the finest Scottish fiddle pianists in recent memory”.
She is still performing to this day, inspiring younger musicians, entertaining and raising funds for community charities.
Early in her career, she was an accompanist for Scottish dance classes.
Her talent was soon recognised and she was invited to join the Cavendish Dance Band in Perth.
Her career flourished as she joined the well-known Bill Wilkie Accordion Orchestra, going on to perform with many bands.
She made her BBC debut in 1954 with the Mansfield Scottish dance quartet.
She helped set up the Perth Accordion and Fiddle Club in 1970 becoming secretary, a role she held for 23 years, and was a founding member of the National Association of Accordion and Fiddle Clubs.
She performed at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2004 and has released several CDs with other artists.
In 2016 she was a guest of Robbie Shepherd on the BBC Scotland Take the Floor programme; her achievements were recognised as she was awarded an Honour from the National Association of Accordion and Fiddle Clubs.
She later became the head’s secretary at Kilgraston School. While there, she formed the Kilgraston Scottish Fiddle Group and directed it from 1995 until her retirement in 2020.
Numerous young people have benefited from being tutored by her through her running of this group and she has played a major influence in the lives of many of those pupils, some who have gone on to enjoy a career in music.
She continues to perform voluntarily for many charity events including for the National Trust for Scotland, Forgandenny Church and the Music in Hospitals and Care charity.
Every year she organises concerts and performs at community events such as St Andrew’s Day parties and Burns Suppers.
Her most recent venture, recorded during lockdown, was a CD she recorded with a fellow performer which has to date raised over £4000 for Alzheimer Scotland.
On receiving her BEM, an ecstatic Joan said: “I got the letter a few weeks ago and I really could not believe it - I am absolutely delighted.
“It was a shock and I nearly spilled my cup of coffee on the carpet!
“I called my daughter straight away and said : ‘You need to come down here. I have something to show you’.
“I still play and teach music and am delighted that I still can.
“I would like to thank everyone who I have worked with over the years, Bill Wilkie who was great to me, and my loving husband Jimmy.”
