Scottish singer Eddi Reader was one of the star attractions of Friday night at the Folkie with her show dedicated to the songs of Scots poet Robert Burns.

Joining Reader and her band was a nonet comprising members of the Warrnambool Symphony Orchestra and Warrnambool String Quartet.

Quartet cellist Mike Weise said it was a privilege to have the opportunity to play with an international artist of Reader’s calibre and talent.

“It’s a thrill – I’ve been like a Cheshire Cat all day,” Weise said before the show.

“It’s a bloody honour.”

The Warrnambool string players met Reader for the first time on Friday afternoon before running through a couple of rehearsals. 

“I read an interview with Eddi Reader where she said working with strings on stage is like sailing a huge ship, that it gives you a big buzz to have that sound behind you,” Weise said.

The international connection came about after Weise wrote a strategic plan for the Warrnambool Symphony Orchestra, part of which “ended up with the committee of the folk festival who said ‘we didn’t realise Warrnambool had a symphony orchestra’”, Weise said.

“I got this call where they said ‘do you want to play at the Folkie?’ and I said ‘yes’ straight away,” he explained.

“(But who we were playing with) was a secret. They said it was one of the headline acts but … it was a mystery to start with.”