The musicians
Alice Allen (Cello)
Alice grew up in Banchory, Aberdeenshire and is now based in rural Stirlingshire. She was formerly young artist with the Scottish Ensemble and has performed live and recorded with many leading folk artists and has worked with many of the country’s leading performing groups including the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Scottish Ensemble, Concerto Calendonia, Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, London Concertante and the Brodick Quartet. Studying with Hannah Roberts (a huge inspiration on Alice's own playing), she graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music with a first class honours degree and holds a Masters in Music with Distinction from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
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To find out more about Alice and her music click here.
Patsy Reid (Violin)
Patsy first learned to play tunes by ear at the Alasdair Fraser fiddle camp on Skye. As a teen she made the trip to Alasdair’s sister camp in California, where she learned her trademark percussive chopping style via Laura Cortese. On top of that she has a Post-grad Diploma in Classical Violin Performance from the Royal Northern College of Music. In the studio, Patsy has contributed violin, viola and cello to albums by Flook, Seonaid Aitken, Donald Shaw, Brian Finnegan, Georgia Cécile, Duncan Chisholm, Kathryn Tickell, Hamish Napier, Duncan Lyall, Tim Edey, Ross Ainslie & Ali Hutton and many many more. In February 2014 she released her third solo album, The Brightest Path, which was recently named among Songlines’ Top 10 Scottish Albums. 2018 saw A Glint o’ Scottish Fiddle released and 2022 has been busy so far, with the release of Gin and Strathspey – the debut album from LYRE LYRE, Patsy’s new trio, as well as a duo album with superb cellist, Alice Allen, entitled Strathspey Queens. As an educator, Patsy is currently Musical Director of The Gordon Duncan Experience and Mull Fiddle Week.
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To find out more about Patsy and her music click here.
Katrina Lee (Violin)
Katrina Lee is a Violinist from Yorkshire who began studying at the Kirklees Music School with Ralph Barker with the generous sponsorship of Stephen Bell. After winning numerous prizes in local competitions for her playing, Katrina decided to pursue a career in classical music and in 2010 received a scholarship to study at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (formerly Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama). Katrina graduated with first class Honours in 2014 and Master of Music in 2016 under the tutelage of Andrea Gajic. During her studies, Katrina won all the available string prizes including the Hilda Bailey award, Ian D Watt award, Governors Prize for Strings, Robert Highgate Scholarship and the Governors prize for chamber music. Katrina was also presented with the Goldman award from the Musicians Company and the a special prize from the Königin Sophie Charlotte Violin Competition in Mirow. In 2017, Katrina was appointed the Principal 2nd Violin position with the orchestra of Scottish Ballet. If not in the ballet pit, you'll find Katrina freelancing with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, RSNO and further afield, she has performed with orchestras all around the UK including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Northern Sinfonia and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic.
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To find out more about Katrina and her music click here.
Rhoslyn Lawton (Viola)
Hailing from the small village of Llansoy in South Wales, Rhoslyn Lawton began her musical studies at the age of five and at the age of 16 took up a place at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester. She then went on to study at the Royal Northern College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music where she graduated from the Master of Arts programme with Distinction.
As a soloist and a chamber musician, Rhoslyn has performed in many of the leading concert venues across the UK. In 2007 she performed the European premiere of Jose Lezcano’s Sonata for viola and guitar and in 2008 she gave her concerto debut performing Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante. In 2013 she performed Elliot Carter’s Au Quai in the Duke’s Hall RAM as part of a celebration for the late composer. From 2012-2016 Rhoslyn was a member of the Alauda Quartet with whom she studied for her Masters in Chamber Music at the Hochschule fur Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover. The quartet was appointed Junior Fellows in Chamber Music at the Royal Academy of Music in 2013 and were selected as Park Lane Group artists in the 2015 series. In 2016 Rhoslyn was excited to become a member of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. As an active orchestral player, she has worked with Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the Scottish Session Orchestra.
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Duncan Lyall (Double Bass, Moog)
Duncan is the bass player for English folk singer Kate Rusby, keyboard player for Scots singer Lori Watson, a member of the Scottish classical/jazz/folk crossover GRIT Orchestra, a member of the folk-funk pioneering Croft No. Five, and performs regularly with Jarlath Henderson, and Ross Ainslie & Ali Hutton. He was also one of the founding members and driving forces behind Scottish folk supergroup Treacherous Orchestra. Regular invitations to work with an array of world renowned musicians have seen career highlights which include performing and recording with film composer Craig Armstrong, touring the UK with Mary Chapin Carpenter, conductor/arranger Vince Mendoza and legendary drummer Peter Erskine, performing with Guy Garvey at the Radio 2 Folk Awards, touring the UK with Idlewild frontman Roddy Woomble, and performing and recording with bluegrass stars Ron Block (Alison Krauss & Union Station), Aoife O’Donovan (Crooked Still) and Sarah Jarosz (I'm With Her).
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To find out more about Duncan and his music click here.
Marcas Mac an Tuairneir (Gaelic Lyrics)
Based in Edinburgh, Marcas Mac an Tuairneir is an award-winning, poet and singer-songwriter. Amongst many accolades, he was the winner of the 2017 Wigtown Gaelic Poetry Prize and his third collection, Dùileach, was shortlisted for the Derick Thompson Prize. An An Comunn Gàidhealach Gold Medal and Traditional Gold-medal finalist, his poetry, songs and other writing have garnered successive awards at the Royal National Mòd. His critically-acclaimed fourth collection, Polaris, and debut album of Gaelic pop music, Speactram, are out now and receiving critical acclaim.
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To find out more about Marcas and his music click here.
Seonaid Aitken (Strings Arrangements)
Seonaid is a versatile, award-winning violinist and vocalist, pianist and composer/orchestrator from Fife, Scotland. Classically trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (London), Seonaid has played regularly for 19 years with the Orchestra of Scottish Opera. She was awarded ‘Best Vocalist’ at the 2017 & 2018 Scottish Jazz Awards and, specialising in Gypsy Jazz, she performs extensively with her Scottish Jazz Award-winning ‘Best Band’ (2018) Rose Room, and as a guest with the Tim Kliphuis Sextet, Tokyo Django Collective, Swing 2020 and top jazz fingerstyle virtuoso, and former guitarist of Stephane Grappelli, Martin Taylor MBE. As a busy session musician, playing in classical/folk/country/jazz styles, Seonaid has recently appeared with Scottish artists Deacon Blue, Carol Kidd MBE, Hamish Stuart (Average White Band), Blue Rose Code, The GRIT Orchestra, James Grant and Eddi Reader and played violin/viola in the 2019-2020 touring production of Disney’s ‘The Lion King’.
As an accomplished arranger and orchestrator, Seonaid’s work is featured in the BBC/Richard Curtis film adaptation of Roald Dahl’s ‘Esio Trot’ (starring Dame Judi Dench and Dustin Hoffman), the National Theatre of Scotland’s production ‘Dragon’, and she has been commissioned by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, English Rock and Roll Orchestra, Capella String Quartet, Clockwork Sessions, Blue Rose Code, Roddy Woomble, John Goldie and the Red Hot Chilli Pipers.
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To find out more about Seonaid and her music click here.