📷 by Somhairle MacDonald Mairearad and I are cousins and grew up playing music together in informal settings as well as performing as part of Fèis Rois. Mairearad is from Achnahaird in the North West Highlands. I’m from Edinburgh and spent my school holidays up in Achnahaird at our Grandparents’, just up the road from … Continued

James Macintosh (1846-1937) Image: The Chapter House Museum Trust Flute player and musical researcher Munro Gauld outlines his involvement in a community music project in the heart of Scotland. Back in the spring of 2022 when rummaging around in the Dunkeld Community Archive, I came across a folder containing old handwritten music manuscripts, some printed … Continued

📷 by Adam Bulley I’ve been playing with the idea of guitar with string quartet since I was at university – I loved the potential. The idea, on paper, was relatively simple – take compositions of mine for solo guitar and weave the strings around them – getting the guitar to sit amongst the ensemble. … Continued

📷 by Archie MacFarlane Thanks very much to the Traditional Music Forum for this invite to explain a little about my new album release, Second Sight. It’s a collection of 9 original tunes, recorded with guitarist Graeme Stephen and bassist Elie Afif over a day in May this year. Graeme is probably the musician I’ve … Continued

📷 by Ray Kelly Photography I love living and working in Glasgow as a fiddle player. The sessions are some of the best in the world and I’ve always loved, and still love playing music in pubs with others whenever I can. There was though, a moment around 2019 that I started to feel like … Continued

My debut album Halocline is out. It’s been a long journey and it means so much to share it with the world. I began making Smallpipes at the age of fourteen after approaching a local woodturner for lessons. I was always fascinated by sound itself, how simple tubes of wood and reeds could make such … Continued

Artwork by the wonderful Orcadian painter and pianist Jennifer Austin In May 2023, I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to record my debut solo album, Light on Water. The album was recorded at Wee Studio in Stornoway by Keith Morrison. I was surrounded by beautiful landscape – the studio looks out onto the … Continued

I’m Rachel and I guess I’m what you’d describe as a mid-career professional musician, having been fortunate enough to enjoy some 18 years freelancing in performing and teaching Scottish harp. It’s had its ups and downs but I’m now at a point in my career where I genuinely love everything I do, and I’m thankfully … Continued

📷 by Martin Venherm The Northern Isles Suite is a collection of traditional tunes from Orkney and Shetland arranged for solo acoustic guitar. The piece of music draws influence from classical music, having a compositional/musical structure that has been used by composers, for a multitude of different musical works and genres across the centuries. It … Continued

Jane Mather Anyone think it’s a good idea to write and perform a faerie story about a paupers cemetery in the grounds of a decommissioned psychiatric hospital? Anyone? It’s a wet November day, on the train from Glasgow to Edinburgh, I glance out of the window and see a grand, baronial-style mansion looming out of … Continued