We had a fabulous weekend at the semi-finals of the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician 2016 Award. All twelve musicians performed brilliantly however only six musicians can go through to the final on the 31st January 2016 at Celtic Connections Festival. They are:
Hannah Macrae – fiddle (Lochaber)
Mohsen Amini – concertina (Glasgow)
Jessica Burton – clarsach (Orkney)
Murray Willis – accordion (Lismore)
Robbie Greig – fiddle (Edinburgh)
Ryan Young – fiddle (Cardross)
These six young musicians now have take their music to the next level and perform on the amazing City Hall stage. It is no easy task however the winner will be the musician who rises to the challenge. If you can’t make it along on the night the concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio Scotland at 5pm on Sunday 31st January from 5-8pm.
All musicians attended the semi-finals weekend in Wiston Lodge, South Lanarkshire 2-4th October and performed at a concert on Saturday 3rd October in Coulter Hall, Coulter, South Lanarkshire.
This is the sixteenth year of the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician 2016. Claire Hastings won the award in 2015 and has had an amazing year including performing with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in June. You can read our complete list of winners here. http://projects.handsupfortrad.scot/youngtrad/previous-winners/
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Contact Hands Up for Trad info@handsupfortrad.scot 07775854572 www.handsupfortrad.scot
This is a BBC Radio Scotland event managed by Hands Up for Trad.
Hannah Macrae – fiddle (Lochaber)
As a west coast fiddle player, traditional music has been in Hannah’s family for generations. Having left school last year, Hannah has taken time to establish her own personal style and and varies her repertoire by playing with accomplished musicians from different places and backgrounds. Hannah is a strong believer in keeping up tradition – in particular the culture of traditional music and Gaelic – and has been teaching fiddle for the past year. She has just started the BMus Traditional Music course at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
Robbie Greig – fiddle (Edinburgh)
Robbie Greig is an accomplished fiddle player who has featured on various recordings and has toured across Scotland and Europe. Robbie started learning classical violin aged 5 and soon progressed to learning traditional fiddle with Gregor Borland whilst also attending Edinburgh Youth Gaitherin’ and Fèis Rois. After moving to Uist aged 16 to pursue his studies in traditional music, Robbie received tuition from renowned tutor Anna-Wendy Stevenson. There, he joined the band ‘Room 5’ with whom he performed at the Royal Albert Hall. Recently, he has also appeared with Malinky.
Jessica Burton – clarsach (Orkney)
Born and raised in Orkney, Jessica was immersed in traditional music from a young age. She began playing the clarsach at 11 and soon joined school fiddle group Hadhirgaan, led by Douglas Montgomery. Jessica graduated with a degree in Scottish music from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2012 where she studied with Wendy Stewart and Hannah Phillips. Jessica has released an EP, Mira with fellow harpist Sarah MacNeil featuring original compositions and contemporary arrangements for clarsach and electro-harp. Jessica currently holds a teaching post at both the Glasgow Academy and the Junior Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
Mohsen Amini – concertina (Glasgow)
Mohsen Amini has been playing concertina since the age of 10, learning his music through Comhaltas. His first band Muran won ‘Best Newcomer’ at the 2012 HebCelt Festival and his current project – Talisk – picked up a Danny Kyle Award at Celtic Connections and went on to win the 2015 BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award. This gave them the opportunity to play a live session on the BBC Radio 2 “Folk Show” with Mark Radcliff and also to appear at many high profile folk festivals such as Cambridge, Cropredy & Towersy.
Ryan Young – fiddle (Cardross)
Ryan Young was inspired to start playing the fiddle after hearing Aly Bain on the BBC Hogmanay show and by the playing of Eilidh Steel from Helensburgh. He is currently studying towards an MMus at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland after having graduated with a First class BA Honours. His sound is very distinctive, focusing mainly Scottish and Cape Breton tunes, always played in his own unique way ranging from slow, lyrical marches and airs to driving reels and strathspeys. A recent musical highlight for Ryan was getting to perform with Dennis Cahill, one of his biggest inspirations, at the Feakle festival in Ireland 2015.
Murray Willis – accordion (Lismore)
Murray comes from the Isle of Lismore in Loch Linnhe, Argyll. He speaks Gaelic, has a qualification in blacksmithing and works with a welding company. Murray studied music at Benbecula College in Uist under Anna-Wendy Stevenson which he says was an eye-opener and his lessons and time spent with the brilliant tutors there greatly influenced and encouraged him. Murray is also learning the piano, alto saxophone and French.
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