{"id":28363,"date":"2026-09-07T12:06:46","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T11:06:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/?p=28363"},"modified":"2026-09-07T12:08:47","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T11:08:47","slug":"bbc-radio-scotland-young-traditional-musician-award-2027-semi-finalists-announced","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/bbc-radio-scotland-young-traditional-musician-award-2027-semi-finalists-announced\/","title":{"rendered":"BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician Award 2027 Semi-Finalists Announced"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"http:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/files\/2026\/02\/Rachel-Groves-Photographer-Alan-Peebles-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"681\" src=\"http:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/files\/2026\/02\/Rachel-Groves-Photographer-Alan-Peebles-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"Rachel Groves\" class=\"wp-image-26845\" srcset=\"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/files\/2026\/02\/Rachel-Groves-Photographer-Alan-Peebles-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/files\/2026\/02\/Rachel-Groves-Photographer-Alan-Peebles-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/files\/2026\/02\/Rachel-Groves-Photographer-Alan-Peebles-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/files\/2026\/02\/Rachel-Groves-Photographer-Alan-Peebles-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/files\/2026\/02\/Rachel-Groves-Photographer-Alan-Peebles-2048x1362.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/files\/2026\/02\/Rachel-Groves-Photographer-Alan-Peebles-600x399.jpg 600w, https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/files\/2026\/02\/Rachel-Groves-Photographer-Alan-Peebles-24x16.jpg 24w, https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/files\/2026\/02\/Rachel-Groves-Photographer-Alan-Peebles-36x24.jpg 36w, https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/files\/2026\/02\/Rachel-Groves-Photographer-Alan-Peebles-48x32.jpg 48w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Rachel Groves &#8211; winner 2026<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Following a competitive selection process, the twelve semi-finalists have been announced for the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician Award 2027. These exceptional young artists, representing a diverse range of traditional Scottish instruments and vocal traditions, will compete for the prestigious title and the opportunity to launch their careers in traditional music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Semi Finals Weekend (Friday 2nd \u2013 Sunday 4th October 2026) will take place at BBC Pacific Quay in Glasgow. The event will be recorded for BBC Radio Scotland. This is the musicians&#8217; chance to rehearse with professional accompanists and meet their fellow finalists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Grand Final (Sunday 31st January 2027) will take place at the prestigious Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow, where the Winner will be crowned the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The winner will receive an additional recording session with BBC Radio Scotland, a performance at the Scots Trad Music Awards and one year&#8217;s membership of Musicians&#8217; Union.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The 2027 Semi-Finalists:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Bailey McCoo \u2013 Piano (Glasgow)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Calum Brown \u2013 Highland Bagpipes (Aberdeenshire)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Calum MacAskill \u2013 Bagpipes and Whistles (Glenelg)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Emma Hill \u2013 Bagpipes (West Coast of Scotland)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Emily Macdonald \u2013 Gaelic Song (Sleat, Skye)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>E\u00f2in Cumming \u2013 Accordion (Wester Ross)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fionnlagh Mac A&#8217; Phiocair \u2013 Scottish Smallpipes and Voice (Grimsay, North Uist)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Kisna Panesar \u2013 Concertina (Glasgow)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>M\u00e0iri Callan \u2013 Gaelic Song (Uist)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Peter Sloan \u2013 Fiddle (Northumberland)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Rachel Henderson \u2013 Fiddle (Elgol, South Skye)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Victoria Byrne-McCombie \u2013 Accordion (Shetland)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Meet the 2027 Semi-Finalists<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Bailey McCoo \u2013 Piano<\/strong>&nbsp;Bailey McCoo is a piano player from Glasgow, currently studying Traditional Music at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Introduced to traditional music during high school, he has gone on to explore how contemporary trad piano can tell stories and connect with audiences, remaining rooted in tradition while pushing creative boundaries. Bailey is part of the four-piece band Lussa and has performed internationally at festivals including Celtival in Italy, Semley Music Festival and Celtic Connections, as well as at Edinburgh Castle, Downing Street and Dumfries House. Alongside performing, he teaches at his own music school several nights a week, and aims to contribute to the continued evolution of Scottish traditional piano through creativity and strong musical storytelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Calum Brown \u2013 Highland Bagpipes<\/strong>&nbsp;Calum Brown&#8217;s love of traditional music began as a child, introduced to the genre by his father and taking up the chanter at the age of seven. He graduated with first class honours in Traditional Music (Piping) from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, drawing influence from Cape Breton and Irish fiddle styles as well as players including Natalie MacMaster, Fergal Scahill, Graham MacKenzie and Eryn Rae. Calum competes in the Gold Medal contest for solo piping at Oban and Inverness, and is a former member of four-time World Champions Inveraray and District Pipe Band, with whom he won a world title in 2019 and later featured as a soloist on their 2022 live album. He now works as a bagpipe tutor at Robert Gordon&#8217;s College in Aberdeen and performs at ceilidhs, with piano and guitar increasingly informing his composing and improvisation on the pipes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Calum MacAskill \u2013 Bagpipes and Whistles<\/strong>&nbsp;Calum MacAskill started on the practice chanter aged nine at Glenelg Primary School, going on to study piping at Plockton High School and the National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music, and G\u00e0idhlig at Sabhal M\u00f2r Ostaig. Alongside Highland bagpipes he plays whistle, guitar and drum kit, and enjoys singing. He has performed across the UK and Europe with productions including Celtic Worship and The Rhythm of the Dance, and regularly deps with bands such as Face The West, Drams Ceilidh Band and Skara Ceilidh Band. Deeply connected to Scotland&#8217;s culture, language and history, Calum is passionate about keeping the tradition alive while continuing to develop his own musical voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Emma Hill \u2013 Bagpipes<\/strong>&nbsp;Growing up on Scotland&#8217;s West Coast, Emma Hill was drawn to the sound of the bagpipes after starting out on piano and fiddle. Taught by Angus McColl, whose distinctive style shaped her own playing \u2014 often described as having the &#8220;Argyll swing&#8221; \u2014 she went on to study at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where she was drawn into Glasgow&#8217;s traditional music scene and began performing alongside singers and instrumentalists. She has performed at Celtic Connections, Piping Live!, the Aspen Music Festival and Basel Tattoo, and works as Clubs Producer at the National Piping Centre, developing piping clubs and pathways for young people. Emma is increasingly drawn to collaborating with musicians from different backgrounds, and sees the competition as a chance to keep developing her own musical voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Emily Macdonald \u2013 Gaelic Song<\/strong>&nbsp;Raised in a strong Gaelic-speaking community in Sleat, Skye, Emily Macdonald began singing in primary school through weekly lessons with Christine Primrose, building a large repertoire of Gaelic song, and started writing her own songs aged eight. She won the Gold Medal for her age category at the M\u00f2d in Oban in 2016, and went on to join the Sgoil Chi\u00f9il na G\u00e0idhealtachd. She has opened for Seall Small Halls events for artists including Duncan Chisholm and Sian, and regularly performs for visiting tour groups on Skye. Emily takes pride in sharing local Gaelic songs with her community and beyond, whether at weddings, funerals, c\u00e8ilidhs or the local care home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>E\u00f2in Cumming \u2013 Accordion<\/strong>&nbsp;E\u00f2in Cumming grew up as a Gaelic speaker in Wester Ross, where traditional music and Gaelic song connected him to language, place and community. His main instrument is accordion, though he also sings and plays guitar and piano. He trained at the National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music in Plockton under Sandy Brechin, before studying Music at the University of Edinburgh, and toured three times with the F\u00e8is Rois Ceilidh Trail. He now performs with six-piece band Meallan, combining Gaelic song with contemporary arrangements, and has appeared at the Orkney, Cambridge and Sidmouth folk festivals and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. E\u00f2in has twice been a finalist in the Traditional Gold Medal singing competition at the National M\u00f2d, and works in Gaelic arts development alongside teaching at F\u00e8isean and community projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Fionnlagh Mac A&#8217; Phiocair \u2013 Scottish Smallpipes and Voice<\/strong>&nbsp;Growing up on the Isle of Grimsay off North Uist, Fionnlagh Mac A&#8217; Phiocair was immersed in G\u00e0idhlig and traditional music from an early age, first through song and then the chanter, tutored by the late Norman MacLean and later Iain MacDonald of Glenuig. Competitive Highland piping was his main outlet until he joined the National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music in 2018, where he first picked up the smallpipes and began singing tuition with Rachel Walker and James Graham. He graduated from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland as the first student to do so with bellows pipes as a primary instrument, and now works as a freelance musician alongside running his own pipe-making business specialising in Scottish smallpipes. He has performed Scottish traditional music around the world, from America to Denmark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Kisna Panesar \u2013 Concertina<\/strong>&nbsp;Kisna Panesar grew up in an Indian household where the sounds of dhol and tabla were the soundtrack to her childhood, before attending the Danny Kyle Awards introduced her to traditional music and inspired her to take up the concertina. She graduated from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland with a First Class Honours degree in Traditional Music Performance, and has performed at Celtic Connections and festivals across Scotland. In 2025 she won the Castagnari Loric Accordion Trophy at the Festival Interceltique de Lorient, becoming the first concertina player ever to receive the award, and has also tutored and performed at the Aberdeen Button Boxes &amp; Moothies Festival. Drawing on influences including Michael McGoldrick and Cormac Begley, Kisna hopes to create music that brings different cultures together through the shared language of traditional music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>M\u00e0iri Callan \u2013 Gaelic Song<\/strong>&nbsp;M\u00e0iri Callan grew up immersed in Uist&#8217;s Gaelic song tradition, learning from her mother and Iseabail T. MacDonald, with recordings from the School of Scottish Studies archive providing the musical backdrop at home. She graduated with First Class Honours from Edinburgh University in 2023, studying cl\u00e0rsach with Savourna Stevenson and Gaelic song with Kenna Campbell. She won the Gold Medal at the Royal National M\u00f2d in 2021 and the Traditional Gold Medal in 2025, was nominated for Gaelic Singer of the Year at the 2025 Trad Awards, and won the solo traditional singing competition at the 2026 International Pan Celtic Festival. M\u00e0iri has performed at Celtic Connections, the Blas Festival, Ce\u00f2las and on BBC Alba&#8217;s Alleluia, and recently self-published a collection of original melodies for historic Gaelic poems, premiered at Blas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Peter Sloan \u2013 Fiddle<\/strong>&nbsp;Raised in Northumberland and County Durham, Peter Sloan grew up playing in youth ensembles alongside musicians who shaped his style, taught first by Magdalena Reid and later by graduates of the Newcastle folk degree, including Stewart Hardy, who introduced him to the James Hill repertoire blending Scottish and Northumbrian styles. He moved to Scotland in 2016 and has since immersed himself in the country&#8217;s traditional music scene. He regularly performs concerts in Northumberland with guitarist Sophie Lynch, and was the winner of the 2026 Rothbury Traditional Music Festival open fiddle competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Rachel Henderson \u2013 Fiddle<\/strong>&nbsp;Rachel Henderson is a traditional fiddle player from Elgol in South Skye who has recently graduated with a First Class Honours degree in Traditional Music from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Her playing is rooted in the Gaelic traditions of the West Coast, with additional influence from Cape Breton fiddle style drawn from four months spent living on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. Over the past year she has been researching and composing a collection of tunes inspired by the history, people and stories of Strathaird in South Skye. She grew up listening to music at local c\u00e8ilidhs and on Take the Floor, and began playing fiddle and pipes at primary school in Skye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Victoria Byrne-McCombie \u2013 Accordion<\/strong>&nbsp;Victoria Byrne-McCombie grew up surrounded by Shetland&#8217;s rich music tradition, learning accordion and fiddle and playing in groups including a Scandinavian fiddle group and a trio. Known in Shetland as the accordion busker, she has played in Lerwick for the past seven summers, and has won titles including All Scottish Female Accordion Champion and Scotland Accordion Pipe Music Champion. Her proudest achievement is winning Shetland Young Musician of the Year 2023, which qualified her as a finalist for Scottish Young Musician of the Year. Now a student in Edinburgh, she is president of the University&#8217;s Folk and Traditional Music Society, plays accordion and calls for a local ceilidh band, and recently played at an international folk dance festival in Bulgaria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For more information about the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician Award 2027, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/youngtrad\">www.bbc.co.uk\/youngtrad<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Previous BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musicians include Anna Massie, Hannah Rarity, Mohsen Amini of Talisk and Imar, Michael Biggins of The Canny Band, Kristan Harvey of Fara, Eryn Rae, Calum McIlroy, Ellie Beaton and last year&#8217;s winner Rachel Groves.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Following a competitive selection process, the twelve semi-finalists have been announced for the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician Award 2027. These exceptional young artists, representing a diverse range of traditional Scottish instruments and vocal traditions, will compete for the prestigious title and the opportunity to launch their careers in traditional music. The Semi Finals [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26845,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[9,37,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-newsletter","category-young-trad","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/files\/2026\/02\/Rachel-Groves-Photographer-Alan-Peebles-scaled.jpg","featured_image_src":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/files\/2026\/02\/Rachel-Groves-Photographer-Alan-Peebles-600x400.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/files\/2026\/02\/Rachel-Groves-Photographer-Alan-Peebles-600x600.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"simon","author_link":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/author\/simon\/"},"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcv15g-7nt","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28363"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28363\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28364,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28363\/revisions\/28364"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}