Emerging Composers Archive

Emerging Composers Biographies

2023-24

  • Eilidh Macintyre

    Originally from Falkirk, Eilidh Macintyre is a Gaelic singer as well as playing Irish flute and whistle. After completing UHI’s Applied Music Course, Eilidh formed the band Madderam. Growing up with piping in the family, her musical tastes have always been influenced by the likes of Gordon Duncan and later, flute players such as Brian Finnegan and Michael McGoldrick.

    “Carry This With You was inspired by the journey taken by people to attend the annual tryst in Falkirk. The beginning represents the potentially tumultuous trip down from the highlands and islands, needing to carry on moving forward in any weather. The move into the second piece is when the weary travellers have arrived at Falkirk and are getting settled in, ready to trade their cattle and finally, the ending is indicative of people choosing to move off in new directions, maybe not with the people they came with but to new adventures.”

  • Isabella González Díaz

    Isabella is a French horn player, educator, composer, and conductor from Venezuela, based in Glasgow. A recent graduate with a BMus in French horn performance from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Isabella's musical journey began in Venezuela singing in choirs until her move to the U.S. at the age of 14, where she started playing the horn. In 2020, driven by her devotion to music, she relocated to Scotland to further develop her studies.

    During her time in Scotland, Isabella has collaborated with numerous orchestras across the U.K., including notable performances alongside the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Royal Marine Band of Scotland, Berlin Opera Academy, Celtic Connections orchestras and National Youth Orchestra of Scotland. In addition to horn, Isabella is an emerging conductor, having participated in conducting courses and competitions such as Semi-finalist of the BBCA Competition, George Hurst Conducting course, Glover-Edwards Conducting Course at Royal Academy, University of Miami Women’s Conducting Symposium, among others. Isabella is a dedicated community musician and educator, motivated by a profound desire for continuous learning and professional development. Her extensive experience includes roles such as Ambassador for the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, mentor and emerging composer for the National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland, International Women’s Brass Conference mentee, and Benedetti Foundation Lead Ambassador.

    Currently, Isabella serves as the musical director of the Partickhill Community Choir and a brass tutor at the Africa Music School. She also collaborates with organizations such as the International Horn Society as a student advisor and manages social media for the British Horn Society. Isabella advocates for social change through music, aiming to raise awareness of its transformative impact on people and communities.

  • Finn Mclean

    Finn McLean is a composer and guitarist based in Glasgow, Scotland. As a composer, they have written music for Psappha Ensemble, Red Note Ensemble, the British Music Collection, the International Percussion Institute and more. As a guitarist, they have premiered works by various Scottish composers and created new arrangements of music by Orlando Gibbons. Finn studied composition with David Fennessy and classical guitar with Matthew McAllister and recently graduated from their undergraduate studies at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

    “My initial point of inspiration for Meadow came from archival recordings from Tobar an Dualchais (Kist o Riches), which I have included in the piece in the beginning and ending. The first sample is an unnamed canntaireachd singer singing ‘The 79th's Farewell to Gibraltar’, recorded by Mary Morrison and Dr John Lorne Campbell. The second comprises of an interview of piper William MacLean talking about his ancestors and his family's history of piping.

    Both archival recordings have this theme of migration, particularly the feeling of leaving a place or a history, and this made me recall my own background and the pieces of me. I've left - particularly my relationship to Gaelic in childhood, having gone to a Gaelic Medium Education school and I wanted to write a musical response to these feelings.”

  • Eoghan McManus

    Eoghan is a fantastic fiddle player from Glasgow, with a vast experience of both the Irish and Scottish traditions. He created a beautiful piece for Pipe Band called Nothing but Remembrance which we intend to feature in our upcoming year of Glasgow.

    “Migration made me think of the highland clearances (1750-1860) which connects to bagpipe history as well. The highland people were evicted from their homes by landlords and forced to flee countries. I invested into the highland clearances and searched up songs on ‘Tobar an Daulchais’ and that’s where I came across ‘A Time Will Come, A Time Will Go’ (Nicholson, J 1988). Nicholson wrote this in response to people always inquiring into the story of the clearances and I felt touched by the poignant use of words. My title - ‘Nothing but Remembrance’ - was taken from his lyrics.”

  • Laurie Moore

    Laurie Moore is a bassist from Glasgow, Scotland. A recent graduate of the jazz course at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Laurie started his musical journey being inspired to play by the rich musical tradition in his family. Laurie is a familiar face on the Glasgow jazz scene and wider Scottish jazz scene in general, having performed at the Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen jazz festivals to name but a few. Laurie also has a strong interest in composition and arranging and hopes to soon work toward releasing his first album featuring his own music.

    “My main intention behind Exodus was to create a fusion between the styles of Traditional Scottish/Piping Music and Modern Jazz for the context of a Concert Pipe Band. I focused strongly on harmonic and some rhythmic aspects of Jazz and Latin music, while much of the melodic content, and again, some rhythmic aspects were from traditional music.”

Emerging Composers

2022-23

  • Ben Muir

    With a varied musical background, including years of piping experience competing in the pipeband scene, Ben has developed a unique approach to composition. His compositions are influenced by his love of popular music, his experience as a songwriter and as a multi-instrumentalist.

  • James Bauld

    Highland born musician/composer James Bauld has arrived on the buzzing Glasgow folk scene with his self titled debut EP. He is currently in his third year at the UHI, studying flute/whistle on the applied music course and working on a nationwide Youth Music NextGen composition project along with his new social media series 'Food and Folk’

  • Lewis MacRae

    Lewis owes his self confessed obsession with pipe bands and snare drumming to his dad! A snare drummer with the NYPBS for over 5 years, he also plays with Uddingston Pipe Band under the leadership of Grant Cassidy. Although he likes to keep it quiet, Lewis received bagpipe lessons throughout his time in school and still occasionally picks up the pipes! Originally from Inverness, he is currently attending the University of Strathclyde studying Mechanical Engineering

  • Malin Lewis

    Malin Lewis is a musician, composer, instrument maker and musical director from the Scottish Highlands. They play a range of instruments including various bagpipes, Fiddle and Whistle.

    Malin performs regularly across the country with their trio, Malin Makes Music, which features Sally Simpson on fiddle and Luc McNally on Bouzouki. Their music draws inspiration from piping traditions all across Europe and features self-penned tunes as well as traditional melodies from Finland, Bulgaria and Galicia. Their sound has been described as ‘Beautiful’, ‘raw’ and ‘a breath of fresh air’.

  • Siobhan Dyson

    Composer, musician, film maker and creative, Siobhan Dyson is an all-round creative person who enjoys the thrills of making her own films, adding her own music and performing the music with the vast number of instruments she has taught herself. Finding passion through her time at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Siobhan decided to create her own films to support her music. Having little experience prior to her first film 'Playing with myself' she decided to pursue her passions and create something unusual.

Emerging Composers: Scotland's Stories

Based on 'Scotland's Stories' as a theme, in 2021 we commissioned five emerging artists aged 18-25 to respond to one of seven stories and create new repertoire for the NYPBS. 

Alongside guest mentors Mike Vass, Signy Jakobsdottir and Stephen Deazley, we supported each composer to create a new piece for Pipe Band in a concert setting. 

Due to disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic, the original performance of these pieces was postponed. However, the works will be showcased at this year's Piping Live! Festival in August 2022. 

Emerging Composers

2021-22

  • Noah Scott

    Noah Scott is a multi-instrumentalist and composer who plays Scottish traditional music. He is greatly influenced by the music of his home, the Isle of Skye. Before starting traditional music, Noah spent many years learning classical music on the piano and the clarinet in Normandy, France where he was brought up. He also plays the fiddle and the pipes.

  • Ben Vardi

    Vardi is a producer / DJ & multi-instrumentalist. Drawing on a rich variety of influences & experiences he aims to make work that is innovative & nourishing. Growing up he used to play bagpipes in pipe bands but over time slowly moved away from this world into dance music & DJing. One of his focuses now is how to integrate his roots culture with electronic music.

  • Breanna Wilson

    Breanna Wilson is a Glasgow based fiddle player who grew up amongst the Irish traditional music scene in Glasgow. During her time at the RCS she has developed a love for American Bluegrass and Old-Time music as well as exploring some Scandinavian music whilst continuing to explore her Irish and Scottish roots.

  • Ellie McLaren

    Originally from Braemar, in the heart of the Cairngorms, Ellie has been playing the fiddle since she was 8 years old. Over the years, Ellie has composed various tunes for both fiddle and pipes, with her strongest passion being pipe music. Whilst she doesn’t play the bagpipes (yet!), she enjoys listening to and playing the repertoire and styles of the pipes, and is excited to put this into the Emerging Composers project.

  • Kim MacLennan

    Hailing from Blairbuie on the Coigach peninsula of Wester Ross, Kim is an accomplished accordion and bagpipe player with a background deeply rooted in both the pipe band and traditional music communities. After becoming the first female pipe major of the Ullapool and District Pipe Band at the age of just 15, Kim has continued to successfully compete in the pipe band scene ever since. She feels most at home while pushing the boundaries of trad music and melding her traditional roots with her contemporary style of playing.