Biography

 

Even though music has been an interest of mine from a young age I started to develop it as a career path after moving to Edinburgh from the north coast of Scotland in 2011. 

 

During my time completing my degree in Popular Music Performance at Edinburgh College between 2011-2014 I have performed in a variety of ensembles. 

 

 I was the guitarist in the Edinburgh College Big Band for the three consecutive years of my degree.  This ensemble gave me the ability to deal confidently and quickly with formal notation. Over the years we played a diverse range of music from classics such as Count Basie and Duke Ellington to more modern examples of big band music from Pat Metheney and Maria Schneider.  This ensemble performed in a variety of venues including the prestigious Queens Hall in Edinburgh and received airplay on BBC Radio Scotland’s ‘The Jazz House’ programme hosted by Steven Duffy.

 

During these three years I studied guitar with Robin Robertson and Malcolm Macfarlane.  In this time I developed a strong interest in improvised music.  Improvisation is still an area of music that I consider to be one of the most interesting.  I have performed improved music in the idioms of contemporary jazz and fusion for degree shows in 2013, 2014 and 2015.  Playing music by John Scofield, Frank Zappa, The Brecker Brothers and Esperanza Spalding among others.

 

Outwith formal education I have been a member of the Karma Rockets, a busy wedding and function band since 2012.  We regularly receive upwards of sixty bookings a year and  playing in this band has given me a professional experience in catering to a variety of clients.  As well as this the wide variety of music that we play has given me a grounding in performing almost every idiom of popular music.  We can be booked through the agency ‘Music For Scotland’.

 

In December 2014 as part of my Honours year at the University of The Highlands and Islands I had to undertake a practical work based placement.  For this I was involved in a sold out musical theatre production called ‘Here Comes The Girls’ at The Maltings Theatre in Berwick upon tweed.  This gave me experience of the rehearsal and performance process in a professional musical.  The rehearsal process for this was very intensive, as there was upward of forty different songs in the musical and only a few days to practice them with the band I often had to sight read and improvise an suitable accompaniment for the particular idiom.  This experience made me realise that I thrive under this kind of pressure, and pursuing work in this field is something I would like to continue in the future.

 

Although performance is my main interest in music I also have experience in composing music.  My main interest in this area is the use of samples and electronic music.  I also have tuition experience, having taught beginner to intermediate level guitar as part of my degree.  

 

I am also part of ‘Emilio Largo’, a Math Rock/Metal three piece who write our own original music.  We have performed at venues around Scotland as well as in Liverpool, Wrexham, Birmingham, Southampton and others.  

 

Examples of my recorded and live work can be found on the ‘Music’ page.