Festival Directors and Players |
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Angus Ramsay (Artistic Director) The violinist Angus Ramsay studied firstly with the celebrated Leonard Friedman and subsequently with Max Rostal in Bern. He enjoys a career playing both in chamber music, as a soloist and also as a principal player in the Scottish Opera Orchestra. He also teaches both privately and in the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. |
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Adrian Shepherd (Artistic Director) The distinguished musician, Adrian Shepherd, was born in 1939 in the county of Essex, England, and studied the cello with William Pleeth at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. His orchestral career spanned 25 years, 20 of which were spent as principal cello with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, during which time he was also professor of cello at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. He founded Cantilena in 1970 and has remained its Artistic Director and Conductor. |
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Scott Mitchell (Artistic Director) Scott Mitchell is a senior staff accompanist and chamber music coach at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow where he also taught piano in the Junior Department. He performs regularly throughout Britain and has recently recorded Dave Heath’s Piano Concerto with the BBC Concert Orchestra. He is also a founding artistic director of the Cantilena Festival on Islay and appears regularly as a member of the group and as soloist on piano and harpsichord. |
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Stephen Shakeshaft (Associate Artistic
Director) Stephen has held principal viola appointments in all the major Scottish orchestras. With Adrian, he was a founder member of Cantilena in 1970. Since being London-based, he has also been principal of the BBC Concert Orchestra and co-principal of the Royal Philharmonic. For ten years he has concentrated on freelance work, particularly in chamber music and solo work, mainly in Cirrus Ensemble, The Lochrian Ensemble, and has participated in all the Islay concerts since he was invited in 2002. |
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Paul Marrion Paul was born in Manchester and educated at Chetham School. He was a chorister at Manchester Cathedral and a member of the National Youth Orchestra. While studying at the Royal Manchester College of Music, he was awarded the Hiles Gold Medal for orchestral playing. At 19 he was appointed Sub-Principal of the Ulster Orchestra and two years later joined the Scottish National Orchestra as Principal – a position he held for 8 years. During this time he played in Cantilena. In 1978 he joined the London Symphony Orchestra and since 1993 has been Principal Double Bass with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Paul has also enjoyed chamber and solo playing throughout his career including playing with St Martin in the Fields and ASM Chamber Ensemble. |
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Angus Anderson Angus Anderson has enjoyed over forty years as a professional violinist. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music and held positions in 5 different orchestras including associate leader of the RSNO and leader of the Scottish Opera Orchestra under Sir Alexander Gibson. The last 11 years of his orchestral life were spent as a member of one of the world’s greatest orchestras, The Philharmonia. He remains extremely active as a teacher, chamber music player and soloist. For over 30 years he has been a member of Cantilena, with whom he toured South America and with whom he recorded Vivaldi’s Four Seasons for Scottish Television. |
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Havilland Willshire Havilland Willshire studied at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester where he studied piano, violin and singing. After postgraduate piano studies with Ryszard Bakst and accompaniment with Clifton Helliwell he pursued an active concert career as soloist and chamber musician including live broadcasts and recordings for BBC radio. Teaching, however, has always been a genuine interest and for several years Havilland worked for Wigan Music Service as Head of Music Centre, then Head of Department and finally as Head of Music Service for 9 years. He joined the staff of Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in 2000 as Head of the Junior Academy of Music. He has worked extensively with young people in bands, orchestras, choirs and chamber music. He is highly sought after as an adjudicator and competition jury member and is regularly invited to speak at conferences about the role of music in the lives of young people. He was appointed Dean of Music at the RSAMD in August 2009. |
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Sarah
Harrington Sarah Harrington is an active member of the Scottish Opera Orchestra as well as being a busy freelance player performing in chamber and Ensemble groups around Scotland. After studying cello at the Royal Academy of Music in London, Sarah freelanced with many Orchestras including, English Chamber Orchestra, Glyndebourne Touring Opera and Bournemouth Symphony until moving back to Scotland in 1998. Sarah greatly enjoys partaking in Chamber groups and regularly performs with the Edington Ensemble as well as being a full time mum to two young boys. As Sarah’s father (John Harrington, principal viola of the RSNO) was one of the founder members of Cantilena, she is delighted to have been invited to play for the Cantilena Festival and visit Islay for the time! |
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Hector Scott Hector Scott was born in Edinburgh in 1969. He won all the string prizes at the RSAMD in Glasgow before going to Switzerland on a Caird Travelling Scholarship to study with Max Rostal, and then to the New England Conservatory, Boston, USA, where he won the Concerto Club of Boston Prize, the Margaret Spanel Prize and led the NEC Honors Quartet. He now leads the Saltire Quartet, Chrysanth Trio and duets with Julia Lynch and is Artistic Director of contemporary music group “Two’s Company”. He is a frequent guest on Television and BBC Radio and is Head of Instrumental Studies at George Watson’s College, Edinburgh, teaches at RSAMD Junior Academy and serves on the Music Advisory Committee for the Sir James Caird Travelling Scholarships Trust. His previous Concerto performances have been with BT Scottish Ensemble, the Scottish Sinfonia, the Meadows Chamber Orchestra, the Edinburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Dundee Symphony Orchestra and the New Edinburgh Orchestra. |
Cantilena Festival on Islay is a registered charity 33071 |
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