I go through phases of writing music, and have most recently been focused on writing pieces on guitar in ‘DGDGAD’ tuning, as well as on piano accordion. The 2024 album Auld Springs New, with Morag Brown, features three of my own compositions, and our current set list features a further five.
Here is a transcription of the composition ‘Midwinter Makedonsko’ from ‘Auld Springs New’.
The piece ‘Miss Taylor’s Delight’, named after my sister, was performed at Celtic Connections and live on Radio Scotland with Martin Swan’s Stobo Village Band. It is also recorded on the album ‘Auld Springs New’ with Morag Brown.
The composition ‘Dreva’ is a commissioned piece written for Trimontium Trust, who manage the Trimontium Museum in Melrose. Trimontium was a significant Roman fortification site at the foot of the Eildon Hills. Whilst there is a wealth of written and archeological evidence about the Roman occupation, there is increasing interest in the history of the indigenous peoples of this period. This piece draws inspiration from the numerous Iron Age settlements in the Scottish Borders that are still evident as circular rings on hilltopss throughout the Scottish Borders, and it is named after the ‘Dreva’ hill fort, overlooking the confluence of Biggar Water and the River Tweed.
