BENBECULA 

From September 2009 I will be studying a Traditional Music Course together with Gaelic at the Benbecula Campus of Lews Castle College.  See my BLOG of my year on Benbecula.

My tutors there will be Will Lamb. Anna-Wendy Stevenson and Iain MacDonald. 

Will Lamb

Will is the leader for the music and Gaelic courses at LCC Benbecula.  He is originally from Baltimore, Maryland and came to Scotland in 1996 to carry out postgraduate work in Gaelic linguistics.  His PhD thesis has recently been published by Queen’s University Press.  Also an accomplished traditional musician, Will has played accompaniment on bouzouki with many of Scotland’s and Cape Breton’s best-known traditional musicians.  He is currently in the band Na Trì Seudan, with members of Dàimh and Dannsa.  His driving playing style has been influenced by his work with Fred Morrison, Fin Moore (of Dannsa) and a number of other Scottish pipers, as well as his background in rock and jazz drumming.  He has taught and performed at the adult Fèis Rois for the past five years.  In his spare time, Will is a songwriter, a director for the Ceòlas summer school and runs Razorfish Recording, an audio engineering business.  His studio work has featured on recent albums involving Ronan Martin, Griogar Lawrie, Allan Henderson, Iain MacDonald and Kathleen MacInnes.  In 2005 he completed recording training at Alchemea College in London to become a qualified Pro Tools operator and teacher and recently completed course work in audio post-production. 

 Anna-Wendy Stevenson, - Music Lecturer: Fiddle and Whistle

Anna-Wendy Stevenson is employed as a Lecturer in Music on both the HNC and FE courses. As an established name in the traditional music world, Anna-Wendy has toured four continents, performing and recording with various groups including Anam, Fine Friday, Calluna, and Jock Tamson’s Bairns, and solo artists such as Dougie Maclean, Savourna Stevenson and Julie Fowlis. She also performs regularly with her pianist and composer grandfather Ronald Stevenson. Their recent album ‘Gowd and Silver’ has been received across the classical and traditional genres to critical acclaim. A composer herself, Anna-Wendy has written music for theatre, radio and TV, and was commissioned by the 2006 Celtic Connections Festival to write music for the New Voices Series.

With qualifications in teaching and performance from the London College of Music, Anna-Wendy has taught traditional fiddle at various summer schools in the USA, Australia and the UK, as well as community groups in Scotland such as Lochgoilhead Fiddle Workshop, ALP, and various Fèisean. She has also been heavily involved in the Live Music Now organisation, working with children with special needs and the elderly. In 1996 Anna-Wendy was awarded an MSc from Edinburgh University for her study of ‘Authenticity, Identity and Traditional Music in Scotland’.

Iain MacDonald, - Music Tutor: Bagpipes, Whistle and Flute

Born and brought up in Glen Uig in a Gaelic-speaking family, Iain is widely regarded as one of the best Highland pipers and traditional flautists in the world. Amongst his many music projects, he played and recorded for many years with Ossian and the Battlefield Band, two of Scotland’s foremost traditional groups, in addition to being in demand as a producer and a teacher. Some of Iain’s projects have been producing critically-acclaimed Dàimh, Julie Fowlis and Blazin’ Fiddles recordings. He has also worked alongside Gaelic singer Margaret Stewart and his brother, piper Allan MacDonald on their albums. The 2003 release of his solo album ‘First Harvest’, which also features fiddler Iain MacFarlane, was received to great critical acclaim. He has recently been involved with solo CDs from Gaelic singers Griogar Lawrie and Kathleen MacInnes. 

CLICK HERE TO GO TO MY BLOG ON MY YEAR ON BENBECULA