Catriona Watt Band

Catriona Watt Band

Currently a student on the traditional music course at RSAMD, Catriona won the title BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2007 after a moving and beautiful performance at The City Halls in Glasgow. Catriona has since performed all over the world, as a solo artist at Celtic Colours, Canada and with the band at Forde Music Festival Norway, Denmark, Germany and Ireland. Joining Catriona in the band are Fiona MacAskill, Gillian Chalmers and Lauren Tait - all students at the RSAMD.

A native of the Isle of Skye, Fiona has been described as one of the finest fiddlers of her generation. She was a pupil at the National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music in Plockton and has performed at Celtic Connections, Glasgow, and in Germany, Belgium, Denmark and Canada amongst other performances over the world. Fiona is a regular performer on television and is in demand as a teacher and solo performer.

Gillian Chalmers, from Fraserburgh, is studying for a BA in Scottish Studies (Piping) at the RSAMD, since leaving Plockton's National Centre of Excellence in 2005. Gillian is also a member of the highly sucessful folk band Bodega who won the BBC 2 Young Folk Award 2005 and have enjoyed sucessful tours in America and Europe.

Lauren Tait started her course at the RSAMD as a harpist but quickly changed to Piano. As an accompanist for many years, through the Feisean movement and ceilidh and folk bands throughout Scotland, Lauren has played throughout Europe in Germany, Denmark, Italy and at the Interceltique Festival in Lorient 2007. Lauren is now enjoying teaching regularly at Feisean and is in the process of establishing herself as a solo pianist under the direction of Mary MacCarthy and James Ross.