Music advisors
Paul Bream
Hilary Brooks
Svend Brown
Murray Buchanan
Kenna Campbell
Paul Cardow
Barbara Chalmers
Sushil K Dade
MarieFielding
Vic Galloway
Helen Jamieson
Hugh Macdonald
Gill Maxwell
Richard Michael
Susan Nickalls
Jim Preacher
Cathie Rae
Andy Shearer
Graham Stephen
James Waters
Bill Wells
Sue Wilson
Originally from London, but a Newcastle resident now since 1974, Paul Bream spent his working life as a librarian before taking early retirement. At that point, having been a jazz enthusiast since school days, he decided it was time 'to give something back to the music I love', and threw himself into organising gigs in the Tyneside area.
He now works with three local promoters, covering the spectrum from mainstream to free improvisation, and regularly booking Scottish musicians to play in Newcastle. He also organises the international ‘On the Outside’ Festival of free jazz, runs a weekly email jazz information service covering the whole of North East England, and serves on the Jazz Services Touring Panel.
'Unlike a lot of jazz fans of my generation, I find that the older I get the more open I am to new sounds and new approaches. My core belief is that, as an improvised music, progress and development are at the heart of jazz.'
Glaswegian, Hilary Brooks has over twenty years of experience working in Scotland as a freelance Musical Director, arranger, composer and pianist. A graduate of RSAMD, she has experience in Film, TV and Theatre, composing music for everything from a solo piano silent movie score (Der Golem from the GFT) to a full orchestral film soundtrack recorded by The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.
During the last decade Hilary has enjoyed her most successful live music collaborations with the inspirational Dundee Rep Theatre Ensemble, bringing her expertise as Musical Director/Arranger to productions of Cabaret, Nightflights, Gypsy and most recently Sunshine On Leith; the critically and popularly acclaimed musical featuring the songs of The Proclaimers.
A former visiting lecturer at Strathclyde University on the BA Applied Music course, Hilary is currently a mentor to the post-graduate Masters in Musical Direction at RSAMD.
Hilary is a long-term committed member of the Musicians' Union, originally witht the Scotland & Northern Ireland Regional Committee and latterly as the Scotland Representative on the MU Theatre committee in London. For over five years Hilary was a regular member of the Lottery-funded Musicians' Union Workshop Band encouraging and motivating young musicians the length and breadth of Scotland, giving advice on technique, performance and recording.
Svend Brown was born in Ghana of Norwegian-British parentage in 1965. He studied music at the Universities of Oxford and York, before joining BBC Radio in 1993. As Senior Producer, Music (1996-2001) he managed a production team, planned and produced events, live relays and recordings for BBC Radio 3, and made arts features for various networks. In 2001 he joined Van Walsum Management as Head of Projects and International Touring and in 2004 he took the opportunity to return to Scotland as a freelance consultant.
Svend now lives in Edinburgh and works as a freelance consultant acting as artistic director, manager, writer and presenter. He is currently Creative Director of the new concert hall in Perth (producing around 40 concerts per year), Artistic Director of the award winning East Neuk Festival, Bid Director of the City of Glasgow's successful bid to become a UNESCO City of Music and a writer and speaker on music for variouse orchestras, halls and festivals. He plays piano very badly and loves music of many kinds!
Murray Buchanan is a leading commercial lawyer. Since 1995 he has specialised in advising clients across the entertainment industries including music, film, television and interactive media. He is a recognised expert in the law relating to music and the music industry and has advised many leading musicians, recording artists, songwriters and composers.
He was previously in-house lawyer with Warner Bros, Bertelsmann/BMG and Virgin/V2 in London before returning to private practice in Scotland. Murray teaches at the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde and is a director of Citizens' Theatre, Scottish Book Trust, Scottish Music Centre, Scottish Opera and Sounds of Progress.
Kenna has a lifetime’s experience of working in education and performing at a high level, the combination of which has afforded her a broad, practical perspective on arts development and support. Working within her own cultural background as a Gael, she has been involved in many initiatives which have required creative imagination, political awareness, practical administration and an ability to deliver on clear financial targets. Her involvement in the early evolution of the Fèisean movement, especially at the inception of the first fèis, Fèis Bharraigh, was an invaluable experience in project development.
Kenna also has an interest in classical music as a performer, and this combination of musical backgrounds has given her an overview which would be of particular benefit to the assessment of musical initiatives within the complex arts world in Scotland, with its competing and complementary genres.
Her experience as an educationalist has also proven to be vital in the broader roles she has played as teacher, participant in and developer of community arts, giving her an understanding of the principles that underpin artistic endeavours that incorporate educational aims and objectives.
Kenna remains very involved in music and the arts today as a performer, as principal tutor of Gaelic song at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, and as an advocate and campaigner for the development of Gaelic arts in particular, through her directorships of An Lòchran and Pròiseact nan Ealan.
Paul Cardow began promoting bands and artists and managing venues 19 year ago, specialising in mostly American grunge acts including Nirvana, Hole, Lemonheads and Dinosaur JR, but quickly branched outto includemajor international artists such asOasis, The Verve, Bjorkand Leftfield. During this time Paul has also been the indie buyer for 23rd Precinct, scout fortwo major labels, artist managerwith both major and independent deals, and involved in the development and running of several venues/nightclubs including TheGarage, Cathouse and ABC in Glasgow.
He is currently director of PCL, promoters for artists including Oasis, Arcade Fire, Scissor Sisters, Katy Perry , Animal Collective , White Stripes, Franz Ferdinand, Fratellis, Foo Fighters and Green Day amongst others. As well as the owner / operator of 2 of Scotland’s most adventurous small venues, Captains Rest in Glasgow and Sneaky Pete’s in Edinburgh.
Barbara has 30 years experience working within the arts sector. She has applied her knowledge of the arts communications to audience development, local government, construction, education and the media, working with many of Scotland's most well-known arts centres - Horsecross (Perth Theatre and Perth Concert Hall), Stirling's Tolbooth and Changing Romm gallery, Edinburgh's Usher Hall, King's Thartre, Assembly Rooms, Fruitmarket and the City Art Centre.
Barbara notes the highlights of her career in arts communications to date as being the launch of Perth Concert Hall, the operning of Stirling's Tolbooth, Stirling's successful City Bid, advising the Scottish Parliament (on communication), launching Edinburgh's first Mela festival, advising/guest lecturing at Stirling University, contributing to SAC's Charter for the Arts, launching Edinburgh's Hogmanay, working with Edinburgh's Women's Unit on the Zero Tolerance Campaign and being Sean Connery's PR!
Although Barbara says the best thing she's ever done was work at Horsecross, she rates bringing up her two grown-up children and her 10 years playing in a women's samba band as the most rewarding.
Sushil K Dade was born to Indian parents in Glasgow 1966. He has been immersed and fascinated by the language of music since his early childhood living in a Maryhill tenement flat raised on a diet of his father’s collection of early Bollywood soundtracks, Indian Classical music tapes and random instruments which informed and developed his early musical life. Sushil later reverted to listening to Western Pop music and has been an active practitioner in the world of sound for over 25 years. His work encompasses Music & Arts projects in a variety of settings in studios, locations and stages across America, India, Europe and Japan. He is currently a Content Producer for BBC Radio Scotland and continues to work as a musician, composer and performer with his on-going collaborative project Future Pilot AKA. Dade has previously worked with Sly & Robbie, Edwyn Collins, Scanner, Alasdair Gray, Mikey Dread, Craig Armstrong & Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Bill Wells, as well as members of Fire Engines, Teenage Fanclub, The Pastels, Belle & Sebastian, The Go-Betweens, Black Uhuru, Cornershop, Capercaille, Tigerstyle and Sonic Youth.
In his spare time, Sushil plays the electric bass, though he also has a keen interest in the Visual Arts/Photography and designs his own artworks using Indian/Pop Art images and Colour Xerography/Mixed Media Collage techniques.
More recently he has been Guest Curator for special events at Celtic Connections Festival (Jamaican Burns Night/Burns Mela), Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival (Music Like A Vitamin), and has previously served as a board member with The Scottish Academy of Asian Arts co-orchestrating the 2008 Glasgow Mela. He is delighted to be part of the Specialist Music Advisors team at the Scottish Arts Council for 2009/2010 and to share his experience and specialist knowledge in the fields of Independent, Jazz, World Electronic, Pop and Improvised/Experimental music.
For more information on Sushil you can visit www.myspace.com/futurepilotaka.
Marie Fielding is a freelance fiddle player and composer and has a particular interest and extensive experience in performance, playing for dancing, recording, teaching, t.v and radio. Marie is also an Early Years Expert in Education, Creativity and Colourstrings and teaches fiddle at The Tolbooth.
In 2006, Mariefeatured on 6 albums including her debut solo album, Executive Club. She played for the Queen at Balmoral, and in2007 participated in the Distil programme and was commissioned to write music as part of Distil Showcase 2007. She is currently putting together a Bhangra/folk recording project with world-renowned tabla player Kuljit Bhamra and working on two other commissions. As well as a Gaelic t.v. series with Maggie MacInnes this year, Marie has also been filming and recording for VisitScotland with Kevin MacKenzie and the Finlay Macdonald Band.
Marie is studying the links between music and its effects on children’s art, stories, ideas, and emotions. BBC Scotland recentlyengaged Marie as a consultant for an educational/traditional music t.v programme. Marie is also about to start a new project in Perthshire, teaching traditional composition skills.
Although pipe music and Gaelic song/poetry have a huge influence on Marie, she is concentrating on her new interest in jazz, Indian influences and free improvisation. Other interests include abstract painting on canvas, photography, learning to play an Anglo concertina, reading, travelling, cooking and socialising.
After leaving school in 1990, Vic has played, recorded and performed music around the UK and Europe in various bands. He still makes his own music.
He has worked in the other side of the music industry - writing for fanzines; working as a venue lighting director; helping to set up and develop independent labels, and working as press and radio promoter.
Vic has been on BBC Radio 1 for nine years and BBC Radio Scotland for seven years. His current weekly shows are BBC Introducing in Scotland with Vic Galloway, Vic Galloway on BBC Radio Scotland and Vic’s Most Wanted on BBC Radio Scotland.
He has presented series of 'Mouthing Off', 'Vic & Bryan’s Big Scottish Adventure'; various documentary series including 'Indie-pendent Scotland', 'Last of the Teen Idols' and 'The Banned History of Rock’n’Roll', as well as outside broadcasts from T in the Park, SXSW, Indian Summer and Live 8, all for BBC Radio Scotland.
Vic's forays into TV include BBC 1 and BBC 2’s T in the Park coverage, 'The Music Show' on BBC 2, 'Caledonia Dreaming' on BBC4 and Channel 4’s 'Transmission'.
He also DJ’s in clubs and student unions across the UK, and abroad including 7 gigs in 'Ibiza'! As a freelance journalist, he works for broadsheet papers, magazines and websites. Vic is also on myspace, if you’d like to contact him.
Helen Jamieson worked as Music Officer at the Scottish Arts Council until 2004, when she left to start her own business as a music consultant and project manager. She has set up and runs two annual events: Variations, a summer school for amateur musicians in Ullapool and the Music at Paxton chamber music festival at Paxton House, Berwickshire and is in increasing demand as a consultant, working with a wide range of arts organisations.
After a spell in France, during which she worked for five years with UNESCO, Helen’s musical training led to a Licentiate Diploma of the Guildhall School of Music where she received the third prize (and bronze medal) for UK piano performance as well as Napier University’s own Music Prize. Following this, she worked as part of the small management team at the Queen’s Hall until she joined the Scottish Arts Council in 1985.
Helen has served on the boards of Enterprise Music Scotland and St Mary’s Music School. She has served on juries for St Mary’s Music School Recital Prize (alongside distinguished musicians such as James Loughran and Garry Walker) and the Royal Philharmonic Society Awards.
Hugh Macdonald retired in 2006 after 20 years at BBC Scotland, 15 of them as Director of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. He is now a freelance music consultant, writer and lecturer. He is Chair of Edinburgh Contemporary Arts Trust, a director of Theatre Cryptic and the Scottish International Piano Competition, and a Visiting Professor at Strathclyde University. He studied music at the universities of Edinburgh and Amsterdam and at the Royal College of Music, and taught in universities in Hong Kong and Scotland for ten years.
He joined BBC Scotland as a music producer in 1985, working for Radio 3 and Radio Scotland on a wide range of programmes, from chamber and orchestral music to traditional music and piping. He was made Head of Music in 1991, then Director of the BBC SSO when it became a separate department in 1996. During that time the orchestra acquired an international reputation as one of the UK’s most innovative ensembles, leading to two Gramophone Awards, a Grammy nomination, and the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society orchestral award in 2001. Hugh developed the orchestra’s reputation for new music performance and led its growth in size from 65 to 76 members. After many years of planning, Hugh saw his long-held vision for the orchestra to move permanently to Glasgow City Halls realised when it gave its first concerts in the newly restored building in January 2006.
Gill Maxwell has over 30 years’ experience in the music industry in Scotland and internationally. Her long and varied career began as a student promoter at Glasgow’s QMU, and after a short stint at BBC Scotland’s Film Dept in the early 80s, she moved into artist management and international tour management, working with the biggest names in Scottish contemporary music, most notably the multi-million selling Deacon Blue, from their major label signing in 1986 until their split in 1993. Gill then moved into freelance event management and programming, working at the foremost Scottish venues, events and festivals.
During the 90s, combining motherhood with new challenges in her career, Gill spent six years heading up government's New Deal for Musicians mentoring programme in Scotland, and moved on to become MD of the new Scottish Music Centre in 2005, whilst also clocking up 14 years on the T in the Park event management team. Gill is also a long-standing member of the Showcase Scotland steering group.
She lives in Glasgow’s West End with her partner of 22 years, sound engineer David Pringle, and their teenage daughter Holly.
Richard is one of Scotland’s most versatile musicians, who has influenced a generation of teachers and students with his innovative methods of teaching improvisation through thirty years work with Fife Youth Jazz Orchestra and a career as composer, performer and workshop leader.
As a composer, Richard has written for artists as diverse as Colin Currie, Georgie Fame, Annie Ross and Guy Barker. His many works for Fife Youth Jazz Orchestra have been recorded and broadcast and a documentary programme for BBC 2’s Young Musician of the Year in 1996 brought his teaching methods to a wider audience.
As a pianist and organist, Richard gives recitals on The Art of Improvisation. As Radio Scotland's 'Jazz Jargonbuster', he can improvise inany style at the merest hint of a theme! He is the author of Jazz Beginnings, Creative Jazz Education and Small Band Jazz for the Classroom, and a frequent contributor to Music Teacher Magazine. For the Wigmore Hall he has produced a CD ROM on how to improvise in Jazz and Baroque grooves.
His most recent work is 'Listen Up', a new Young Persons Guide to the instruments of the Orchestra, Big Band, Folk Group and Rock Band based on Jeremiah Clarke’s famous Trumpet Tune.
After 35 years working in the formal and informal education sectors, Richard is now increasingly in demand as a freelance consultant, musician, broadcaster and educator.
Susan Nickalls is an Edinburgh-based freelance journalist, music critic and film producer. Over the past twenty-five years she has developed a successful career as a freelance journalist, researcher and editor in newspapers, magazines radio and television. In 2005 she produced two award-winning short films through her company Brazen Hussies Ltd.
Susan currently writes for a number of specialist publications including Classical Music Magazine andis a music critic for The Scotsman. She has a passion for a variety of music but in particular early and new music, particularly contemporary work by living composers.
Jim started in BBC Scotland’s Rights department in 1978 and has been the head of department for over twenty years. In that time he has worked on every genre in the BBC, handling the full range of business affairs across the BBC’s television, radio and more increasingly its new media output. From contracting an extract of a solo performer to televising a full Opera, Ballet or Theatre production, Jim has been involved in the negotiation of contracts that cover the acquisition and exploitation of rights with musicians, artists and contributors. Rights to major events such as the Opening of Parliament, Live8, T in the Park, the Tattoo, Royal Weddings and funerals of national figures have all been handled in his long and varied career.
Jim has vast experience in co-production deals with overseas broadcasters and record companies and agreements used by the independent television and radio sector in the UK. He also sits on the BBC’s central rights strategy team that handles national negotiations with The Musicians’ Union, Equity, The Writers’ Guild and the Music Collecting Societies.
Cathie’s background is in music performance, sales and marketing. Beginning her career with American computer giants Digital Computers, Cathie worked in advertising for the Scotsman Publications. She later went on to start her own arts administration business, Alba Arts / Jazz Base.
For the past 12 years Cathie provided a professional arts administration service to many clients including project management for Glasgow International Jazz Festival. Cathie is now Director of Thick-Skinned Productions Ltd, a not-for-profit arts organisation providing music education services in schools, recording opportunities, tour production and artist management. She also manages the Fionna Duncan Vocal Jazz Workshops and two prominent Scottish jazz musicians.
A professional and passionate jazz singer, Cathie has been involved with the Scottish and UK jazz scene for many years. She is Trustee on the board of Jazz Services and is Jazz Development Officer for the Scottish Jazz Federation.
Andy is a freelance music programmer and has been Creative Director for Perth Concert Hall since its opening in 2005, launching the Home and Away and Monday Night Thing series and the Southern Fried Americana festival. As well as working on Dublin's tenure as European City of Culture in 1991 and spending three years with Ireland's main commercial music promoter MCD from 1999 to 2002, Andy can also add his programming of The Lemon Tree in Aberdeen and the creation of the Rootin Aboot festival to his CV.
Graham is a guitarist, singer and songwriter based in north-east Scotland, where he plays solo and with a variety of bands. His main musical style in recent years has been traditional, although he was previously involved in pop, rock and musical theatre.
Graham is a board member of SCAT (Scottish Culture & Traditions), and has been a tutor with SCAT, Skirlin & Birlin, Fèis, Community Arts and various Youth Music Initiative projects. Over the last two years he has been involved with Burnsong’s Burns and Rivers initiative encouraging schools to create songs inspired by environmental issues.
Graham has sound engineering and recording knowledge, and is a freelance writer and reviewer. He also has many years of graphic design and printing experience.
He is presently involved in setting up and running a new Social Enterprise for Aberdeen Cyrenians called Iceberg Arts which aims to help those affected by homelessness to develop their creative talents and gain essential business and work experience.
A Choral Scholar at King’s College in Cambridge, James Waters also studied on the Post Graduate Opera Course at RSAMD. He was Concerts Director at the Scottish Chamber Orchestra from 1986 to 1992 where he was responsible for initiating the orchestra’s highly successful relationship with Sir Charles Mackerras.
From 1992 to 2006 he was Associate Director of the Edinburgh International Festival. At EIF he was responsible for delivery of the programme of circa 175 events each year including all aspects of programming, budgeting, negotiation and event management. In the music field, this involved liaison with artists of the highest international standing in the genres of Opera, Concert and Recital. He holds a very broad knowledge of the classical music field with expertise in opera, symphonic, choral and chamber repertoire as well as lieder. He was also responsible for coordinating EIF’s series on traditional music in Scotland, working with artists such as Allan MacDonald, Sheena Wellington and Wendy Stewart.
James is now a Director of the Consultancy Festivals and Events International. Clients have included Manchester International Festival, Birmingham and Newcastle City Councils, City of London Sinfonia, Lamp of Lothian Trust and Hebrides Ensemble. He also lectures at Queen Margaret University in People Management, Law and Governance, Production Development, Finance and Strategic Management.
Bill Wells is a self taught musician from Falkirk. He started out as a bass player in Social Clubs during the late seventies and early eighties, working in various cabaret bands in and around Central Scotland. In 1989 Bill became more involved with the Jazz scene and formed the Bill Wells Octet, which featured most of Scotland's leading Jazz musicians at the time, as well as London based players such as Harry Beckett and Lol Coxhill.
In 1995 he set up the label Loathsome Reels and released his first CD; The Bill Wells Octet Live '93 - '94. Around this time he started working with Glasgow bands such as The Pastels and Future Pilot AKA and has since then gone on to record for a variety of different labels such as Domino, Geographic, Leaf, Creeping Bent, Karaoke Kalke, Textile, P-Vine and Wee Black Skelf working with a diverse range of artists including Kevin Ayers, Richard Youngs, Teenage Fanclub, Evan Parker, Arab Strap and David Tibet.
Bill has toured extensively both in the UK and throughout Europe and has ongoing projects with the Bill Wells Trio, The National Jazz Trio Of Scotland, Aidan Moffat and a line up including Annie Whitehead, Stefan Schneider and Barbara Morgenstern. Recent projects include the publishing of Bill’s Book in May last year 'The Loathsome Reel Book', musical compositions for the National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland as well as some commissions to remix tracks by bands such as the Pastels, Nectarine No. 9 and Pia Fraus.
Freelance arts journalist Sue Wilson has been writing about music since the early 1990s, with a particular interest in the Scottish and Celtic folk/roots scene but also extensive experience of covering rock, world music, Americana and jazz, as well as theatre, books and visual art. Her work has appeared in a wide range of publications including the Guardian, the Independent, the Scotsman, the Sunday Herald, Metro, the Sunday Express, Scotland on Sunday, The List and Songlines magazine, and she is co-author of The Rough Guide to Irish Music (2001). In 2004, she was joint editor and writer of the Scotland Cultural Profile, an online guide to Scotland’s arts and cultural sector aimed at overseas practitioners, sponsored by the British Council, Visiting Arts and the Scottish Executive. She is regularly contracted to write the official brochure and website text for the Celtic Connections festival, and is a longstanding member of the Showcase Scotland Steering Group.
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