My younger self
At secondary school, it was always my dream to write and play music, and I really wanted to write music for film. Music has always been in my life. As a young boy, I can remember sitting on my Nana’s knee at a piano as she taught me a Beethoven theme from his Pastoral Symphony. My grandparents really enjoyed classical music, and my parents’ love traditional Scottish music; we grew up listening to quite an eclectic tape and record collection! My parents both sang with the local Gaelic Choir in Aberfeldy. I sang in a youth choir in Perth and played bagpipes in the local pipe band, the Vale of Atholl, and violin in the local orchestra. All of which meant a busy calendar with local or international festivals, events, and tours. I loved it.
When the time came to look at career options, however, I applied for a place at the University of Glasgow Law School. Fast forward, and having been a qualified solicitor for twelve years (with most of those spent in Ayr), I had something of an epiphany while furloughed last year. The time I had away from the office gave me a chance to remember and reconnect with what I used to love so much about performing and writing music. Remembering the enjoyment I got from entertaining others, or the fulfilment I would feel from writing a piece of music and seeing others respond to it. In truth, I have always had a desire, buried deep, to follow my passion and pursue music; it took lockdown for me to do something about it.
My career change to pursue music
With the incredible support of my wife Michelle and our family and friends, and following much discussion, I decided earlier this year to reboot my career and pursue that long-held dream of writing and performing music full time as a composer and musician. As I said above, it is a huge aspiration of mine to write music to picture (so, film and tv). Already I have already been lucky enough to work with some production teams from around the world on some great short film projects. I am looking forward to these hopefully leading to more really exciting projects in the future.
As well as composing, I am also excited to be getting back to playing the Bagpipes a lot more at local weddings, functions and business events. I am also getting a number of commissions for music to mark special occasions – from wedding marches and first dances, to big birthdays and anniversaries. It is a really exciting time and I can’t wait to see what lies ahead.
If you are planning a function or event, or perhaps are undertaking a media project and are in need of some original music, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me. It would be a pleasure to hear your plans and to chat about how I can help.
