I started playing violin at the age of 8 in Perthshire and played in school orchestras and completed Royal Associated Board exams to Grade 5 until leaving school at the age of 18. On leaving school and attending university I gave up playing violin till my early 30's when the draw of Scottish fiddle music led me back to taking up the instrument again and joining Dunfermline Strathspey and Reel Society in 2005. I have travelled to Norway with the society and became leader in 2015. I also play violin with the Scottish Fiddle Orchestra and some other local strathspey and reel societies.
I am the conductor of the Society and have held the position since 2016. I started learning the violin in school at about 8 years of age with daily group tuition. During my school years I was a member of the school orchestra as well as being a member of the Edinburgh Primary Shool's Orchestra. On moving to secondary school, I played with their orchestra, as well as, the Edinburgh Secondary School's Orchestra. I ceased playing for about 20 years after leaving school before returning to lessons for about 4 years. My tutor introduced me to Scottish traditional music and recommended playing with other people so I joined 3 Scottish traditional groups, a concert orchestra and a couple of ceilidh bands. I joined the Dunfermline Strathspey & Reel Society in 1995 and became leader about a year later. I studied Music with the Open University and gained an HND in music in 2012.