Biography

Catriona is considered to be a musician of great energy and panache with the potential to become a leading player both in classical violin and traditional fiddle playing.

Born and bred in Orkney, Catriona started out learning traditional Scottish fiddle playing until her teacher persuaded her that classical music was just as ‘cool’. Now she excels in both styles. Catriona has had success in the BBC Radio Scotland’s Young Traditional Musician of the Year twice reaching the semi-final. She has already made her mark in composing much of her own material, drawing on her Orcadian roots.

Catriona spent her last two school years at St Mary’s Music School in Edinburgh before winning a scholarship to study violin at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester under Leland Chen. In 2006 she played in the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall as sub-principal second violin in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain under Sir Colin Davis.

How the Award Helped

Catriona owns a German-made violin and now needs a bow of equal quality to match it. The Dewar Arts Awards enabled Catriona to buy a high-quality violin bow.

Since the Award