Lauren
Lauren MacColl is considered one of Scotland’s most expressive fiddle players. From the Black Isle, she studied music in Glasgow before returning home to the Highlands where she draws much of her musical inspiration.
Her new album ‘Haar’ - the 5th solo release on her own label - marks 15 years since she embarked on a solo career, and follows on from the 2020 album ‘Landskein’, lauded for its raw simplicity. ‘Haar’ is a self-penned collection of music drawn on coastal stories and happenings from around the eastern firths of the Scottish Highlands, showcasing Lauren’s writing and signature darkly-toned playing.
Lauren is a founder member of both chamber-folk quartet RANT and song-trio Salt House, with whom she continues to tour regularly, alongside her recent multi-disciplinary project ‘Heal & Harrow’ with Rachel Newton. H&H were awarded ‘Composer of the Year’ at the Scots Trad Music Awards, and played live on Radio 4’s Front Row.
Lauren was fiddle tutor for RCS Junior Conservatoire for over a decade, continues to teach her own students and community groups, and ran the Black Isle Fiddle Weekend for 9 years. Her work as a session musician on viola and fiddle has seen her record for a wide variety of artists across the Scottish music scene including Julie Fowlis, Blue Rose Code, Ewan MacLennan and Siobhan Miller. In 2019 she released a book of her own tunes titled ‘To The North…’ and toured her commissioned work ‘The Seer’ across major Scottish venues.
Accolades-
2022 MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards Composer of the Year Winner (Heal & Harrow)
2018 MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards Album of the Year (Shortlist - The Seer)
2017 MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards Composer of the Year Nominee
2009 MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards Instrumentalist of the Year Winner
2008 ‘Classic Album’ at Celtic Connections for ‘When Leaves Fall’
2005 BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award Winner
A learning environment -
As a tutor Lauren has given workshops and summer schools in fiddle playing and ensemble work throughout the country. Her passion for teaching led her to set up the Black Isle Fiddle Weekend, a hugely successful festival for adult learners in Cromarty each July. She was fiddle tutor for 11 years at RCS Junior Conservatoire, and continues to teach for various Feisean and privately.
With Thanks -
Lauren is a previous recipient of the Dewar Award for Excellence in the Arts, and has also been previously supported by Creative Scotland (formally Scottish Arts Council), Arts Trust Scotland, Friends of Highland Music, and the Highland Music Trust, all to whom she is hugely grateful.