Scots Sangs An Tunes Fur Schools

BANDS AND GROUPS IN GENERAL

In older times musicians played as soloists or in small groupings. In modern days groups began to be formed. One of the first was the Reivers, whose appearances on TV's Jigtime were very influential. They played guitars and sang. Many other such groups followed. Gradually other instruments began to be added, particularly fiddle. Then greater use of amplification and mixing allowed the addition of bagpipes and electronic instruments. More complex arrangements and juxtapositions of sounds have become possible and popular, and tempos of what were dance tunes have at times become frenetic. But all along some bands and solo musicians have held to the tempos that are right for dancing, and specialise in playing for ceilidh or country dancing.
Many Scottish bands playing traditional music particularly feature the instrumental aspects, though they also include songs in their performance. E.g. Ceolbeg, The Battlefield Band and The Whistlebinkies. Other bands and groups focus on song, e.g. Sangsters, The Tannahill Weavers, The McCalmans, Palaver, Stairheid Gossip.  Plockton young musicians, as part of their education, work on arrangements in bands, e.g. The Dillies, Aspograss, Up!

INDIVIDUAL PEOPLE AND GROUPS

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Tom Anderson was a Shetland fiddler who taught and encouraged many younger players. He composed many tunes, including 'Da Slockit Light’.
The 7th Century poet Aneurin wrote the epic account of the Goddodin Raid.
Aly Bain is Scotland's best known fiddler. From Shetland, he is able to play in a remarkable range of idioms and has collaborated widely, including as a guest concert performer with the Boston Scottish Fiddle Club.

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The 1st Battalion The Black Watch, Pipes and Drums, is the 'senior Highland Regiment in the British Army'.
Boston Scottish Fiddle Club, USA, have an annual Scottish Fiddle Rally with distinguished guest fiddlers, from which several tracks are used in this website.
Sir Harold Boulton was an Englishman who had a strong interest in traditional Scottish music. He wrote the lyrics for 'The Skye Boat Song' and the 'Loch Tay Boat Song' using traditional Gaelic tunes, and co-edited important collections of traditional songs. 
Gill Bowman is an Edinburgh-based singer and songmaker. Through her work with the New Makars Trust she wrote alone or with school pupils 'Winter Sun', 'Journey Back To Arran', 'The School Nativity Play' and many other songs. Gill and Karine Polwart performed and recorded together as MacAlias.

Bragod is a Welsh based duo, Mary-Anne Roberts is a singer from Trinidad and Tobago. Robert Evans is renowned as a player of various Early Music stringed instruments.
Charlie Bremner, fiddle, was one of the musicians recorded in Aberdeen and Banffshire in 1974/5 for the album The Caledonian Companion. He worked as a 'mashman' at the Glenlivet whisky distillery.

Robert Burns, Scotland’s most famous poet, was born in Ayrshire in south west Scotland.  As well as writing many famous poems such as ‘Tae a Mouse’ and ‘Tam o Shanter’ and Burns also wrote the words for ‘Auld Lang Syne’ which is known all over the world. Other Burns songs which you may know include ‘Comin’ through the rye’ and ‘My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose’. Very often, Burns did not write the words for his songs from scratch, though. He realised that there were so many good songs being sung by the people around him that he simply reworked them. In fact, Burns was as much a collector of songs as he was a song writer. Sadly, Burns had a short life, dying at the age of 37. 

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Joe Cadona was a Edinburgh busker from an Italian showpeople family. He played panpipes and a drum, and was recorded by Alan Lomax in 1951.
Colin Campbell is the fiddle-playing brother of Katherine Campbell.
 Katherine Campbell, vocal and piano and cello, and her brother Colin, fiddle, recorded several of the songs and tunes included in this website. But much more than that, she wrote much of the text included in this website, and created most of the tune transcriptions. Some of this work was for the book Traditional Scottish Songs & Music and for a planned followup book. Both these books were co-written with Ewan McVicar. She has recorded CDs of versions of ballads and songs collected in Scotland by early collectors, and her book The Fiddle In Scottish Culture, aspects of the tradition  was recently published by Birlinn. Katherine has lectured and tutored for the RSAMD, and is currently a lecturer in ethnomusicolgy in the department of Celtic and Scottish Studies, University of Edinburgh.
Carnwath Youth Theatre - in 2004 two girls in this group wrote and sang the song Friday Barney, but we have not as yet been able to learn their names. Dave Gibb played guitar.
The Ceolbeg group have been playing with a variety of personnel for over 20 years, combining strong vocals with instrumental excellence on 'a whirling melange' of varied traditional instruments.

Steven Clark is a Glasgow songmaker and event organiser, writer of ‘All John Tamson’s Bairns’ and other fine songs.
The Helen Creighton Folklore Society commemorates and preserves the work of one of Canada's foremost collectors of folk song.
Tony Cuffe was a guitarist and singer with the group Jock Tamson's Bairns, and later Ossian. He eventually moved to the USA, and died in 2001.
Allan Cunningham was born in Dumfriesshire. He was asked to help gather old songs for a book about songs of Galloway, and smuggled in some of his own compositions, including ‘My Ain Countrie’.
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Ian Davison is an ex-Principal teacher of English in Glasgow, a stalwart of the folk-song revival, and a respected and prolific song-writer. Many of his songs, on various subjects, are set among Glasgow people. One particular theme of Ian's is songs about peace, and he was one of the members of the Scottish CND Buskers. Since retiring as a teacher, he has been a volunteer song-writing tutor in Glasgow and Lanarkshire primary schools. Many of his songs have been performed and recorded by other singers, and in 2008 a whole evening of his songs was performed in concert by other singers in St Andrews In The Square, Glasgow. Ian's best known songs include 'Going Home To Glasgow' and  'Mandela Danced In The Square'.
Josh Dickson, bagpipes, is now a lecturer at the Royal Academy of Music and Drama, Glasgow, and author of a book on piping.
The Drambuie Kirkliston Pipe Band have been described as "both rousing and innovative".
Jock Duncan is a former North-East farmer worker, now living in Pitlochry, who sings bothy ballads with tremendous style and conviction.
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Miss Jane Elliot, daughter of Sir Gilbert Elliot of Minto, Lord Chief Justice Clerk of Scotland, wrote the lyric of 'The Flowers Of The Forest'. 

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Fiddlers Bid say they "are a Shetland based band. Their music is firmly rooted in the Shetland tradition, but greatly influenced by many different styles. The four fiddles and Scottish harp are complimented by guitar, bass and piano accompaniment, creating the dynamic Fiddlers' Bid sound."
Fiona Forbes, MBE, is a member of the Fife group the Sangsters.
Willie Fraser was one of the musicians recorded in Aberdeen and Banffshire in 1974/5 for the album The Caledonian Companion. He played a number of instruments, but after losing the fingers of one hand in a circular saw accident he settled on the mouth organ. 
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Dick Gaughan has written several fine songs but is better known as an interpreter of traditional and other peoples' songs, particularly songs with a political element, and as a fine guitar player. He took the lyric of 'Both Sides The Tweed', probably written by James Hogg, and made it into a very popular song.
Dave Gibb is a South Lanarkshire songwriter. In 2004 he worked with Carnwath Youth Theatre to help they write their own songs, in a New Makars Trust project.
Glasgow Song Guild. Under this banner organiser, poet and songmaker Morris Blythman got songmakers to work co-operatively writing peace songs in the 1960s, then Blythman published the books in editions of The Rebel Ceilidh Songbook. Jim MacLean was a key member of the group.
Sandy Glendinning wrote, as an economic exile, the 19th Century the lyric that became 'Awa Wi Canada's Muddy Creeks', as a poem called 'Awa wi Scarboro's Muddy Creeks'. 
The Gow family of fiddlers and tune composers were very influential in Scottish traditional music, and composed and published many dozens of tunes. Niel Gow composed 'Farewell To Whisky'. His son Nathaniel composed 'Caller Herrin'.
The Gordon Gunn Band is Gordon Gunn, fiddle and mandolin, Phil Anderson on guitar, bass, percussion and keyboards, and Billy Peace on keyboards, accordion and percussion. They first played together, in Ruby Rendall's Band, in the 1980s. Gordon began his playing with the Wick Fiddlers, and all three members have wide experience of playing in different settings.

John Grant of Tulloch in the Abernethy Forest, Speyside, was one of the musicians recorded in Aberdeen and Banffshire in 1974/5 for the album The Caledonian Companion. As a young man he heard Scott Skinner play.
Alex Green, one of Scotland's foremost whistle players, was one of the musicians recorded in Aberdeen and Banffshire in 1974/5 for the album The Caledonian Companion. 
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Addie Harper Senior, of the Wick Scottish Country Dance Band, composed the 'Barrowburn Reel'.
Hamish Henderson, born Perthsire in 1919, was a towering figure and crucial driving force in the revival of Scottish Traditional song from the 1950s on. He encouraged young singers and musicians, and working for the School of Scottish Studies he found and collected song and story from hundreds of Scots, including Jeannie Robertson, John Strachan and John MacDonald. As a maker he wrote songs that are massively popular with traditional singers. They include 'The Freedom Come-All-Ye', 'Farewell To Sicily', 'The John MacLean March'. Others have collected together his writings and poetry into various books.
Fiddler James Hill, born in Dundee, composed the tune 'Earl Grey'.
James Hogg was an author, songmaker and poet, known as 'The Ettrick Shepherd'. He like some others passed off some of his own songs as 'traditional'. He edited a two volume book of Jacobite songs, including the lyric of 'Both Sides The Tweed'.
Willie Hunter, fiddle, was considered an outstanding Shetland fiddler, in a community with many wonderful players. He died in 1994.
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Hamish Imlach was a well loved singer, guitarist and humorous raconteur. He sang Scottish and American blues material, and influenced Billy Connolly and John Martyn. Imlach was based in Motherwell, recorded many albums and toured throughout Europe.
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Keltic Electrik made two albums that mix traditional instruments and modern electronic dance beats.
Mary Kennedy is an accordion-playing friend of Katherine Campbell.
The Kiltearn (Fèis Rois) Fiddlers began with three children learning fiddle from Alpha Munro through a 1990 weekly Fèis Rois class. Eventually the group had forty members, ranging up in age from eight years, and performs regularly in various settings.
Christine Kydd is a traditional singer, contemporary songwriter, guitarist, tutor of 'feral' song groups and project organiser. "Christine's voice is sometimes a bright dancing stream, sometimes the dark thrilling deep waters.She is a glorious shaper and developer of traditional-based vocal style in Scotland, through her singing collaborations and her work within song and education communities. Full of rare delights" (Written by Ewan McVicar, from the cover notes of her CD Dark Pearls) She has recorded and toured extensively with Janet Russell and Chantan in the UK, Europe, USA and Canada, and currently performs at times as half of Sinsheen, though more often solo. She is an experienced tutor, with a Postgraduate Advanced Diploma in Voice Studies from Central School of Speech and Drama in London.
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The Linties are singers Morag Dempsey, Helen McBrien and Iyaah Warren, who perform with Stuart Miller, vocals and guitar. Their first album was issued in 2008.
Alan Lomax was by far the most important folk music collector and populariser of the 20th Century. Apart from his crucial work in his native USA, his collecting trip around Scotland in 1951 garnered an astonishing harvest of recordings that are still today of startling interest. See the 1951 People's Festival Ceilidh, Joe Cadona and Jimmy Shand.
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MacAlias was the name for Edinburgh-based duo Gill Bowman and Karine Polwart. They issued one album, Highwired.
The Edinburgh based McCalmans group, a trio of strong vocalists, has been recording and performing in many countries for over 40 years.

Ewan MacColl was born as Jimmie Miller in Manchester of Scottish Parents. As a singer of old songs, maker of radio programmes, editor of books of and about traditional song, and playwright, he was extremely influential in the Revival of folk and traditional song in Britain. As a songmaker he created many of the favourite new songs of the Revival, including 'Song Of The Fishgutters', 'Dirty Old Town' and one which became a pop standard, 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face'.
The McCrimmons were a famous family of pipers and pipe teachers on the island of Skye. Patrick Mor McCrimmon composed 'I Got A Kiss Of The King's Hand' in 1651, and Donald Ban McCrimmon composed 'McCrimmon's Lament' in 1745.
Gordeanna McCulloch is recognised as one of the finest singers of Scottish traditional songs of her generation. Glassgow born, she began singing at an early age. Her interest and involvement in traditional song began at school in the 1960’s when she attended Rutherglen Academy and came under the influence of Norman Buchan. At the age of 19 she joined the prestigious Scots group, Clutha.With them she recorded, and performed in Brittany, Belgium, Denmark, France, Holland, Sweden and USA. More recently she has performed solo, with the four part harmony Palaver, and in a duo with Chris Miles. She helped to form and for 17 years led Eurydice, the Glasgow based Women’s Choir. Gordeanna's style represents a link with the older generation of ballad singers such as Jeannie Robertson and Belle Stewart. She listened absorbed and interpreted in her own way.She has featured in a number of BBC radio and television programmes, teaches various community insformal singing groups, and tutors in Scots Song at the RSAMD.
Gillian MacDonald is a Glasgow based singer, guitarist and whistle player.
John MacDonald was a mole-catcher and rat-catcher by profession and lived in Pitgaveny, Elgin. He ran a local concert party, played the melodeon well, and knew many old songs.
Matt McGinn was born in Glasgow. During the Scottish Folk Revival of the 1960s and 70s he composed and recorded over 100 songs, mostly to versions of traditional tunes. His sense of humour and employment of 'Glesga' language helped make his songs highly popular, though many of them have not stood the test of time. His singing was distinctive, and as a performer he was proud that he had once sung in New York's Carnegie Hall, with further down the bill a young singer called Bob Dylan. Several memorial concerts of his songs are held in Linlithgow and Glasgow. Among his songs are 'The Rolling Hills Of The Border', 'The Wee Kirkcudbright Centipede', 'Red Yo Yo', and 'If It Wasnae For The Union'. 
Edward (Eddie) MacGuire is a wellknown Glasgow composer of music for orchestras and smaller groups. He also plays Scottish traditional music on flute and harp with the Whistlebinkies group.
Geordie McIntyre, a Glasgwegian of Highland and Irish descent, is a very fine singer, songmaker, song collector and project creator who has been a tireless activist for traditional Scots culture since the 1960s.
"Dougie MacLean is considered by many to be Scotland's pre-eminent singer-songwriter and is certainly one of the country's greatest musical treasures. From his home base in the beautiful Tay Valley, MacLean tours the world with his unique blend of lyrical, 'roots based' songwriting and instrumental composition. He has built an international reputation as songwriter, composer and extraordinary performer which has led to concerts and festivals worldwide including New York's Carnegie Hall, Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall and London’s Festival Theatre. "His songs have been covered by hosts of artists and his Caledonia has become one of Scotland's most popular contemporary songs. His music has been used in Hollywood films (eg Last of the Mohicans), TV Drama (eg BBC's A Mug's Game) and he has been the subject of three BBC TV music-documentaries. Described as “ …a musical hero” (Wall Street Journal, USA) MacLean is renowned for the uniqueness of his meaningful, haunting and emotion-filled music."
Jim MacLean was a key member of the Glasgow Song Guild, and wrote many of the lines in 'Ding Dong Dollar' but he has gone on to write many fine songs about Scotland, and to create themed recorded collections of his songs. His songs include 'Cruel was the snow the sweeps Glencoe'.
 Alison McMorland, vocals and banjo, has one of the richest singing voices in traditional style in Scotland, and an exceptional repertoire of good versions of songs and ballads. She has tutored at the RSAMD. "Her active work in the traditional and related arts has been extensive, innovative and significant". 
Adam MacNaughtan is a Glasgow songmaker and singer. His many popular songs include 'Where Is The Glasgow I Used To Know', 'Hamlet', 'The Jeely Piece Song' and 'Yellow On The Broom'.
Aonghas NacNeacail is one of Scotland's best known poets, and has collaborated in various verse and music projects.
Ewan McVicar initiated and wrote much of the text material in this website, which also has many recordings of traditional songs by him. He has written several songs for the children's show The Singing Kettle, and has written and sung songs or told traditional stories in over one hundred Scottish schools. Ewan wrote the song 'Shift And Spin', and with children wrote new verses for several of the songs, including 'Bananas Are The Best' and 'The World Must Be Coming To An End'. Ewan runs the small GALLUS recording label, and his publications include One Singer One Song, Doh Ray Me When Ah Wis Wee, and various teaching packs. He co-wrote with Katherine Campbell Traditional Scottish Songs & Music. 

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Christine Martin was brought up in Ayrshire and was given the opportunity to learn to play the violin at school. As well as classical music she was always interested in folk music, played in the school folk group and had a keen fiddling neighbour who  encouraged her to play fiddle music locally. She studied violin and piano at the RSAMD and trained as a strings teacher. After meeting Alasdair her husband, she moved to Easter Ross where she taught strings for Highland Council for many years. It was there she met up with many folk musicians, played in several folk groups and dance  bands travelling all over the Highlands for gigs. The family moved to Skye in 1987 and Christine has continued her teaching work and publishing there.
 Ronan Martin was brought up in Skye, went on to study Industrial Design at Napier University in Edinburgh, and returned to work in Skye.  Ronan is in much in demand as a traditional fiddle player, both at home and abroad. He was steeped in music from an early age and has performed with many of Scotland's finest bands and high calibre musicians. He has just released his first album. He has performed at Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow five times, toured abroad in Germany, Norway, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, the Cook Islands and the Middle East. As well as performing live he's been featured on several television music programmes and soundtracks for documentaries.
John Martyn was born as Iain McGeachy in Glasgow. He first performed in folk clubs, but eventually took his innovative approach to guitar playing and singing into the world of rock music. He wrote 'Fisherman's Dream' and recorded several albums of his own songs.
Mary Morrison of Barsary, Barra, sang an imitation of the pipes playing for dancing, caterach, for Alan Lomax in 1951.

Charlie Murray recorded 'My Last Farewell To Stirling' for the School Of Scottish Studies. 
Scott Murray of the song group The Sangsters is a Fifer, and through The New Makars Trust composed various new songs including 'A Dykers Compliments To Her Neighbours'.

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Lady Caroline Nairne of Gask, Perthshire, anonymously, under the name 'Mrs Bogan of Bogan', wrote or rewrote many Scottish songs, including 'Caller Herrin', 'The Land O The Leal', 'Rowan Tree', and such Jacobite songs as 'Charlie Is My Darling'.
Nancy Nicolson was born and raised in Caithness, but made her home in Edinburgh where she is known as one of Scotland's foremost songmakers and organisers. She for several years organised the schools element of the Glasgow Festival Celtic Connections. She wrote the song 'Who Pays The Piper?'

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Boris Pasternak was a Russian novelist, his best known book was Dr Zhivago. The book includes a series of poems supposedly written by the main character, Zhivago. One of these, 'Winter Night', was turned into a song by Ewan McVicar. 
Bob Pegg, with Bill Taylor, devised the album Out Of The Stones, which is 'Music inspired by the Archeology and History of Orkney'. Bob has for many years worked with adults and children as a musician and storyteller in Ross-shire. 
The 1951 People's Festival Ceilidh featured an astonishing range of traditional singing to a delighted urban audience that had thought that part of our culture was dead. The ceilidh was recorded by Alan Lomax, and a CD of his 1951 recordings was recently issued in the USA.
Plockton pupils - In the LTS website you will find several pieces of music and song by groups and individual performers from Plockton in West Ross-shire. Since 2000 secondary school pupils have been getting specialist musical tuition in Scottish traditional music at the Sgoil Chiùil na Gàidhealtachd, the National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music in Plockton, while doing their general studying at Plockton High School. The pupils must do their schoolwork as well as ten hours and more a week of music, going out to perform, and every year making a CD to show what they are learning.From their 2003 CD we have selected 'The Flowers Of The Forest' and 'Coming Through The Rye'. From the 2007 double CD we have selected 'Midnight Club Set', 'Dear, Dearie, Dearest Set', 'Sands Of Kuwait Set', 'Lament For John Morrison' and 'Marion MacLean Of Eoilgarry Set'. 2008/9 pupils have recorded some pieces especially for this website - 'Shift And Spin', Fisherman's Lassie', 'Largo Fairy Dance', 'The High Road To Linton' and the 'Barrowburn Reel'.
Karine Polwart is currently one of Scotland's best known singers and songmakers, her songs are widely sung, and she has performed and recorded with various groups including Malinky and MacAlias.

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Jean Redpath, a Fifer who began singing publically with the support of Hamish Henderson, has been described as "Godmother and guardian of traditional Scottish song". Her influence in Scotland as been more thorough her extensive and at times innovative recordings, since she has been resident in the USA since the 1960s.  
Jim Reid, Dundee singer and composer of tunes, set to music several poems by Violet Jacobs, including 'Norland Wind', which she called 'The Wild Geese'. 
Walter Roast of East Chezzetcook recorded a rich version of 'The Nova Scotia Song' aka 'Farewell To Nova Scotia', in 1943 for collector Helen Creighton. 
 Aleksander Rogozhkin of the Chorus Quartet of Perm, Russia, arranged the group's vocals on 'Winter Night'.
Rory Dall, 'Blind Rory', Scottish harper Roderick Morison, is believed by many to have composed the tune 'Rory Dall's Port', but has been argued that the composer may have been an Irish harper also called Rory Dall.
Pipe Major James Robertson composed the pipe tune ‘Farewell to the Creeks’ in 1915 when he was a prisoner of war in Germany.
Jeannie Robertson, MBE - The great Aberdeenshire traditional singer, one of the Travelling People, was 'discovered' by Hamish Henderson in Aberdeen, and her fine versions of ballads and songs became widely admired and sung throughout Britain and the USA. She was particularly known for her singing of 'The Gallawa Hills', 'Twa Recruitin Sergeants', The Battle Of Harlaw', 'The Gypsy Laddies', and 'My Son David'. She was awarded the MBE in 1968 for her services to traditional song, and died in 1975.

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St Timothy's Primary, Glasgow. Class P6, with their teacher Miss Bovill, have recorded and are selling a CD with two songs written by Ian Davison, one being 'Going Home To Glasgow'.
The Sangsters are a Kirkcaldy-based four person group who often sing unaccompanied, and feature traditional songs.
The Scottish CND Buskers were based in Glasgow in the late 1980s. The members were Harry Bickerstaff, Nancy Dangerfield, Ian Davison, Ewan McVicar, Pat and Joe Plunkett and Carol Sweeney.
George Scroggie, miller at Federate in New Deer, Aberdeenshire, wrote the lyric of 'Fareweel Tae Tarwathie'.
Jimmy Shand, MBE, of Fife, was Scotland's most famous accordion player and Scottish Country Dance band leader. For over fifty years he was the public face of Scottish dance music, recording, broadcasting and touring .
Tony Shearer plays harmonica and lives in North-East Scotland.
Shetland Fiddlers - There are in the website recordings of fiddlers from various parts of Scotland, but the most productive areas for fiddlers and fiddle tunes are the North-East and Shetland. You will find the work of several Shetland fiddlers, groups, and composers in this website, including Aly Bain, Fiddlers' Bid, Willie Hunter and Tom Anderson. Among the tunes included are 'Faroe Rum', 'Merry Boys Of Greenland' and 'Miss Spence'.
J Scott Skinner - Skinner was born in Banchory, and became a famous fiddler, perhaps the most famous of his time, and "The greatest Exponent of our National Music', as the cover of his tune collection, The Scottish Violinist, describes him.. He performed to huge audiences in Great Britain and North America. He composed many of our finest fiddle tunes, including 'The Cradle Song', 'Hector The Hero', 'The Laird Of Drumblair' and 'The Bonny Lass O Bon Accord', adapted 'The Devil In The Kitchen' for violin, and created sets of 'variations' that developed more complex ways of playing traditional tunes.
Adam Skirving of Edinburgh in 1746 wrote 'Hey Johnnie Cope'. On the morning after the Battle of Prestonpans Skirving was walking on the shore at Leith and two Highland fighters from the victorious army robbed him, but he still wrote his song supporting the Jacobites! 
Stone Age Band is an assemblage by Bob Pegg and Bill Taylor of various instruments and noise makers.
John Strachan was a well-to-do farmer at the Aberdeenshire Farm of Crichie near Fyvie who had a wonderful fund of old ballads and bothy ballads. He was born in 1875 and died in 1958. 
Poet Henry Syme wrote the words of 'The Shuttle Rins', published in his Poems And Songs Chiefly For The Encouragement Of The Working Classes.
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Andy Thorburn is a classically trained pianist, composer and teacher. He has played keyboard and accordion with a remarkable number of Scottish traditional groups. His 2000 commission for the Glasgow Celtic Connections festival was a vocal composition for twelve singers, in three languages, called Tuath gu Deas, or North to South. A short extract,'Shift Owre Ma Hinnie', is in the LTS website. 
Tryst is a West Lothian based three woman group, Liz Reid, Susan Thores and Heather Wilkinson. They explain that they "Came together through song in 1998 at a Come All Ye session in Howden Park Centre, Livingston. As members of Sangschule, the West Lothian Traditional Song Group, we had the pleasure of being introduced to many fine songs from fine singers." They sing traditional and modern Scottish songs, often unaccompanied or with Liz Reid playing various instruments. The LTS website has several recordings by them, some from their two CDs, and some specially recorded.
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Ullapool High School recorded a 15 track CD of their music in 1998/9, Ceòl agus Brògan, organised by their teacher Ms Bryan. The sleeve note lists fifty performers.

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Ian Walker was inspired by the music of the Glasgow folk scene in the 1960's and, since then, has developed a reputation as an award winning songwriter and performer. He has 14 albums recorded (three with Fellside Recordings, Cumbria, England) and 2 songbooks published. His songs have been published internationally and sung and recorded by many other artists. Ian has worked, at different times, with Glasgow singer/songwriter Ian Bruce, with the Lanarkshire based traditional Irish/Scottish band Setanta and with the country Gospel singer Jimmy Scott. In recent years, Ian has worked with The New Makars Trust writing songs in schools and with older people. Through a New Makars project in the Lanarkshire village of Forth Ian wrote 'The Travelling Minstrel Show'. Other songs of his include 'Some Hae Meat' and 'Hawks And Eagles'.
The Mick West Band combine one of the best voices in Scotland with three superb musicians to produce a sound rooted in the tradition, but delivered in a more modern setting. Performed with virtuosity, imagination and presence, this band have been described as “a must for any fan of Scottish song”.  Mick West is one of Scotland’s foremost exponents of Scottish song. He has toured extensively with his band, delighting audiences at home and abroad. The musicians are Stevie Lawrence, Frank McLaughlin and Fraser Fifield

Betsy Whyte was a traveller, old songs she knew were recorded for the School of Scottish Studies. Two books of her memories of growing up have been published. 

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Heather Yule - Heather is a harp player, teacher and storyteller. She began her studies of the Scottish harp with Savourna Stevenson and Isobel Mieras in 1982.  Later she started the classical harp with Sanchia Pielou in Glasgow and in 1994 she gained a BMus in pedal harp performance under the tuition of the American harpist Gail Barber.  Since university Heather has concentrated fully on teaching and playing traditional music on the Scottish harp. She is based in East Lothian but travels all over Scotland and abroad, teaching and working. She mostly performs on her own, but sometimes in collaboration with other musicians and on projects. She has had a long involvement with the Edinburgh International Harp Festival. She plays the traditional Scottish gut strung harp. Her instrument was made by her father, John Yule. To hear Heather play, go to Rory Dall's Port', 'Ae Fond Kiss' 'Scots Wha Hae', 'The Sticky Jig', Mrs McLeod of Rasaay', and elsewhere in the LTS site.