Woodwind Department (Postgraduate)

John has taught clarinet at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama) since 1978 and has given masterclasses and recitals throughout the country, primarily with pianist Scott Mitchell.

He was very proud to be awarded an Honorary Doctorate from RCS in July 2014 and in 2015 was the recipient of the Royal Philharmonic Society Salomon Prize. John is a trustee of the RSNO Foundation.

Yann Ghiro was born in 1971 in Nice and began clarinet lessons at the age of eleven. After studying for 6 years at the Paris Conservatoire, where he gained first prize in clarinet, bass clarinet and chamber music, Yann furthered his studies at the Prague Mozart Academy where he studied with artists such as Sandor Vegh, Gabor Takacs, Philippe Hirschhorn and Steven Isserlis. A Fulbright Scholarship then allowed him to undertake studies at the Juilliard School of Music in New York, graduating in 1996.

Lawrence is a Clarinet and Woodwind Chamber Music tutor at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Timothy joined the RSNO as principal clarinet in 2020, following five years as principal of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. He is also a founding member and principal clarinet of the Aurora Orchestra, with whom he continues to perform regularly. As a chamber musician Timothy has performed across Europe, USA and the Far East with artists including Lars Vogt, Sir Antonio Pappano, Pascal Rogé and Joshua Bell. Timothy is passionate about music education and teaches at the music school of Douglas Academy as well as at RCS.

Nicolas Baldeyrou is one of the most prominent clarinettists of his generation, invited to perform as soloist with such prestigious orchestras as the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Czech Philharmonic, the Tokyo, Prague and Saint-Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestras, the Sofia Symphony Orchestra, the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre national d’Île-de-France, the Orchestre d’Auvergne and the Orchestre de Cannes-Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur. He is regularly invited to recitals at Carnegie Hall, in New York, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Cité de la Musique in Paris, the Cologne Philharmonic, the Salzburg Mozarteum, the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels, the Bunkamura Orchard Hall in Tokyo, the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory, as well as performing in China, Singapore, Hong Kong and Mexico.

Katherine is the Principal Flute of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

Ruth Morley teaches flute at RCS across undergraduate and graduate courses.  This work includes one to one lessons, classes and chamber coaching.  Ruth’s teaching is focussed on building strong and flexible technical skills connected with informed and stylish interpretation skills to allow the widest possible musical choices in performance.

Helen Brew has been Associate Principal Flute of the Royal Scottish National since 1989 and has performed on 4 continents with some of the world’s best conductors including Claudio Abbado, Zubin Mehta, Lorin Maazel & Neeme Järvi.

As a member of the RSNO, she has recorded over 200 CDs appears weekly across Scotland and plays regularly at the Edinburgh International Festival and the BBC Proms. Helen teaches at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and has served on the faculty of the Royal Northern College of Music and the Chethams School of Music as well as numerous flute courses with Clare Southworth, Trevor Wye & Katherine Bryan.

Helen is a keen advocate for music in community outreach work especially working with young people with special needs.

Matthew James Higham was born in 1998 in London. Shortly after taking up the flute, he was awarded a place at The Purcell School for Young Musicians. During this time, Matthew won first prize at several competitions, including the Alexander and Buono International Competition and the Tunbridge Wells International Young Concert Artists Competition. He continued his studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln with Prof. Robert Winn and the Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst Frankfurt am Main with Thaddeus Watson.

As a soloist, Matthew has played in halls such as the Carnegie Hall, the Wigmore Hall and St Martin-in-the-Fields. In 2019, Matthew joined the academy of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, and was awarded a contract as assistant principal flute from 2020 until 2022. He has been Section Principal Flute of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra since 2023. Matthew is also a member of the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra and has played as a guest with several leading orchestras across Europe.

He studied clarinet and saxophone at the Royal Academy of Music in London. In 1976, whilst still a student, he formed the Myhra Saxophone Quartet with John Harle, Andy Findon and David Roach when they met as ushers at the World Saxophone Congress held at the Royal College of Music.

Andrew pursues a varied career as a saxophonist, teacher, and researcher, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. He has been involved in commissioning and/or premiering new works by Charlotte Bray, Tansy Davies, Edward McGuire, and Ailie Robertson and has also worked with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Ballet, and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. In addition to performing and teaching, Andrew pursues related research interests in musicology and education, generating traditional written outputs, research-led artistic practice, and improved outcomes for learning and teaching.

Amy Turner currently holds the position of Section Principal Oboe of the Orchestra with the Orchestra of Scottish Opera, a position she has held since 2015.

Peter Dykes, born in North Yorkshire, studied oboe under Stephane Rancourt and Stephen West at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, graduating in 2000. During this time in Scotland, he made regular guest appearances with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

Julian has worked as a freelance musician since 2017, appearing as Guest Principal oboist with the NDR Radiophilharmonie, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Camerata Bern and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and as second oboist in the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Mahler Chamber Orchestra.

Janet became became piccolo tutor at RNCM in 2016 and has taught at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland for almost twenty-six years and is regularly invited to teach at other Conservatoires throughout the UK.

Luke was appointed Principal Piccolo of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in 2019.

He studied undergraduate at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and then postgraduate at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, winning the Solo Wind Prize at both institutions and graduating with 1st Class Honours and Distinction respectively. After graduating, Luke won the position of co-principal flute with the Southbank Sinfonia Orchestral Academy.

Principal Bassoon, RSNO.

David Hubbard is a lecturer of bassoon at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and the bassoon tutor at the Music School of Douglas Academy. He  regularly coaches the bassoon section of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland. He has been invited on several occasions to give masterclasses at Wells Cathedral School and Chethams School of Music, and is an examiner for the Royal Northern College of Music.

Graeme became a freelance bassoonist in his second year at RCS, working with orchestras throughout the UK, Ireland and France. In 2015, Graeme was appointed Bassoon Principal No. 2 with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. In this varied role, he can be found rehearsing, performing, delivering educational workshops and recording. He has recently appeared as a guest player with The Philharmonia Orchestra, The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and The Orchestra of Scottish Opera.

He studied clarinet and saxophone at the Royal Academy of Music in London. In 1976, whilst still a student, he formed the Myhra Saxophone Quartet with John Harle, Andy Findon and David Roach when they met as ushers at the World Saxophone Congress held at the Royal College of Music.

Heather Nicoll is a graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS), and was appointed Head of Woodwind in 2007.

Henry Clay is currently Principal Cor Anglais with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. He graduated with a postgraduate degree from the Royal Academy of Music in 2016, where he studied with Christopher Cowie, Sue Böhling and Melanie Ragge. Before this, he attended the Royal Northern College of Music and the University of Manchester on the Joint Course under the tutelage of Jennifer Galloway, Hugh McKenna and Melinda Maxwell.

Paolo Dutto is the recently appointed Principal Contrabassoonist with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

Born in Cuneo in 1979, Paolo graduated from the local conservatory having studied with Professor Stefano Audisio. He continued his education at the “Fiesole Music School” as a member of the Italian Youth Orchestra, studying with musicians such as Giampaolo Pretto and Marco Postinghel, and at the Turin Conservatory, where he was awarded a Bachelor’s degree, with a specialization in bassoon (Professor Claudio Gonella). He also participated in several bassoon master classes held by Andrea Azzi (principal bassoon of the “Teatro Regio” in Turin), Valentino Zucchiatti (principal bassoon of the “Teatro Alla Scala” in Milan) and Roberto Giaccaglia (principal bassoon of the “BBC Philharmonic Orchestra”), and in contrabassoon with Gabriele Screpis (principal bassoon of the “Teatro Alla Scala”).

Scott Mitchell is a Senior Staff Accompanist and lecturer in Piano Accompaniment at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow where he was recently made a Fellow and where he also teaches piano at the Junior Department. He is also a member of the accompaniment staff at Napier University in Edinburgh and also one of the founding members of the Cantilena Festival on Islay, a Festival for strings taking place on the island of Islay every summer.

Claire comes from Glasgow, where she studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now RCS) with Jean Hutchison. There, she won prizes for Solo and Chamber music, including the Peter Morrison Prize for All Round Excellence, and represented the Academy in recital tours of Iceland and Russia. She then completed the Advanced Solo Studies course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, studying with Paul Roberts.

Claire is active both as an instrumental and song accompanist, playing chamber music recitals for music societies throughout Scotland, performing regularly as a member of Trio Ecossaise and the Kilnaish Duo, as well as collaborating in a duo with baritone Phil Gault.

Claire has been a staff repetiteur at Scottish Opera, a Vocal Coach on the ‘Vocal Inspiration’ and ‘Art of Song’ courses, is a staff accompanist & coach for the Scottish International Flute Summer School, and accompanies for NYCoS residential courses and concerts.

Principal Flute, Scottish Chamber Orchestra