Staff A-Z

Elizabeth McCormack was born in Fife, Scotland and studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now RCS) and the National Opera Studio, London. She is a past winner of the Scottish Opera, John Noble Bursary, the Decca-Kathleen Ferrier Prize, the Royal Overseas League Music Competition, the Isobel Baillie Performance Award, Scotland’s representative in Cardiff Singer of the World 1993 and a recipient of the Countess of Munster and Caird Scholarships.

Alistair McCulloch hails from Ayr in Scotland and is one of the country’s best-known fiddle performers, teachers and composers with many appearances on radio and television. Past winner of many fiddle championships, Alistair is a fiddle instructor at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and has tutored many of the new generation of rising stars.

Rita McDade serves several roles at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland: Translator, Lecturer and Co-ordinator, and in recent years she developed a new Dramaturg role.

Alison teaches baroque cello and viola at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She is also a qualified Feldenkrais Method practitioner and is combining her skills to explore how the way we move can influence the music we make.

Principal Trumpet, Scottish Ballet

Richard is a lecturer on the BEd programme at RCS. He is best known for his research and analytical work on the music of Peter Maxwell Davies, and has written a number of major articles on the composer’s works.

Edward is a graduate of the Conservatoire, where he studied Acting and later completed an MEd in Learning and Teaching in Arts Education.

He has worked across the UK and internationally as an actor, as well as at other drama schools and institutions. This includes his role as Course Leader for one of the Foundation in Acting programmes at Rose Bruford College and as a Senior Lecturer in Performing Arts at Taylor’s University in Malaysia.

Fair Access and the transformational impact of the arts on people’s lives are causes he is deeply passionate about.

Edward is also a long-time practitioner of Nadine George Voice Work, having studied and practiced it for over twenty years.

Since retiring from Scottish Ballet in 2014, Kara has been teaching RAD Graded and Vocational Classes, Scottish Ballet Associates and is a Lecturer in Modern Ballet at the Royal Conservatoire Scotland. 

Yvonne’s career in music has been varied and fun, loving every minute of it helping her not only learn her own work but achieving an understanding of the creative industries as a whole.

She began her working life spending a short time as in intern at Sony/ATV Publishing whilst studying music to then working as the project lead for a market research project for Creation Records / Ignition Management (Oasis). From there, Yvonne worked from the assistants role to becoming an International Label Manager for labels such as Rawkus (Mos Def, High & Mighty, DJ Spinna, Eminem, Pharoahe Monch), Ultimate Dilemma (Jadell, Bobby Hughes Experience), Luaka Bop (Susana Baca, Los Amigos Invisibles), OM (People Under the Stairs) to Asphodel (Mix Master Mike).

Ellen and is the Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) Administrator in the Fair Access Team. She started the role in 2023 and is proud to play a small part in providing opportunities to young people who deserve access to the studying creative arts.

She provides administrative support in all things technology, such as marketing, promotion and our virtual online learning zone. You can sometimes find Ellen taking photos at our events or attending a performance trip and filming our students giving their thoughts and feedback.

Andrew McTaggart is a Singing Teacher within the Vocal Department, Opera School and BEd course. Andrew always aims to promote a keen and active love of singing and the repertoire whist building technical assurance and confidence.

Andrew’s favourite concert since graduating was his Edinburgh International Festival debut singing Vaughan Williams’s Five Mystical Songs in the Usher Hall in 2019.

Helen McVey currently holds the post of Director of Business Development at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She is a cellist, arts leader, lecturer and strategist, dedicated to enabling others to improve the cultural well-being of Scotland and beyond. Helen was awarded her MBA in 2011; she also gained an Advanced Diploma in European Management from the University of Aarhus, Denmark in the same year.

Livi works as one of the Fair Access Administrators. She joined the team in 2022 and feels incredibly lucky to work as part of a team who are so committed to providing support and opportunities to those we work with.

She primarily provides administrative support to our Outreach programme, supporting coordinators Becca and Louise in providing activities and opportunities throughout Scotland.

A Glasgow-based Singaporean, Ramesh Meyyappan is a theatremaker who develops performances using an eclectic mix of visual and physical theatre styles. Ramesh continually seeks to develop and extend his theatrical visual vocabulary, for example incorporating circus techniques, bouffon, puppetry and illusion within his work. He enjoys the challenge of creating strong narrative visual work.

“Ramesh is an artist who seeks out courage, hope and redemptive transformation in his story-telling” – Herald Scotland 

Chair of the Board and the Nominations Committee, Member of the Infrastructure, Finance and General Purposes and Remunerations Committees

Based in Glasgow, UK, pianist Silviya Mihaylova is an active performer, chamber musician, and educator.