Staff A-Z

Malcolm was given an honorary doctorate at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in 2004 and appointed International Fellow of Accompaniment in 2009. Malcolm was the Artistic Director of the 2011 Leeds Lieder+ Festival.

Kirsty Matheson spent twelve years in the US where she received her Masters Degree in Double Bass performance at CCM, studying with Albert Laszlo (former professor at CCM and Juilliard) before going on to study with Max Dimoff (principal of Cleveland Orchestra) and Jeff Turner (former principal of Pittsburgh Symphony and now professor at IU).

Kirsty was assistant principal bass with the Canton Symphony 2003-2006 and in 2006-2009 she had a tenured position with the Louisiana Philharmonic in New Orleans.

Since returning to Scotland, Kirsty spent two years teaching for Sistema Scotland before embarking on a freelance performing career which has seen her work with all the Scottish orchestras. She has been a tutor for many youth orchestra bass sections including National Children’s Orchestra and NYOS. Kirsty is passionate about teaching and passing on her knowledge by teaching pedagogy to students at college level.

Kirsty is also a professional artist and paints music.

Fabrice joined the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2013 as a lecturer in Modern Ballet and has been a frequent guest teacher to Australia, Canada, France, Japan and at the UK’s Royal Ballet School.

Widely regarded as one of the most exciting and talented Guitarists in Europe Matthew has been delighting audiences worldwide with his insightful performances and effortless presentation in a concert career spanning well over a decade

Dr Karen McAulay is a musicologist & educationalist. She curated music materials at RCS from 1988- June 2024 as a Performing Arts Librarian, but since then has concentrated solely on her research activities. She was conferred with a Fellowship of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in November 2024.

Karen’s PhD is in Music, from the University of Glasgow (2009). Her first book, Our Ancient National Airs: Scottish Song Collecting from the Enlightenment to the Romantic Era, was published by Ashgate in 2013, and her second book was published by Routledge in late 2024: A Social History of Amateur Music-Making and Scottish National Identity: Scotland’s Printed Music, 1880-1951.

Nicola (She/Her) is a playwright, director, screenwriter and applied theatre maker.

Former Principal Horn, RSNO, David McClenaghan has been a member our Brass Department Staff as Horn Teacher since 1991.

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.

Brian is Principal Trumpet with the Scottish Ballet Orchestra and has appeared as Guest Principal with all the Scottish orchestras, and various ensembles within and outside the UK. He has always had a passion for music education, having taught at RCS Juniors since 2014, at Aberdeen City Music School and the North East of Scotland Music School.

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.