Jesse (She/Her) is the Head of Fair Access at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She leads RCS’s Fair Access Outreach and Access Provision, helping the team to design and run our exciting provision. She also leads our brand-new BA Arts with Community programme which launched in 2025. Her research focus is on play in higher education and working with care experienced and estranged people in the arts.
She is one of our named contacts for our students who have care experience or estrangement. You can find out about some of our work supporting care experienced and estranged people on the Fair Access portal page.
Jesse has worked as an interdisciplinary Teaching Artist for over 30 years across the UK in a wide range of formal and informal educational and community settings. These include higher educational institutions, theatres and hospitals. Fair Access has always been the core of her work.
Outside of work, Jesse likes going to gigs and shows, running in the hills, cooking and eating delicious food, giggling, meeting new people, and making clothes.
Ugnius is an acclaimed musician and award-winning pianist, teacher and performance art curator showcasing diverse musical talents across various genres.
International Visiting Professor in Contemporary Improvisation
Anto Pett graduated from the Conservatoire of Tallinn (now renamed Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre) as a pianist and composer. Since 1987 he has been teaching harmony and improvisation at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre.
Paul has been a guest Timpanist with many professional orchestras including the BBC Philharmonic, the Philharmonia, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, BBC Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic, the Hallé, Singapore Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, National Taiwan Symphony and Bournemouth Symphony to name but a few. In 2018 Paul moved to Glasgow and is now the Section Principal Timpanist, and a Player Director with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, a Timpani Tutor at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and a member of Board for Sistema Scotland, Direct Mediation Services, and Spectrum Culture Exchange.
After studying in Switzerland with Max Rostal, and working in Europe, Angus Ramsay has been the Principal 2nd Violinist with the Scottish Opera Orchestra for many years. For the past thirty years, he has taught at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and Napier University for the last six years. Previously taught at Fettes College for nineteen years. He was also been Artistic Director of the Mendelssohn on Mull Festival before co-founding the Cantilena Festival on Islay with Adrian Shepherd and Scott Mitchell.
Anna was born in St Petersburg, Russia, where she studied in Music School, The Rimsky-Korsakov Music College, and then in The St Petersburg (Leningrad) State Conservatoire. Anna graduated from Conservatoire with Honours diploma, qualifying as concert pianist, chamber ensemble player, piano accompanist and piano teacher. Currently, Anna teaches piano for BEd pupils (first and second study piano, piano accompaniment). She continues to accompany conducting classes at RCS and teaches piano at RCS Junior Conservatoire. She also continues teaching piano at Music School of Douglas Academy and The Glasgow Academy.
Lauren is third horn in the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and has worked with many orchestras in the UK and Germany, including the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Opera north and Scottish Chamber Orchestra.
Sophie studied viola with Donald McInnes at the University of Southern California and upon graduating was invited to join the Orford String Quartet. Between 2000 and 2008 Sophie held the Principal Viola position in the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. During the pandemic, she re-trained as an Integrative Arts Counsellor for young people and currently divides her time between counselling and music.
Mark Reynolds studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, and it was during this time that he was chosen to play with the Jeunesses Musicales World Youth Orchestra and became a founding member of the World Brass Ensemble.
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.
