Staff A-Z

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.

John is a Lecturer and Folk Ensemble Mentor on the BMus Traditional Music course. He also teaches Principal Study Accordion as part of the Scottish Traditional Music degree.

Jennifer joined the Woodwind Department at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2017.

Mark Stevenson works as a lecturer in acting and directs several programmes at RCS, including the BA Performance in BSL and English programme. He is a graduate of both the University of Oxford and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RSAMD as was!). He has worked as an actor across Scotland as well as internationally.

Peter Stewart lectures at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and the Aberdeen City Music School and has previously taught at Aberdeen College of Music and Performing Arts.

Martin Storey has performed in many countries around the world as a soloist and chamber musician and has served as principal cellist with many British orchestras such as the Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Sinfonietta and Scottish Chamber Orchestra. For over eight years he held the position of Principal Cellist with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and in 2019 he was appointed principal cellist of Scottish Opera.

Clare Sutherland presently teaches Piano and Accompaniment on the BEd course at the Conservatoire. She enjoys helping students improve their Piano skills and widening their general repertoire.

Tony Swainson is a senior brass lecturer and Former Principal Tuba for the  BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. He has seen many of his students go on to prestigious professional positions around the world. He is a graduate of the Royal Manchester College of Music, now the RNCM, where he studied tuba with the renowned tuba player, Stuart Roebuck, as well as piano and composition.

Iseabail is a lecturer on the Traditional Music course.

Shilpa is a working freelance director and dramaturg, as well as the co-Artistic Director of Bijli Productions. She is also a PhD candidate at RCS.

Her directing and dramaturgy practice specialises in new writing. She trained at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and values collaboration, respect, rigor and curiosity. She is especially interested in stories which reflect big scale political and social issues through the most personal and everyday occurrences. She approaches directing and dramaturgy from a core ethos of asking challenging questions with kindness.

She has worked with many Scottish companies as a director and dramaturg including Playwrights’ Studio Scotland, A Play, A Pie, and A Pint, Independent Arts Projects, the National Theatre Scotland, the Traverse Theatre, Perth Theatre, and Catherine Wheels. Her research investigates the process of using new plays to explore our relationship to historical narratives.

Ray has a background in cinematography and began his journey into education provision in 2008.

Born in Malta, Geoffrey Tanti studied piano with Cynthia Turner before moving to Glasgow to study at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where he graduated with a Masters in Piano Performance with Distinction and a Masters in Répétiteur Studies. He studied with Jonathan Plowright and Julia Lynch and worked for a year as a Junior Fellow accompanist at the RCS. During his studies, Geoffrey won many solo and accompaniment prizes.

Betsy is a founder member of the highly acclaimed Glasgow String Quartet and is also an active member of the RSNO Chamber Music Series. She teaches at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland at both the Junior and Senior Departments. She has performed as Guest Principal Cello with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, London Soloists Chamber Orchestra, RSNO, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Manchester Sinfonia and the Northern Sinfonia.

Member of the Audit and Risk, Finance and General Purposes and Fundraising Committees

Music has always been central to Kate’s life, and most of the jobs she has done have had the arts woven through them. Her first role during and after college was with a Jazz Festival, where she looked after everything from admin to press and marketing.

Since then, Kate has worked as a Marketing Officer in London for a major charity and at a Theatre and Arts complex in Surrey, and in corporate PA roles where event management was a big part of her day. She also spent many years as Strings Administrator at RCS, often stepping up as a coordinator to help bring projects together.

Kate has picked up a mix of qualifications along the way — an HND in Communication Studies, an Advanced Diploma in Arts Management, and a NEBOSH certificate in Health and Safety — but she likes to remind people that not every career path is straightforward or planned.

Here at Fair Access, Kate loves organising the events you come to, whether that’s an Open Day or a weekly workshop, and making sure you feel welcome. Outside of work, you’ll usually find her at a gig, in a dance fit class, or outdoors as much as possible.

Jess Thorpe is a Lecturer in the Arts in Justice at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where she designs and delivers creative projects in prisons and with communities impacted by the criminal justice system.

Outside her work at RCS, Jess was the Associate Director (Engage) of Dundee Rep and Scottish Dance Theatre (2020-2024). She is Co-Artistic Director of Glass Performance, through which she also developed long-term initiatives such as young people’s performance company Junction 25 and Polmont Youth Theatre, the first youth theatre in a Scottish prison. In 2015, Junction 25 won a CATS Whiskers for an outstanding contribution to Scottish theatre. Jess has published several works on theatre including ‘A Beginners Guide to Devising Theatre’ (for Methuen) which won a Drama and Education prize in 2021.

MA (Oxon), MLitt

Pippa currently plays as Principal Harp with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and appears regularly with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

She is a Harp Lecturer at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and has over 20 years of experience as a teacher at various institutions and privately at all levels. She is a regular coach for NYOS.