Staff A-Z

Mr Deacon is a lecturer of violin, viola and chamber music at the RCS. Mr Deacon also enjoys leading sectional rehearsals for the RCS Symphony Orchestra. Donnie also enjoys online teaching with students in the Middle East and North America.

Timothy Dean studied music at Reading University, and then piano and conducting at the Royal College of Music. He has been the Director of the RSNO Chorus since 2006 and is the Artistic Director of the RCS ‘Song Studio’.

Born in Glasgow, graduate of the New University of Ulster, Joyce trained as an actor at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now Royal Conservatoire of Scotland), then studied at Ecole Jacques Lecoq in Paris.

Born in Glasgow, Scott Dickinson (viola) studied at the Music School of Douglas Academy and then in Manchester, London and Salzburg, where he won the Mozarteum Concerto Competition.

Born and raised in Alaska, Joshua arrived in Scotland in 1992 to study Scottish Gaelic at the University of Aberdeen (MA, 1996). He then undertook doctoral research in the history of the piping tradition of the southern Outer Hebrides at the School of Scottish Studies, University of Edinburgh (PhD, 2001), now published under the title When Piping Was Strong: Tradition, Change and the Bagpipe in South Uist (John Donald, 2006).

Bernard Docherty is a prizewinning violin graduate of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and was for many years co-leader of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. He is in constant demand as a guest orchestral leader at home and abroad.

Visiting Artist in Classical Improvisation

Ruari has been Principal Timpanist with Scottish Opera since 1998 and guest timpani player with other orchestras including the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Opera North, the Northern Sinfonia and the Halle.

Dr Emily Doolittle is a composer and researcher with an ongoing interest in the relationship between human music and animal songs, which she explores through music, writing, and in interdisciplinary collaborations with scientists. Other research interests include environmental activism through the arts, interdisciplinarity, music and gender, musical storytelling, and folklore. Originally from Canada, Doolittle has been an Athenaeum Research Fellow and Lecturer in Composition at RCS since 2017.

Former Principal Tuba, Ulster Orchestra

Mel holds an MA in Voice Studies from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. She trained as an actress at Queen Margaret College, Edinburgh, gained a Postgraduate Certificate of Education from Moray House Institute, is a Fellow of the Higher Education Authority and is an accredited teacher of Nadine George Voice Work.

Dr Rachel Drury is a researcher and creative artist working in the field of music psychology and therapeutic arts. She is Co-programme Lead for the MA Psychology in the Arts (Music) programme at the RCS and the music specialist for Rachel House Children’s Hospice in Kinross (CHAS).

Marc is a lecturer on the Traditional Music course.

Celia’s ‘squiggly’ career has ranged from mainstream music academia, technology-assisted learning and research (when it was new and more interesting), corporate training, and institutional senior management where she played a key role in RCS’s development as a research institution.

The focus of her current work is the need for rapid evolution and change in higher music education and driving institutional innovation to achieve that – including maximising the potential of knowledge exchange and innovation in the small specialist arts sector.

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”).

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.

As RKE Development Officer, Stephanie supports students, staff, and recent graduates from across the institution and in the wider community with creative enterprise support, funding, and engagement initiatives. She coordinates the newly developed Creative Enterprise Development Office.

Sam Ellis is Associate Head of the Bachelor of Music (BMus) degree programme, working closely with School of Music staff in the delivery of the undergraduate curriculum. He teaches in a broad range of core and elective subject areas, supports wellbeing across the whole student journey, and plays a key role in ensuring the continued academic and professional relevance of the BMus.