Staff A-Z

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

Barbara Downie has been a member of the BBCSSO since 2005 and has taught violin and viola at the Junior Conservatoire since 2010. She holds Masters degrees in Musicology and Violin Performance from Rice University in Houston, Texas, as well as performance diplomas in violin, viola and piano accompanying. Barbara is a Workshop Leader and freelance musician with Dunedin Consort and is a cover musician for Big Noise, Sistema Scotland. She plays in a variety of chamber groups and enjoys playing trad music and jazz for fun.

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.

Katharine Durran is a solo pianist, chamber musician, song accompanist, recording artist and educator.

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.

Sarah is the Engagement Development Assistant within the Research and Engagement team at RCS. She manages the Engage Desk, and provides support to the RCS community with maintaining and developing their academic profiles on Pure. She also assists the Research and Engagement team with administrative support and project operations.

She has a background as a researcher, with a focus on community energy movements and critical political theory. Alongside her academic work, she has held a variety of roles within arts and music venues, both in Scotland and Catalonia.

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 co-lead 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.

Leonor Estrada Francke is an interdisciplinary theatre artist from Lima, Peru. She works across genres, creating live art that is political and visceral, documentary and surrealist. Her current research interests include anticolonialism, feminism and the city, as well as developing a language of surrealist auto-fiction with which she disentangles her biography.