SDF performing musicians win award
Lillias Kinsman Blake and Rachel Newton who will be playing as delegates arrive and register at the Scottish Diaspora Forum have recently won the Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland for best use of Music and Sound (along with cellist Seylan Baxter). Click here for full details
http://www.criticsawards.theatrescotland.com/Winners/08-09.html
Lillias Kinsman Blake grew up playing Flute and Fiddle in the Scottish Borders. In 2005 she graduated with aBMus Honours in Folk and Traditional Music, with a first in performance, from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Now based in Newcastle, she performs with The Shee as well as in a duo with Scottish harp player and singer Rachel Newton. Lillias is also an experienced teacher working as a core tutor for Folkworks and The Sage Gateshead as well as associate director for the youth ensemble Folkestra. In 2004, Lillias was commissioned to write and perform music for the Rowan Tree Theatre Company for The Love Adventures of Mr. George Cochrane (2004) and in 2005 she co-wrote the music for the storytelling CD On the tip of my tongue.
Rachel Newton is from Edinburgh with strong family ties to the North-West Highlands. Attending a Gaelic medium school and through the work of the Feis movement, she soon discovered her passion for traditional music. Her upbringing in both Highland and City cultures has meant that she has been strongly influenced by a diversity of styles and this is highly evident in both her playing and singing. Rachel attended the prestigious City of Edinburgh Music School, and gained a BMus(Hos) in Folk and Traditional Music from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, where she became involved in various ensembles. In2008, Rachel released the albums Dear Someone with flautist Lillias Kinsman Blake and A Different Season with six-piece band The Shee. Rachel toured with Rowan Tree Theatre Company in The Journey of Jeannie Deans (2007). One of her songs is used on the soundtrack for the BIFA award winning film, The Inheritance. Rachel was a finalist in the BBC Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2005.