Biography

Barnaby Brown is dedicated to revealing the ancient artistic traditions of Scotland’s music. He champions an early music approach to ceòl mòr, the ‘great music’ of the Highland bagpipe. He also leads the revival of the northern triplepipe, the ‘organ’ of the Celtic Church and precursor to the bagpipe in Britain and Ireland. As a performer, animateur and scholar with a passion for illuminating uncharted musical territory, Barnaby Brown contributes regularly to television and radio programmes. He made his mark giving solo performances at the Edinburgh International Festival and William Kennedy Piping Festival and works internationally as soloist, collaborator, workshop leader and lecturer.

Barnaby Brown’s recent inter-cultural explorations include: forming the duo Band-Re with Sardinain guitarist Gianluca Dessí; reviving the Silver Pipes of Ur (2450 BC); co-composing with Gamelan Naga Mas; developing the Four Nations Piping Concert; performing with the Izmir State Orchestra; and co-directing the Scottish Government commission Yatra for the Edinburgh Mela, combining Japanese taiko, Indian dhrupad, and Scottish traditions. Since 2006, Barnaby Brown has taught Composing & Arranging, Listening Skills, and Teaching Musics of the World at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. He is editor of the Siubhal Series, which has raised the benchmark in quality of research and production for Scottish traditional music CDs.