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Cantilena Festival Duo

     Allan Neave studied guitar at the RSAMD and the RNCM. Since then he has been performing worldwide.
He is a regular guest at many of the world’s leading musical events and has worked with many influential musicians including Nikita Koshkin, Edward McGuire, Hans Werner Henze, Gordon McPherson and Stephen Dodgson.
To date, career highlights have included recording Gordon McPherson’s concerto Born of Funk and The Fear of Failing with new music group, Psappha; performing Scottish Guitar Music in Peru, a tour of Australia with virtuoso flautist Alison Mitchell and a further tour of the Far East with Tetra Guitar quartet.
Further highlights include performing Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) in their prom season and recording the soundtrack for a film documentary about the great Scottish painter, John Bellany.
Allan has been Artistic Director of the Dundee International Guitar Festival since its inception and received the Scotland on Sunday Glenfiddich ® Spirit of Scotland Award for Music. These awards were set up to recognise individuals who lead the way in Scottish culture.
Professor Allan Neave is Senior Lecturer in Strings and Head of Guitar Studies at the RCS, Glasgow.

     Angus Ramsay initially studied the violin with Leonard Friedman, before moving to the Bernese Conservatoire in Switzerland, where he was a pupil of Max Rostal for five years. In 1975 Angus was appointed principal second violin of the Würtemberg Chamber Orchestra: the following year he was made associate leader of the prestigious Southwest German Chamber Orchestra, a post he held for nine years. Since 1985 he has been principal second violin of the Orchestra of Scottish Opera, before retiring in 2022. In 1991, Angus founded the Glasgow Viennese Strings, subsequently touring all over Scotland. He is one of the Artistic Directors of the “Cantilena Festival – Islay” and teaches extensively throughout Scotland including at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Cantilena Festival Trio, performing Paganini Trio for violin/cello/guitar at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, 31/01/25

In addition to the Cantilena Festival Trio with cellist Martin Storey (as featured in video clips), Angus and Allan also offer a Viennese programme “The Blue Danube” for mixed ensemble.

Performances:

3pm, Sunday 15 March 2026:  Dunfermline

Andrea Gajic

Andrea has performed as a soloist and chamber ensemble player in Britain, United States, Russia, Lithuania, Finland, Germany, Australia, Yugoslavia and France, and she has been invited to give recitals and Masterclasses in Serbia, at the Victoria International Arts Festival, Gozo, at Dartington International Music Festival, and at the Menstrelle International Chamber Music Academy, St Petersburg.

She enjoys performing regularly with husband Djordje Gajic on classical accordion as duo AdLibitum.  She has also led the Fibonacci Sequence chamber ensemble at the Conway Hall in London and worked with the Research Ensemble, which resulted in a number of contemporary music performances including birthday celebrations for Sir Peter Maxwell Davies and James MacMillan.  In April 2013 she gave a recital of Beethoven Sonatas in the Max-Joseph-Saal at the Munich Residenz with pianist Michael Leslie.

For radio, she has recorded for BBC Radio, Bavarian Radio, Lithuanian Radio, Yugoslavian Radio and Radio Baltimore. On television, she has appeared on BBC, STV, ITV, and on Russian and Yugoslavian stations. CD releases include a recording of Beethoven’s Theme and Variations Op 107, performed with Michael Leslie, Thomas Rugge and Michael Shopper for Bavarian Radio and released by Büchergilde Gutenberg.
In addition to her numerous performing commitments, Andrea is a dedicated teacher.

International pop star, Madonna, studied with Andrea for several months before pulling out of Wes Craven’s Hollywood film “50 Violins,” also known as “Music for the Heart,” which eventually starred Meryl Streep.  Andrea was also invited to be the strings advisor for the film.

Currently Andrea teaches violin at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow where she was made Professor in 2018, and this year looks forward to joining the string faculty at the  Royal Northern College of Music.  She has given classes and workshops for the European String Teachers’ Association, University of Music and Performing Arts (Graz), Rostov State Conservatory (Russia), Sydney Conservatorium (Australia), Sabac Music School (Serbia), Kragujevac Music School (Serbia), Victoria International Arts Festival (Malta), University of Delaware (USA), Peabody Conservatory (USA) Komitas State Conservatory (Armenia) and the Benedetti Foundation.  Since 2014, she has been course leader for the String Summer Course at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, which attracts students from all round the world.

Andrea has performed at a number of international festivals throughout Europe and USA.  Her most recent concerto performances include performances of the Sibelius Violin Concerto, Barber Violin Concerto, Brahms Violin Concerto.  She is also a regular performer with the Malta Philharmonic at the closing concerts of Victoria International Arts Festival, Gozo having performed Brahms’ Violin Concerto, the Sibelius Concerto, and more recently in July 2022, Beethoven’s Concerto in D major.

She was a major contributor to the COP26 concert ‘Vital Signs of the Plant’ held in Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall in November 2021, where she played excerpts from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons with the RCS chamber orchestra, and recently she was interviewed by the Strad magazine. She was also honoured with a Professorship at the RCS and in August 2023 was promoted to Head of Strings.

Recently Nicola Benedetti has restarted sporadic lessons with Andrea to help regain confidence after a wrist injury that forced her to pull out of a residency last summer at the Aldeburgh Festival.

Andrea plays on a violin made by Nicolaus Gagliano in 1766.

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