Diane Merson-Jones, violin I
On completion of her studies at St. Mary’s Music School, Edinburgh, then the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, Diane moved back to Scotland and took up a position with the Scottish Opera Orchestra, where she remained for 10 years.
Wanting more variety in her work, she chose to move into the freelance world and has been working regularly with all the major Scottish orchestras. This has included touring Britain and abroad with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra and The Scottish Chamber Orchestra.
With these orchestras, she has played at many international festivals including The Edinburgh International Festival, BBC Proms, Prague Festival, Cheltenham Festival and The Aldeburgh Festival in Snape Maltings. Diane was also Principal 2nd violin with the Scottish Ballet orchestra from 1998 – 2015.
Solo performances include Bach Double Violin Concerto for The Paul Taylor Dance company, The Lark Ascending by Vaughan Williams and Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov for The Ayrshire Symphony Orchestra.
Another ‘string to her bow’ is her love of teaching. She currently works for East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland music centres and has a number of private pupils, giving her the chance to pass on to others what she has enjoyed learning throughout her musical life.
Chamber music is a particular love of Diane’s, and she is pleased to be a founder member of the Glasgow Viennese Strings and the Trossachs Quartet.
Stephanie Brough, violin II
Stephanie is originally from Broughty Ferry but has lived in Glasgow since starting her studies at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in 1999. During her 5 years of study, she obtained a Bachelor of Music Degree with honours and a Postgraduate diploma in performance, winning the Concerto, Duo and Governors’ Chamber music prizes in her final year. She studied with Jerre Gibson and Tony Moffat at the RSAMD and continued her studies with Simon Fischer in London after she graduated. Since leaving music college, Stephanie has freelanced with most of Scotland’s professional orchestras: The Orchestra of Scottish Opera, Scottish Ballet Orchestra, Scottish Festival Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, BBC SSO and the Ulster Orchestra in Belfast. Concert work has included performing with artists such as Andrea Bocelli, Rod Stewart, Michael Bublé and an upcoming concert at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London. A keen teacher, Stephanie teaches in and around the Glasgow area and was a participant in the 2005 and 2007 Starling-Delay teaching symposiums in New York.
Maggie Miller, viola
Maggie was born and educated in Perth. She studied viola with Michael Beeston at RSAMD, winning the viola prize in her fourth year.
After graduating, she freelanced at home and abroad with the Orchestra of Scottish Opera, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Scottish Ensemble, BBC Radio Orchestra, STV Orchestra and the City of Glasgow Philharmonic.
She became a full time member of The Orchestra of Scottish Opera in 1988. She returned to freelancing after the birth of her children.
She has always enjoyed chamber music and has performed with many different ensembles. She toured extensively with the Glasgow Viennese Strings before becoming a founder member of the Trossachs String Quartet.
Maggie also played regularly with the Scottish Bach Ensemble with whom she performed the Telemann Viola Concerto. Her other musical interests include teaching violin and viola at Dollar Academy.
She directs the Mendelssohn on Mull Children’s String Summer School, coaches for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra’s Scrapers and Tooters, and has coached the National Youth Orchestras of Scotland (NYOS) Children’s Orchestra.
Maggie also works regularly for Artlink, bringing music into dementia wards.
Rosie Townhill, cello
Rosie Townhill graduated from the RSAMD (RCS) in 1998 with a BMus(Hons) and Certificate of Postgraduate Studies in 1999 where she studied with William Conway and Robert Irvine. She has worked with the Scottish Ballet Orchestra since 1999 as well as regular freelance work with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra including several performances for the BBC Proms in London, BBC Proms in the Park, live and recorded tv and Radio 3 broadcasts, CD recordings and tours to the Netherlands, Belgium, China and Japan. Rosie is also a Cello instructor for East Renfrewshire Council schools and Cello tutor for Strathclyde University symphony orchestra.
In 2004 Rosie was solo Cellist for Scottish Opera’s World Premier tour of the education project “The Minotaur” by Julian Evans.
She performed with Belle and Sebastian at Glastonbury Festival in 2002 and toured Europe with them in 2002-2003. She has also recorded for singer-songwriters Michael Marra, Isobel Campbell, Stevie Jackson and Rowan Ross.
In 2017 Rosie performed in the band for the Scottish tour dates of Anton Du Beke and Erin Boag’s Swing Time tour.
Her recording session work also includes solo Cello tracks for film and television composer Fraser Purdie in his 2017 and 2018 soundtracks for David Attenborough’s “Empire of the Ants”, CBeebies series “Gudrun the Viking Princess” and BBC1 documentary “Wild Shetland”.
Performances
6.30pm, Friday 28 February 2025: Barony Hall, Glasgow
3 – 5pm, Sunday 19 November 2023, Millennium Centre, Stranraer
