Gillian Frame

I am a professional Scottish fiddle player and educator based in Glasgow, Scotland. As a performer I have worked with many acts and was a founding member of the band Back of the Moon with whom I toured for seven years, seeing them win various accolades including Best Up and Coming Act then Best Folk Band at the Scots Trad Music Awards. During this time I also graduated with a BA (Hons) in Scottish Music from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and was the MG BBC Alba Young Scottish Traditional Musician of the Year in 2001. I have featured on more than a dozen albums and worked as a session musician with acts such as The Unusual Supsects, Breabach, Treacherous Orchestra, Rachel Sermani, Deaf Shepherd, Mairearad and Anna and Duncan Lyall’s Infinite Reflections. The list of other freelance work is extensive including working for the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Celtic Connections, Fèis Rois, Aberdeen Interntional Youth Festival and most traditional music organisations in Scotland and numerous music camps and festivals throughout North America and Europe including Vancouver, Philadelphia, Calgary, and Lorient . In 2012, I was awarded Music Tutor of the Year at the Scots Traditional Music Awards. I currently play with the Fiona Hunter Band and Findlay Napier (The Bar Room Mountaineers and VIP) and work as a peripatetic fiddle teacher for North Ayrshire Council. I am also part of a new project with Bella Hardy (BBC Radio 2 Folk Singer of the Year) and Siobhan Miller (Scots Singer of the Year - MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards) called Hunter’s Law. Testimonials: “Gillian is an inspiring tutor who is equally at ease teaching young people as she is adults. I have seen Gillian teach a whole range of people from complete beginners to advanced players and singers. She has lots of great ideas and a real energy in the class room.” Fiona Dalgetty, Manager – Fèis Rois “Gillian Frame is a musician apart. Not only does she have the voice of an angel, her abilities to weave melodies and harmonies in any style of music demonstrates’ her flexibility and talent. Gillian is a rare musician who not only has the ability to keep an audience captivated in her performance, but has the skill and capability of translating this knowledge to students of all ages. Whether they are young fiddlers or adult voice students, Gillian Frame can coach students from the basics of music and how to use their instrument to how to perform and use these musical skills in a greater performance and social format. Not only is Gillian Frame a brilliant musician, Gillian is one of the rare musician’s who can captivate, inspire, educate young musicians.” Roxanna Sabir, Sabir Sister’s Fiddle School, British Columbia, Canada. Review Samples: "Gillian Frame keeps her place in the team with characteristically accomplished fiddle and vocals, switching from melodic folky backing to lively Americana with her usual skill, " Neil McFadyen, Folk Radio UK Findlay Napier & The Bar Room Mountaineers - File Under Fiction (2012) Fatea Reviews – Peter Cawley The Bar Room Mountaineers are a tight-knit unit who provide a polished musical backdrop to Findlay's clever wordsmithery. The band comprises Gillian Frame [vocals,fiddle], Douglas Millar [vocals, piano, Rhodes] and Scott Mackay [vocals,drums] . Those who admired Helen O'Hara's fiddle playing in Dexy's Midnight Runners will doubtless enjoy Gillian's playing on this album. Eilean mo Ghaoil - The Music of Arran (Brechan 2010) The Green Man Review, May 16th, 2011 This album is the first I’ve heard of Frame, and if you’re in the like case, then I suggest to you that it’s worth keeping an eye on her. Winner of the 2001 Young Scottish Traditional Musician award, this album makes an impressive roadmark one decade down the line. I was surprised, in fact, to learn of her youth. The sound of her fiddling, and the album as a whole, reflect a maturity and restraint that suggest a veteran’s hand at the helm. Arranger,director, and singer – Frame wears many hats, and they all look good on her. Start wondering, with me, if we’re hearing one of the future giants of the field. Back Of The Moon - Luminosity (Footstompin’ 2005) NetRhythms David Kidman The third studio album from this award-winning Scottish traditional group comes a mere two years down the line from their well-received second, Fortune's Road, and as you might by now expect brings another sparkling, well-chosen and admirably even-handed collection of songs and tunes (six of each). Unlike some of the young trad-based ensembles on the current scene, Back Of The Moon have a major selling-point in that they have within their ranks no less than three very good singers who are all more than capable of taking the lead - fiddler Gillian Frame, pianist Hamish Napier and guitarist Findlay Napier.. And there's something rather special about the spark and rapport between the musicians and their attitude to and respect of each other's abilities, whereby the lineup's instrumental complement never resorts to auto-pilot or a formulaic "arrangement by numbers" but brings an imaginative and thoroughly delicious spontaneity to each track. Back Of The Moon always demonstrate an innate and enviable understanding of texture and dynamics, and this canny and highly spirited collection is definitely their best yet. The music page for Scottish singer and fiddler Gillian Frame