Artistic & Executive Director - Alan Fleming-Baird
Founding the festival in 2019 the Artistic Director of Tannahill Arts and Heritage, composer and music director Alan Fleming-Baird is one of Scotland’s most exciting talents, "a composer with a real sense of what makes music dramatic" (The Scotsman) “writing music that packs a significant emotional punch” (Herald Scotland).
Alan’s music has been performed and recorded by the UK’s leading orchestras and musicians including the Scottish Philharmonic Orchestra, London Festival Orchestra, Sinfonia of London, Philharmonia Orchestra, Kensington Philharmonic Orchestra, Paisley Festival Orchestra, London Voices, Belcea Quartet, Edinburgh Quartet, City of Birmingham Choir, and the Paragon Ensemble.
Alan has also been acclaimed as "a writer that truly understands what it is to be a musical dramatist for the theatre" (BBC Radio 4). Nominated for Best New Musical, Alan’s “Divided We Fall” opened in London and later New York, and he has served as Musical Director for the hugely successful shows “Cats” and “Starlight Express” in London’s West End. Alan has also amassed an impressive array of musical credits in film and television including the BBC’s “Fully Booked”, “Edinburgh Uncovered” and “Pantoland”, Channel Four Film’s “A Different Kind of Christmas”, and the feature film “Where Demons Hide”.
Alan’s teachers include Sir John Tavener, Brian Eno, and Stephen Sondheim. Having held two Fellowships in composition, Alan studied composition, piano and conducting at the Royal College of Music in London, before accepting a scholarship for postgraduate studies at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and then completing a Masters (with distinction) and then on to study for a PhD at the University of Glasgow.
General Manager- Toni James
Considered among the finest Scottish pianists of her generation, soloist, chamber musician, recording artist and founding member of Neave Trio, Toni James, has attracted wide critical acclaim. “An outstanding musician” (New York Times) and “a chamber music pianist of the highest calibre” (MusicWeb International), Toni has been praised for the “personality of her interpretation” (New York Times) and lauded as “poised to join the ranks of the finest” (Boston Musical Intelligencer).
In addition to building a successful twenty-year career as a professional performing artist, Dr. Toni James is also a senior academic with extensive experience leading development within higher education institutions, and producing large-scale festivals, events and programming on behalf of major cultural organisations.
As Managing Director, she led the San Diego Guitar Festival, establishing it internationally as a significant and influential cultural organisation that attracts the finest guitarists from all over the world, as well as a leading provider of educational outreach for schools in low-income areas across Southern California.
Appointed Professor of Music at the School of Music and Dance at San Diego State University in 2015, she currently teaches at the University of Liverpool, where she was appointed Head of Academic Quality and Standards for the School of the Arts.