Alison McNeill

About Alison McNeill

Scottish Conductor, Soprano and Fiddle player Alison McNeill graduated with a Masters in Performance from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She went on to study with the late legendary mezzo soprano Teresa Berganza in Granada, Spain winning the Andres Segovia prize for Spanish Song in Spain (the only non-native speaker to win this award). As a specialist in Spanish Song, Alison has premiered new works by Spain’s foremost composers Anton Garcia Abril and Teresa Bretal in the National Auditorium of Galicia and Atheneum in Madrid. She has also performed in the Manuel de Falla Auditorium in Granada and in the houses of celebrated composers Joaquin Rodrigo and Manuel de Falla. With world class guitarist and duo partner Sasha Savaloni, Alison performed two World Premieres by Stuart MacRae and Marco Ramelli at the St. Magnus International Festival in Orkney and gave a recital in Madrid’s famous “Clasicos en Verano” Chamber Music Festival which was recorded by Spanish National Radio. Since then she has performed as a soloist all over the UK, Holland, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Japan, Pakistan, Kenya, USA and Mexico with highlights including singing as a soloist with Ditirambo Early Music Ensemble in Mexico, Minami Aizu Concert Hall (Japan), Canteloube’s Chants d’Auvergne with the Glasgow Chamber Orchestra, Verdi Requiem and Carmina Burana with the RSNO in the Royal Concert Hall. Alison looks forward to recitals in India next year.

As a Traditional Musician, Alison is fiddler and singer songwriter in the award-winning Folk Rock band Reely Jiggered who won the 02 abc SoundWave Music competition and have since released 3 albums. They perform in many International Folk Festivals, most recently returning from a tour of Pakistan, Denmark and Virginia. The band have performed at the Scottish Parliament, Celtic Connections and for BBC Radio nan Gaidheal, Radio 4, Pakistani and Mexican National TV. They are set to perform in Nairobi Kenya for St Andrew’s Night this year and Tartan Week in New York in April.

Alison is Director of the National Youth Choir of Northern Ireland’s Boys Choir and 100 strong Junior Choir who recently gave the premiere of Claire McCue’s new cycle “The Giant Folk and the Wee Folk” celebrating the myths and legends of Northern Ireland broadcast on BBC Ulster. She is Associate Director of Royal Scottish National Orchestra Youth Chorus, Conductor of National Youth Choir of Scotland National Boys Choir and Director of Voices of Argyll who recently performed the world premier of ‘Interwoven’ an Indian Scottish fusion commission for choir, sitar, tabla and Indian dancer in Scottish Parliament. Alison looks forward to returning to Doha as head judge for Qatar Choir of the Year Competition next year. www.alisonmcneill.com