Aberdeen born Neil Birse is a classically trained jazz pianist. He graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and has been involved in various projects in Scotland, London and abroad. Whilst studying, Neil was pianist and assistant MD to the Guildhall Jazz Singers who performed regularly. He is passionate about performance and education and has led group workshops in schools and privately. Performing regularly in a variety of ensembles, he enjoys taking inspiration from the Jazz, Folk, Classical and Rock worlds to excite and empower young musicians with musical possibilities.  Neil also loves the outdoors.

Matthew Kilner is an active musician, educator, and award-winning saxophonist, currently based in Glasgow. Matthew regularly performs at festivals and jazz clubs around the UK and abroad including; London’s Pizza Express Live, Birmingham’s Symphony Hall and the 2023 Regensburg Jazz Festival. In 2019, Matthew won the prestigious Ogston Performance Prize whilst attending the University of Aberdeen, and most recently reached the final of the 2023 BBC Radio Scotland Young Jazz Musician of the Year competition. Matthew is an established band leader and is currently in the process of recording his debut album alongside some of Scotland’s most esteemed jazz musicians.

Jez Conolly holds an MA in Film Studies and International Cinema.

He is the author of The Thing and co-author of Dead of Night in the Liverpool University Press ‘Devil’s Advocates’ book series, and also co-author of Seconds in LUP’s ‘Constellations’ series.

He has contributed chapters to The Routledge Companion to Folk Horror, Horrifying Children: Hauntology and the Legacy of Children’s Television published by Bloomsbury, and Midnight Movie Monographs: Bride of Frankenstein from PS Publishing.

His latest book ‘Capture Spiral’, published in March 2026, is an autoethnography exploring memories of his 1970s childhood, including the many visits to the cinema that his father managed, and staying up late to watch the Saturday night horror double bills shown on BBC2 in that decade.

Around the time of the book’s release, he was chosen to be one of the Locals in the Limelight at the annual Granite Noir literature festival in Aberdeen, at which he read his poem ‘The Witch’s Hat’.

Graeme Stephen is an award-winning composer, guitarist, and improviser working across jazz, contemporary classical music, folk, and free improvisation. He is positioned in the space between composition and improvisation, how music can remain open and responsive.
His work is shaped by over 30 years of collaboration and performance across many projects and a PhD in composition from the University of Edinburgh. He often writes for specific musicians, allowing their sound and approach to be part of the music, creating sonic environments that are structured but flexible, and shaped within performance.