Words, Music and Song from Scotland

Robert Lovie lives and works in his native Aberdeenshire.  In November 2017, Robert was appointed an Executive Director working for the Duke of Rothsay’s charities in Scotland.  Previously, he worked full time with The National Trust for Scotland and undertook many roles within the organisation.  Latterly, he was General Manager for both Fyvie Castle and Haddo House.  Over many years he hosted the Trust’s annual fundraising cruise programme and was involved with fundraising and development both at home and in North America. 

Robert is also a very well-known and highly popular Scottish entertainer, broadcaster and public speaker, Robert Burns enthusiast, highland games commentator and expert on Scottish language, culture and music.  In 2014, he was honoured to sing the National Anthem at the opening of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

Robert takes part in a huge amount of charitable work throughout Scotland and acts as a Trustee for several major charities, Highland Societies and arts organisations. In 2018 Robert was honoured to receive a Doctorate Honouris Causa in 2018 from University of Aberdeen for his contribution to North East culture heritage and language. 

Award winning fiddler and pianist Raemond Jappy is a proud native of the North East of Scotland, who took his first fiddle lessons with the highly regarded fiddler James Alexander. At the University of Aberdeen he studied accountancy with music and following graduation with first class honours in 2006, Raemond joined accountancy firm Johnston Carmichael CA, where he qualified and now works as a Chartered Accountant.

Raemond is considered to be one of the leading exponents of the North East fiddle style of his generation and in 2008, won the acclaimed Glenfiddich Fiddle Championship, held annually at Blair Castle.  Raemond performs regularly throughout the North East of Scotland and beyond, both as a solo fiddler, pianist and singer. In 2010, Raemond launched his first CD, ‘Crossing the Spey’, with pianist Maureen Rutherford.

Recent musical highlights have included performing for Duke & Duchess of Rothesay at Buckingham Palace and Dumfries House, the Lord Mayor at the Mansion House in London and participating in a broadcast for Classic FM.

Originally from Keith, Moray, Maureen Rutherford was educated at Keith Grammar School, then at the University of Aberdeen, where she studied piano with Dr Roger Williams, and from where she graduated with a Bachelor of Music (Honours) in Performance. She then undertook a year of postgraduate study at Dundee College of Education in order to become a music teacher. 

After a long career as Principal Teacher of Music in Dundee as well as examining for the Scottish Qualifications Authority, Mo decided to revert to teaching piano and performing full time.  She is a former Director of Music for the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society, and also plays fiddle with her husband Neil Copland in his Scottish Dance Band.  Mo is respected at home and abroad as a performer, teacher, arranger and adjudicator, and enjoys a wide range of musical styles.

One of Scotland’s foremost singers, Siobhan Miller is an exceptional talent, renowned for her unique vocal style paired with her evocative song-writing. Miller creates music with detail and rich melodies that combine the sounds of indie and alternative music with sounds from her roots in folk music.

Growing up in a musical family, she was immersed in traditional song and learned from many of Scotland’s finest source singers in her early years as a performer. Miller won the 2018 BBC Radio 2 Folk Award for Best Traditional Track, whilst also nominated for Folk Singer of the Year, and is the only ever four time winner of Scots Singer of the Year at the BBC Alba Scots Trad Music Awards. 

Her three solo albums have received widespread critical acclaim and her fourth solo album ‘Bloom’ is due for release in September 2022. Siobhan will be touring with her band in the UK following its release. 

TV appearances include a role on US/UK TV drama Outlander  in 2014. She was also featured on BBC Alba’s Scottish Songbook from Celtic Connections 2010, and BBC Scotland’s Hogmanay Live 2011 New Year show, webcast worldwide, when Siobhan led ‘Auld Lang Syne’ at midnight.

Siobhan has a first-class honours degree in Scottish music from the Royal Conservatoire of Glasgow where she specialised in Scots song and Scots language.  Whilst studying at the conservatoire she was awarded the silver medal from the Worshipful Company of Musicianship.

Siobhan has performed many times for the National Trust for Scotland on their cruises, Burns Supper events and most recently for the National Trust for Scotland Foundation USA virtual gala.

Born, brought up and still lives on a small farm near the idyllic wee village of Fettercairn in the Howe of the Mearns – obviously a man of driving ambition.

Jim Brown started his working career as a science teacher in Dundee and Arbroath

He wanted back to a land-based job and retrained as a land agent and was appointed the resident factor on a remote estate at Huntly but when the blackface sheep started to look attractive, he decided to move on.

He then joined his brother in forming a Grain Merchants business and has retired after some 40 years and has made an invaluable contribution to the whisky industry at both ends of the process.

In 2014 he received the Press and Journal Award for his life time service to Agriculture

2016/17 Vice President of the Royal Highland Show

Past President of Laurencekirk and District Rotary Club x 2

As a successful Highland Games Athlete, he competed in the first Tokyo Highland Games in 1982 and has founded three Highland Games.

He is the Honorary Life President of the Scottish Highland Games Association and Chairman of the Grampian Games Association which includes Braemar.

Founder of the Fettercairn Burns Club and is an expert in the first half of Burns Suppers and hopes to be seated beside someone at Pittodrie who can tell him what happens in the second half. He has spoken at Burns Suppers in Nairobi, Lagos, New York and Winnipeg – he was not invited but just turned up.

He captained Montrose RFC for two very successful seasons resulting in narrowly avoiding relegation both years.

For the past 12 years he has been Chairman of the Grassic Gibbon Centre at Arbuthnott.

Awarded an MBE in 2008 for his contribution to Highland Games, Scottish Culture and Traditions.

As a slow Olympic Torchbearer in 2012 through Montrose, he finished with a flourish just before Rio 2016.

A bachelor but not neglected!!