Teachers & Musicians 2026

Karen & Alastair both hail from the far North of Scotland, where they grew up learning amongst some well-known musicians such as Addie Harper (of The Wick Scottish Dance Band), Bobby Coghill, and Ian Sinclair, who led the folk group Mirk. The twinning of the Scottish Highlands with Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia in 1986, resulted in the two travelling to Cape Breton as part of a 3-week tour with the high school group The Caithness Junior Fiddlers. Scholarships to attend the Valley of the Moon fiddle camp followed. It was there that Karen was introduced to the phenomenal playing and teaching of Alasdair Fraser, Buddy MacMaster, Martin Hayes (Ireland) and Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh (Altan). A 1997 scholarship from The Cross Trust enabled Karen to return to Canada to carry out the research for her degree dissertation. Other opportunities have included playing for former president Bill Clinton at Carnegie’s Skibo Castle in Scotland and teaching at Norway's mid-winter dance festival, Trondheim. Karen has taught alongside Alasdair Fraser at Celtic Connections festival, Glasgow, and Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, Isle of Skye, and has performed at the North Atlantic Fiddle Convention festivals over the years. She has a strong, rhythmic style of fiddle playing, influenced by her highland dance training. 

Karen gained her teaching certificate from the United Kingdom Alliance in 1988. She enjoys writing music for and playing for many Scottish dance styles including Scottish country dance, highland dance, highland dance choreography, stepdance, and ceilidh dancing.

Alastair played regularly for dances across Scotland and the North of England with Addie Harper’s Scottish Dance Band for many years, but more recently supporting Scottish accordion champion Brandon McPhee on concert tours and recordings. In addition to playing accordion, Alastair has also been known to turn his hand to keyboards and piano playing. He has a keen interest in sound engineering and collaborated with Karen in 2022 in the making of an international recording which was a fundraiser for a children’s hospital in Glasgow. Thirty-eight musicians from four countries took part in the project, which raised $2000 for the Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity.

Together, Karen and Alastair play a range of music influenced by their Scottish roots – Strathspeys, reels, jigs, marches and airs – Scottish – Canadian – self composed, contemporary and traditional tunes. Playing for Scottish country dance workshops, socials, and tartan balls, as well as performing concert sets appeals to the duo. While they enjoy the discipline required for playing for SCD, they equally enjoy the opportunity to explore arrangements for listening.