Susan MacFadyen

Susan started playing the accordion at the age of 14 under the tutorship of Ian T Muir, the newly appointed RSCDS music director. Since then, she has had success in various solo, trio and band competitions at both the All Scotland Accordion & Fiddle Championships and the National Association of Accordion & Fiddle Clubs annual festival.

Susan formed her own band in 2003 and since then has performed all over the Scotland, the UK & Europe from Shetland in the North to London in the south of the UK. She has also performed in the Netherlands, France, Switzerland and Germany for Scottish country dancing events. Susan has broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland's "Take the Floor" Scottish dance music programme on numerous occasions with her own band and was privileged to be asked to lead the first all-female band to broadcast on the programme in celebration of International Woman's Day in 2024. The highlight for the band was winning the Scottish Dance Band of the year category at the 2018 Scots Trad Music Awards and then going on to perform at the awards ceremony in 2019 which was broadcast on the BBC Alba television channel.

Susan is a regular musician at the RSCDS St Andrews summer school in Scotland and led the musician ensemble course along with sister Shona in 2023. Susan combined both her passion for music and dancing together when she was appointed deputy director of the RSCDS summer school in St Andrews in 2019 & 2022. And continues to combine both interests as a current member of the Membership services committee of the RSCDS.