Siobhan Miller & Jeana Leslie
10 May 2012 (19:30 - 22:30)
Jeana Leslie and Siobhan Miller are two talented young singers and musicians who are recognised as shining new stars on the Scottish Music scene. They are both blessed with lovely natural voices that blend beautifully.
Jeana Leslie (fiddle, Hardanger fiddle, piano, vocal) comes from Orkney and was a semi-finalist in the Scottish Young Traditional Musician of the Year Award in 2004 and 2005. She toured Canada in 2005 with her school folk music group, Hadhirgaan, and also took part in the Tall Ship Races on the musicians’ boat, ‘The Swan’, on which Chris Stout was musical director. Jeana has appeared at several festivals, including an Orkney Night concert with The Wrigley Sisters and Kris Drever at Celtic Connections and in Donald Shaw’s ‘Harvest Project’. In 2009 she was very honoured to perform with Paulo Nutini at the Ottowa Bluesfest in Canada. She is an experienced tutor for Celtic Connections Education project that coincides with Celtic Connections. She also teaches for Glasgow Fiddle Workshops, RSAMD Musicworks, Orkney Traditional Music Project and other projects throughout Scotland.
Siobhan Miller (vocal, piano, dance) is from Penicuik, just to the south of Edinburgh. She first appeared at the Traditional Song and Music Association of Scotland’s Auchtermuchty Festival when only 13 years old and won both the children’s and women’s singing competitions there. In 2007 she was nominated by the RSAMD to receive the silver medal from the Worshipful Company of Musicians. Siobhan has appeared as a solo singer at several festivals including Glasgow’s Celtic Connections, Gigha Music Festival and with The Royal Scottish Country Dance Society at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. She has played support to various musicians including Karine Polwart and Bob Fox, and appeared as a guest singer with Jock Tamson’s Bairns at Edinburgh’s Queen’s Hall in 2006 and at Celtic Connections festival in 2008.
The duo met whilst studying at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama where they began exploring and developing their shared love for song. Both graduated in 2009 with Honours.
From their first musical explorations at the RSAMD, Jeana and Siobhan discovered an empathic approach to composing, arranging and performing music together. Immediately they entered a whirlwind of success, winning the 2008 BBC Young Folk Award at the London final (December 2007). Since then they have garnered the ‘Best Up and Coming Artist’ of the Year Award at the BBC MG Alba Scots Trad Awards in 2008 and ‘The Hancock Horizon Music Award’ 2009, voted for by the public. They were also nominated for the ‘Horizon Award’ at the BBC Folk Awards in 2009.
http://www.jeanaleslie-siobhanmiller.co.uk/