Concerto Caledonia

Concerto Caledonia is Scotland’s baroque ensemble, specialising in the music of 18th century Scotland played on period instruments, and directed by David McGuinness. With their recordings of the music of John Clerk of Penicuik (Hyperion, 1998: “definitely one of the most important releases of Scottish music” The Scotsman) and James Oswald (Linn, 1999: “I hummed ‘The Thistle’ for a week” Gramophone), they have brought a vital part of Scotland's musical heritage to a wide audience, and have appeared at festivals of classical, early, contemporary and world music throughout the UK and in Europe. Regular collaborators include the soloists Catherine Bott, Mhairi Lawson and Jamie MacDougall, and the Cape Breton flute player Chris Norman.

In summer 2001 they gave sold-out performances of their new performing version of Allan Ramsay’s pastoral ballad opera The Gentle Shepherd at the Edinburgh International Festival, and released a CD of Scottish-Italian music called Mungrel Stuff on Linn Records, a Sunday Times Record of the Year (“bizarre, but utterly compelling”).

Following on from their recording with Cape Breton fiddler and baroque violinist David Greenberg 'Spring Any Day Now', which features music by Frank Zappa and Fred Frith alongside old and new Scottish music, the group has formed an offshoot touring quartet 'Lion' to explore the synthesis of early, traditional and contemporary music.

Future CD releases include a recording of songs by Robert Burns and Allan Ramsay for Delphian Records, due for release in November 2004, and a collection of the music of Thomas Erskine, the 6th Earl of Kellie for Linn in 2005. The group will be a resident ensemble at Perth's new Concert Hall from late 2005.