The residency and performance at UKARIA in 2023 was incredibly special as it was the first time we performed as a trio in public.

Photo - James Crabb, Catriona, Ulrike Klein AO, and Chris at UKARIA Cultural Centre after our trio debut performance on Saturday 15 April 2023.

In 2012 we collaborated with the wonderful composer Sally Beamish and the superb Scottish Ensemble on the very first concerto for fiddle and Scottish harp! We've gone on to play it all over the world!

In 2018 Sally made this new version of her Slow Movement No.3 especially for us to be programmed with her concerto ‘Seavaigers’.

We premiered it at Dundee's magnificent Caird Hall with the Scottish Ensemble followed by a short tour in Scotland.

In 2018 with the Vaasa Symphony Orchestra in Finland, we premiered a concerto composed especially for us by Timo Alakotila. We also played it as part of our 2019 Celtic Connections concert in Glasgow's Kings Theatre with the Scottish Ensemble.

In September 2014 we toured Ireland with our friend and legendary musician Seamus Begley (1949-2023). It was one of the best experiences we've ever had. Seamus guided us through an Ireland we'd never have been able to discover unless under his wing. We are forever grateful for our time and music with him and we miss him dearly. Thank you to Con Kelleher who took this photo and has given us permission to have here on our website.

Chris & Catriona were soloists with the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra performing at the Moscow International Performance Arts Centre in 2014. Boris Berezovsky joined for 'Isflak', with his added energy it was an incredible moment of energy and music!

Filmed in Glasgow Distillery for a project with Spokane Symphony 2021. This was a particularly moving experience to make this recording happen across an ocean during the pandemic restrictions.

Filmed by Somhairle MacDonald. Thank you to everyone who supported this project at such a difficult time.

We premiered our new work 'Glenshee' with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra at Celtic Connections 2023.

Chris recorded solo's for Guy Ritchie's 2023 film The Covenant at Abbey Road Studios with the Chamber Orchestra of London. Other string soloists on the soundtrack were the wonderful Thomas Gould, Max Bailie, Chris Benstead & Peter Gregson.

We we delighted to perform Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 - Slow Movement by Sally Beamish at the opening concert in the grand hall of the beautiful Hand Der Musik, Innsbruck with the Orchester des Musikgymnasiums and conductor: Wolfgang Schnirzer). We also performed a concert at Radio Tirol alongside the wonderful early harp specialist Margret Koell for broadcast later in 2024.

In 2015 Catriona & Chris workshop with the ACADEMIA JUVENIL DA ORQUESTRA PETROBRAS SINFÔNICA in Rio and then performed their own music with them at Parque Lane, situated at the foot of the Corcovado, on top of which Christ the Redeemer is located. It was amazing working with these young musicians!

In 2002/3 the Orquestra Scotland Brasil was formed – a 16 piece band – 8 Brazilians and 8 Scottish musicians. Organised by the British Arts Council/Brazil, we toured in Brazil, Scotland, Shetland and England. It was a hugely influential experience at that time in our musical development and we have continued to develop our ties with our Brazilian musician friends over the years.

In 2010 Chris created an album celebrating these connections "Chris Stout's Brazilian Theory'.

Commissioned by Shetland Arts and premiered in 2021 featuring Ainsley Hammil, North Ness Boys and Christie Williamson with Chris & Catriona.

Flitsang is a choral piece composed by Chris & Catriona based on the poem 'Da Flit' by Shetlander Christie Williamson.

The piece is sung entirely in Shetland dialect. Flitsang is vivivd in its imagery and is full of detailed observations of nature, land and sea through the eyes of a young Shetland woman.

The music explores the rhythms and sounds of the Shetland dialect and concludes by questioning how roots and traditional values play their part in life moving forward.

In 1019 we performed music from our new orchestrations of 'Bare Knuckle' with the Boris Berezovsky Festival Orchestra in Yelabuga.

Catriona & Chris Stout performed SEAVAIGERS harp & fiddle concerto composed by Sally Beamish at the 14th World Harp Congress City Recital Hall, Sydney with the Australian Metropolitan Musicians.

Since the first extraordinary meeting at Kamfest in 2012 we have performed with the incredible Quatuor Ebene several times over the years. In 2018 we joined them at the beautiful concert hall Prinzregententheater in Munich, Germany (2018), concert and radio broadcast at Festspiele MeckPomm, Germany (2015) and were guest performers at their festival Les Chaises Musicales (2018). We look forward to playing with them again in 2025.

Catriona McKay & Chris Stout were awarded a Herald Angel award for their Edinburgh Fringe 2014 performance.

Another amazing opportunity from Celtic Connections to make an exciting show. It was a chance to host an unprecedented meeting of disparate musical worlds! This concert featured Fife indie-folk troubadour King Creosote, top contemporary string orchestra Scottish Ensemble, the astounding São Paulo vocalist and body-percussionist Marcelo Preto and more!

Catriona has a 2 harps project with Trondheim Symphony’s Ruth Potter. The combined sound of Catriona's Starfish clarsach and Ruth's handmade Horngacher classical harp is incredible.

The harp is red-listed as endangered in Norway so ‘Fragile Beauty’ became a work that focuses on things threatened with extinction that we must take care of in this world: nature, animals - and instruments.

‘Fragile Beauty’ was composed especially for them by Norwegian composer Kim André Arnesen (b.1980)

Chris gave a lovely interview to the SCO ahead of our 2023 concert with them.

'Ivver Entrancin Wis' is a series of Shetland poems to music for cello, harp, viola and voice written and composed by Lise Sinclair. The recording drew together a group of Shetland and Scottish musicians, including Catriona, Chris and Wendy Weatherby, Frideray, Deirdre Hayward’s Capella choir and Abby Hayward. It was co-produced by Lise, Chris & Stuart Hamilton. It is a beautiful recording to have contributed to.

We were guest artists to record on this brilliant album by Norwegian singer and composer Marthe Valle in 2018. It's one of our desert island disks!

A short film made last year when invited by our friends The Maxwell Quartet to play at Guardswell Farm, Perthshire. Filmed by Rich Watson at Flux Video

At the end of 2023 we managed to record Fraser's new music inspired by the supernatural stories of Stanley Robertson (1940-2009).

In 2022 we went to the remote location of Fleinvaer, Norway to work on Marthe Valle's new music project  together with musician and producer Jens Kristian Rimau. The Northern Lights Festival took the premier of this special new music. "Overlys" has the theme of loneliness and why many people feel disconnected and alone.

Prior to a tour of Ireland with Seamus Begley in 2014 we managed to record an album together. Seamus welcomed us to Dingle and we had an absolute blast! Somehow in amongst it all we managed to create this album! With the sad loss of Seamus in 2023 we treasure these memories and recordings greatly.

We climbed up the hill a bit with the instruments (in the rain) just as autumn was arriving in the glen to get these photos for you! Check out Somhairle's other work, he's an incredible artist.

Edinburgh 12th September 2022

Psalm 118: 17-21 

Bays of Harris, Arr Paul Mealor

Voice,  Karen Matheson

Harp, Catriona McKay

In 2012 Chris recorded his solo parts for the Brave soundtrack in the world-famous Air Studios in London, alongside the London Symphony Orchestra. The soundtrack was based on an original score by Patrick Doyle.

In 1999 Chris, Catriona & Andrew Gifford (Fiddlers' Bid) were crew on the Swan LK243 for the Cutty Sark Tall ships race. Unforgettable experience and the source of inspiration for Catriona's composition Swan LK243.

We first met the Trondheim Soloists to play Seavaigers (Sally Beamish) at the Trondheim Chamber Music Festival opening concert in 2017.

Later in the week we played the Norwegian premiere of Chrysillis (Henning Sommerro).

We were invited to join them for their New Year tour in January 2019 when we also played some of our own music with them.

A special trip was to perform with them at Henning's 70th Birthday Celebration Concert 2022 in Surnadal. The are brilliant collaborators and we love making music with them.

Susanne Lundeng and Chris have collaborated several times over the years and exude a very special chemistry.

This was a wonderful opportunity to meet Susanne again for an energetic interplay across borders and genres.

'Chrysillis' composed especially for Catriona & Chris in 2017. A new work that touches on Fife's ancient links with Norway. Chrysilis was commissioned by East Neuk Festival/ Lichfield Festival/ Trondheim Chamber Music Festival in 2017 for Catriona & Chris with McFall's Chamber (Scotland) and Trondheim Soloists (Norway).

The album 'White Nights' was released in the summer of 2010 to rave reviews. Chris & Catriona proceeded to orchestrate and perform White Nights with Symphony Nova Scotia, in the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, Halifax, conducted by Shalom Bard in 2012.

In 2010 Chris and Catriona were visiting Artists in Residence at Celtic Colours for a collaborative show with local tune makers. Local Artist in Residence Lewis MacKinnon and established Gaelic composers from Cape Breton and Scotland collaborated on new Gaelic songs.

In 2018 we were awarded 'Best Duo' at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards

In 2017 we had an amazing time working again with Dan Tanson at the Philharmonie Luxembourg. This show was spectacular! Shnick is an interactive musical performance for the very little.

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Catriona McKay harpe écossaise

Chris Stout fiddle du Shetland

Pietro Gaudioso, Serena Galante mouvements

Dan Tanson idée, mise en scène

Julie Conrad scénographie

Alexandra Lichtenberger costumes

Ve Skerries premiere. In 2020 we were commissioned by the incredible GRIT Orchestra to compose a work for the opening concert of Celtic Connections alongside 5 other works by fellow orchestra members.

Our first trip to Trondheim Kamfest was to play Seavaiegers with the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra conducted by Peter Szilvay.

The 2012 festival composer was Maxwell Davies and he was guest of honor. We had the huge pleasure of sharing dinner together after the concert. A very memorable festival as it was our first time to hear the wonderful Quatuor Ebene and we've remained friends since, playing together when we can.

We also played a collaboration concert at Dokkhuset with two of Norway’s leading folk musicians, Gjermund Larsen and Frode Haltli.

In 2006 Chris produced Tommy O'Sullivan's second long awaited solo album featuring Chris & Catriona and recorded at Castlesound Studio in Scotland. Entitled ‘Song Ablaze’, an ambitious project with songs that range from traditional Irish and traditional American to the works of contemporary writers again from both sides of the Atlantic.The album includes an international cast of such stellar musicians as 2006 grammy award winner Tim O’Brien(USA),Shetland fiddle master Chris Stout,champion harp player Catriona McKay(Sco),David Robertson(Sco,Capercaillie),James Blennerhassett(Irl,Mary Black/Brian Kennedy)Eilis Kennedy(Irl)and Pete Grant(USA)

Seavaigers by Sally Beamish, performed by Chris & Catriona with BBC Concert Orchestra has been selected for BBC Ten Pieces 2024, an incredible opportunity to explore this music!

BBC Ten Pieces is the BBC’s largest educational resource for classical music. Ten Pieces is for anyone delivering music education in any context.

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We really cant urge you enough to explore these resources as they are spectacular and bring these incredible compositions to life!