I have played piano for 34 years, accordion for 31 years, and keyboards ever since they were invented. I began teaching beginners accordion at the Chalmers Mackay Music School in Inverurie 3 years ago - since then I have acquired keyboard and piano pupils - currently teaching beginners and up to Grade 2 level. Taking Grade exams is a relatively recent thing for me and in the space of 15 months I went through Piano Grade 4, Theory grade 4, and Keyboard Grade 3, 4, and 5, passing all grades with "Distinction". This year my personal targets are Theory Grade 5, and Piano Grades 6 and 7.

I am a patient methodical teacher and particularly enjoy teaching new players both young and old. I have played in bands (function bands/club bands/ceilidh bands) for around 25 years with many local musicians. I also spent a number of years as organist/choir master at Kintore Church.

Dancing
I have always been interested in Traditional Scottish music particularly as played for dancing and have attended musicians' courses run by the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society and a workshop run by the Scottish Traditions of Dance Trust.

I have played for dance classes for many years, and in the last three years in Kintore I have been running my own ceilidh dance class.

The Day Job
My "day job" is Corporate Proposals Manager for Petrofac Training where I am responsible for the coordination and management of proposals for new business, and responding to Invitations to Tender. I have designed/operate and maintain a database for tracking all the ITT's/Contracts for Petrofac Training globally. I manage a small team of people based in Aberdeen and Sharjah in United Arab Emirates.
Family 
I have a wife and three daughters and we live in Kintore. We moved to Kintore in 1989, and apart from a two-year period when we lived in Laurencekirk, we have lived in Kintore ever since then.

Hobbies
Running has become one of my hobbies in the last 5 - 10 years. I originally started running the odd 10k race and more recently have been averaging around 3 or 4 per year. This year (2008) I have been lucky enough to get a place in the London Marathon so I am very busy training for that.

Ceilidh Peppers
I am proud to be the second oldest "teenager" in the Ceilidh Peppers (a superb group of individuals producing a very lively ceilidh sound. Last year we went to Sweden on a music exchange and this year we have quite a number of engagements locally and are planning a CD and trip to Colorado to take part in the Spanish Peaks Celtic Music Festival.

The international language of music is one that everybody should learn.