The classical accordion is truly an amazing instrument and here in the UK, Paul is one of a very select group of talented young musicians working to increase the instrument’s profile.

Paul is the first classical accordionist to gain a BMus from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. (now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) He is a highly accomplished player and with appearances at international music festivals such as Baltica Harmonica in St. Petersburg, Russia, and Sata-Häme Soi Accordion festival in Ikaalinen, Finland, he has also performed in France, Italy, Greece, and Bahrain.

Born in Scotland in 1981, Paul was immersed in a wealth of music from a very early age. Over the last ten years he has developed his performance technique on the instrument with his inspiring teacher Djordje Gajic and also through master-classes with experts such as Owen Murray, Peter Soave and Jean-Louis Norton.

Paul is now completing a Masters in Performance at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow, where in 2010 he was Highly Commended for his performance in the Tony and Tania Webster Prize for rare Russian music, and was winner of the acclaimed Governors Recital Prize, with a subsequent live performance broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland’s “Classics Unwrapped” programme. He was also one of the keyboard section finalists in the 2011 Royal Overseas League competition.

In September 2011, Paul released his debut solo album entitled “Classical Accordion” featuring a mixture of transcriptions of works by J.S. Bach, Rameau, Moszkowski and Khachaturian, as well as original works by Alexander Nagayev and Franck Angelis. Paul has also performed with the Paragon Ensemble as part of their Travelling Home concert celebrating their 30th anniversary. He has given solo recitals in Edinburgh at St Mary's Metropolitan Cathedral and St Giles Cathedral and performs regularly as a member of the Scottish Tango Ensemble

He has adjudicated at competitions such as the NAAFC Musselburgh Festival and the NAO UK Accordion Championships, and teaches accordion at Fettes College in Edinburgh.

• HotScotch Ceilidh Band