The north east has always boasted a rich seam of musical talent.
And now, three women from Aberdeenshire, Ellie Beaton, Iona Fyfe and Lucie Hendry, are in contention to be crowned BBC Radio Scotland’s Young Traditional Musician for 2021 in Glasgow later this month.
Ellie, from Rothienorman, has been interested in traditional music from a young age and was brought up performing traditional and bothy ballads.
She studied Classical Voice at Aberdeen City Music School and qualified for the Bothy Ballad champion of champions competition at Elgin where she competed against the best singers in the country last year.
As a pupil at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where she studying classical vocal studies, she hopes to become a full-time musician.
She is in the mix along with Iona from Huntly, who was also at the Royal Conservatoire, and grew up going to folk clubs and festivals across the region.
A lot of her influences spring from revivalist singers and she has revealed she found great inspiration in online archive recordings from sites such as the National Library of Congress and Kist of Riches.
She gained an FLCM in Traditional Voice from London College of Music and graduated from the Royal Conservatoire with a first-class honours degree in 2019.
The versatile singer has performed throughout the world including at the Folk Alliance International in New Orleans and Fergus Grand Theatre in Ontario.
Lucie, a harpist from Auchenblae, became hooked on traditional music during her early childhood as a result of her dad’s interest in music.
After studying at Plockton’s national centre of excellence, she graduated from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2018 with a first-class honours degree in traditional music.
Her notable performances include premier receptions for film productions Mary Queen of Scots and Outlaw King, in addition to a reception at Holyrood Palace in the presence of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
She currently plays with the fiddle and Scottish harp duo, Aves o’ May.
The final takes place at Pacific Quay on Sunday January 31 and will be broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland and BBC ALBA from 5pm.
