A Moray performer who had childhood ambitions of taking to the stage as a performer is preparing to realise her dream by releasing her debut album.
Amy Papiransky, from Keith, had her passion for singing ignited when she was at primary school and first took part in her hometown’s traditional music festival when she was just seven.
The 25-year-old studied music at Aberdeen University before later moving to Glasgow to teach secondary school pupils to play instruments in North Lanarkshire.
Last year, she attracted nationwide attention by making the final of the BBC Young Traditional Musician of the Year – before using the accolade to make a name for herself on the folk scene by touring Canada, America, Ireland and Germany.
Now Miss Papiransky is preparing to release her first album, Read Me Write, which features a collection of songs she has been gathering and writing for the last eight years.
Included on the release is Winter Winds, which reveals the singer’s experiences of growing up in a small town in the north-east, and Oh Mother, which tells of her mum’s resilience.
She said: “Recording and releasing this album has been a long-held dream of mine and I’m incredibly proud to be putting this personal collection of songs out into the world.
“Song writing was my first love and Read Me Write is the culmination of many years of putting pen to paper, performing and – with the help of many friends and musicians – slowly building my confidence.”
After stepping stage as a singer for the first time when she was a child, she is now a multi-instrumentalist.
Her father made her a fiddle when she was 13 years old to allow her to join the Strathspey Fiddlers group before later teaching herself to also play the piano.
As well as teaching in secondary schools she also taught children as young as six at the Aberdeen International Youth Festival in 2015, which culminated in a concert to let the youngsters showcase what they had learned.
Miss Papiransky will be performing songs from her album during a homecoming gig at Keith Bowling Club on October 12. Read Me Write will be released on September 1.
