From London Fashion Week to Biggar Little Festival

Falkirk-born Euan Stevenson is a classically trained musician who is busy in both the classical and jazz worlds. He is the co-writer and musical director with the award-winning jazz singer Georgia Cecile and his classical music experiences include arranging music for the English Chamber Orchestra and internationally renowned violinist Pinchas Zukerman.

His work for Naomi Campbell came during London Fashion Week in September when he was called to provide an accompaniment for the now 55-year-old model processing down the catwalk.

“I’ve worked on London Fashion Week before and you don’t really think about the personalities involved,” says Stevenson. “It’s really just a case of coming up with something that’s going to sound good as these glamorous models strut their stuff. It was quite a thrill, though, to watch Naomi Campbell displaying the latest fashion to music I’d created and orchestrated.”

Music features strongly in Stevenson’s family tree. His grandmother studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and one of her cousins was Cedric Thorpe Davie, an accomplished composer who designed the music course at St Andrews University.

“He was an interesting character,” says Stevenson. “He studied with the great composers Ralph Vaughan Williams and Zoltan Kodaly and spent time in Finland where he met the top Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.”

Davie wasn’t Stevenson’s grandmother’s only musical relative, however. The film music specialist Muir Matheson, who conducted the score for Brief Encounter and over one thousand other films, was her cousin on the other side of the family.

Having such illustrious forebears could be daunting but Stevenson takes inspiration from knowing he’s following in their footsteps.

As well as working with Georgia Cecile, Stevenson and saxophonist Konrad Wiszniewski co-lead New Focus, a group that has appeared at Ronnie Scott’s in London and Celtic Connections in Glasgow in addition to playing Edinburgh and Glasgow jazz festivals and broadcasting on BBC Radio Three.

In Biggar, Stevenson and Wiszniewski will play as a duo and present The Classical Connection, which has proved popular with audiences across the UK.

“We try to make The Classical Connection entertaining as well as musically satisfying for both the audience and ourselves,” says Stevenson. “Essentially we illustrate how classical composers have influenced jazz musicians. People are sometimes surprised by just how much crossover there is between the two styles of music and while we take the music seriously, it’s also a lot of fun making those connections.”