Biography

Chris Gray is from Lockerbie, Scotland and is a multi-instrumentalist and composer who plays piano, highland & border pipes and whistles. He recently graduated with a First-Class Honours BMus degree in Traditional Music from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Chris is now continuing his studies on the Masters’ in Traditional Music program with piano as his main study where he has been awarded a scholarship from the Keepers of the Quaich. Chris has also spent one Semester of his Master’s studies at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, Sweden. 

Although only in his early twenties, Chris’s versatility as a musician has brought him to being involved in a variety of projects and performances. Chris is very active as a performer having recently played at festivals in Wickham (England), Ortigueira (Spain) & Lorient (France) as well as the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2017 accompanying Scots & Gaelic singer Katie Macfarlane. He has been a part of many performances at Celtic Connections as well as playing and teaching with various projects internationally in New Zealand, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Slovakia and Oman. Chris is also a member of the Inveraray & District Pipe Band and with them has won the 2017 World Pipe Band Championships as well as the Scottish, British & European Championships.

Whilst at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Chris had the privilege of pre-recording for BBC Radio Scotland’s St Andrews’s night broadcast alongside Phil Cunningham, Aly Bain and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s Traditional Music and Brass departments. Other highlights include having  performed at ‘Ascension’ (Inveraray & District’s pre-worlds concert 2013 that sold out the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall) and at the 2012 NA Trad Awards (with IDPB). In 2014 and 2015 Chris was part of the winning Inveraray & District quartet at the Piping Live Festival’s International Quartet competition.

For four years Chris was also a member of the National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland and with them played at venues including the Usher Hall in Edinburgh, the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall (Celtic Connections Festival), the SECC, the Hallenstadion, Zurich and St Paul’s Cathedral in London. Through the NYPBoS Chris participated in outreach events which involved instructing and encouraging youngsters from various regions of Scotland as well as having the privilege of performing for royalty.

Chris is in great demand as a session musician having performed with bands including Skipinnish, Barluath, Heron Valley, Whisky Kiss, the theatre/ceilidh production ‘This is Ceilidh’ at the Edinburgh Fringe as well as guesting with several ceilidh bands.