Distil 6 will take place from 31st March - 3rd April, 2006 in New Lanark.

Participants

Fraya Thomsen: Fraya has enjoyed some great travels in her short career, including a trip to the Celtic Colours Fesitval in Cape Breton (Canada) in a duo with Scots singer/Cellist, Fiona Hunter. Having recieved much encouragement and tutorage from the Feis Rois, she pursued her music making by entering into the RSAMD Scottish Music course in the year 2000.

Bruce MacGregor: Bruce from Inverness, was originally taught by the late, great, Donald Riddell CBE. He has since gone on to develop a style that captures the very essence of Highland fiddle music, drawing on both east and west coast styles. As well as being the founder of Blazin Fiddles, Bruce played with the Gaelic group "Clair" for the last four years, unfortunately due to Blazin Fiddles committments he's had to leave. He also worked as a producer and presenter for BBC Radio Scotland. His programmes on early 19th century Highland fiddler Captain Simon Fraser and "The Strathspey King" - James Scott Skinner won him two awards at the international Celtic Film and TV Festival in 2000 and 2001.

Gavin Marwick: Gavin was a founding member of the landmark Scottish folk band Iron Horse. He has toured, for musical purposes, all over the world and recently featured in the International Unusual Suspects. Gavin is also a prolific composer and has recently scored a few numbers in several theatrical productions.

Douglas Montgomery: An internationally acclaimed fiddler, Douglas has toured Scotland, USA and France with the smoking stone band. his playing slides easily from gutsy tune to inspired counter melody. an itinerant fiddle teacher in Orkney for eight years, Douglas has released two albums and toured canada with his pupils. Douglas was recently nominated for the yamaha instrumental instructor of the year (2003). he is right footed.

Fraser Fifield: Fraser Fifield is a composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist based in Edinburgh, Scotland. In the past he performed with groups like Old Blind Dogs, Salsa Celtica, Wolfstone, Bag O Cats. Now he leads the 'Fraser Fifield Trio' and also writes and produces music for a variety of media including film and television in addition to a variety of other projects.

Mark Maguire: A native Glaswegian born to Irish parents, Mark is an eight-times All-Irish Drum Champion as well as an All-Irish Bodhran Champion. He is now in great demand as an adjudicator for such competitions, as well as having taught bodhran at the Cleveland Music Academy, USA. He joined Deaf Shepherd in late 1997, quickly becoming a key engine in the band's powerhouse rhythm section, with his uniquely distinctive style combining an innate sensitivity to traditional material with jazz-tinged syncopations and funky dancefloor drive.

Iain Fraser: Iain arrived later than some to the idea of performing but definitely made an entrance with a wonderfully engaging style on stage that blends the passion of the tradition with the rythms of the dance. Iain grew up surrounded by music and now tours regularly throught Scotland and North America with a large repertoire that ranges from older 18th century tunes to new compositions inspired by his family and surroundings in his adopted home in the Scottish Borders.

Martin Green: Martin Green is one of UK's most exciting young accordion players who made his name as the dynamic keyboardist with the Liza Carthy band and Joan Baez.

Workshop Leaders

Paul Rogers: Paul Rogers should be well known to anyone with even a passing interest in British free jazz. His ability to swing hard, sing sweetly and get down, dirty and abstract has made him bassist of choice for top improvisers like Evan Parker, John Stevens and Keith Tippett.

John Maxwell Geddes: Born Glasgow. Studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music under Gordon Cameron and Frank Spedding, and subsequently with Niels Viggo Bentzon in Copenhagen. He has lectured in the United States, Germany and the former Soviet Union, and his works are widely performed and broadcast. His orchestral works include Symphony No 1 (BBC, 1975),Voyager (BBC 1985), and several works commissioned by the conductor Bryden Thomson: Lacuna (1977), Ombre (1984) and a second Symphony (1993). He has also written several works for solo instruments, chamber ensemble, and folk song settings. Recent orchestral works include Symphony No 3 , The Hill House: A Celebration, and Strathclyde Dances.

Mehboob Nadeem: He was born on 15th October 1967 into a highly illustrious family of traditional musicians of the Agra Gharana. He is the grandson of the legendary Ustad Vilayat Hussain Khan (Pranpiya) and Gayan Samrat Ustad Azmat Hussain Khan (Dilrang). Mehboob was initiated in the art of music at a very young age by his father Ustad Yakub Hussain Khan and uncle Shri Rafat Khan - in addition under the able guidance of the world renowned sitar maestro Pandit Arvind Parikh, and grew up into an artist of rare calibre and much promise. He has been the recipient of many prestigious music scholarships and has won accolades in a number of music competitions since my childhood. In 1991 he was honoured with the first prize in the All India Young Talent Contest from Nagpur and Khandwa and also a Bombay University Music Competition Trophy in the same year.