Musicians

Matthew Robertson

One of Australia's most experienced Scottish dancer-musicians, Matthew combines dancing, teaching and music in the Scottish tradition as lifelong interests.

In 2026 he will again be our Winter School Musical Director, to bring us an amazing week of live music with fabulous international and local musicians for classes, socials, workshops and a concert night.

Matthew has danced, taught and played fiddle for SCD, ceilidh and other Scottish community activities in Australia, New Zealand, North America, Asia and in the UK.

Teaming with local musicians and collaborating with guest players through the year, he also volunteers for and supports an array of cultural activities where Scottish music is heard dancing is on.

He has penned tradition-informed original Scottish music to support a number of dances, and likes to explore ensemble sounds with all the instruments we love to hear for our shared dancing interest. He's looking forward to a wondrous week of musical merry-making at the 49th Australian RSCDS Winter School in Melbourne.

Ewan Galloway

Ewan Galloway is an accordionist based in Dalkeith, just outside Edinburgh. Since picking up the box at 14, he has championed Scottish dance music for its power to lift spirits and fill floors with smiling dancers. Ewan has broadcast several times on BBC Radio Scotland’s Take the Floor with his full band and is the mastermind behind the hugely popular online “Stagger Inn” sessions that kept the global Scottish‑music community connected during lockdowns, including a one‑hour programme devoted to Scottish Country Dancing. His playing has taken him to the Netherlands, Argentina and, most recently, to the RSCDS Summer School in Sydney with fiddler Shona. Wherever he plays, quality music and happy faces follow.

Andy Imbrie

Andy has had the good fortune to accompany some of today’s leading fiddle talent, including Caroline McCaskey (with whom he collaborated on “Salute to San Diego” released in 2023), Judi Nicolson, Elke Baker, David Knight, Tim Macdonald, Deby Benton Grosjean, and many others. Andy leads the “Reel of Seven” Scottish dance band, which released “The Magic of Summer School” (a compilation of dances recorded during their fabulous week at the New Zealand Summer School) in 2016 to wide acclaim. Their earlier CDs include “Dance for Joy” (2009), “Dance for Joy Encore!” (2012), and “Gotta Dance!” (2015), (www.reelofseven.com).

Andy began studying classical piano as a child and started playing for dances with the encouragement of Kim McGarrity and Barbara McOwen. He plays regularly for Scottish Country Dancing, ceilidh dancing, and contra dances throughout the US and Canada, and has been on music staff for several tours, including two in France, three to New Zealand and one to Scotland, Orkney, and the Shetland Islands. He has also been on staff at Asilomar and Pinewoods on multiple occasions and was honored to have been invited to teach piano accompaniment at the Boston Harbor Fiddle School and the Valley of the Moon Scottish fiddling school for several years. Andy was delighted to serve as music director for the TAC Summer School in 2019 and to be on staff at the International Branch workshop in Italy in 2022.

Andy is married to Sherryl Fawx (also a dancer and musician); they live in Santa Clara, California. In 2021, he retired from his position as Engineering Fellow at a major aerospace company where he was a specialist in simulation, guidance, and control of flight vehicles.

Ian Robertson

Ian is from Buckinghamshire and comes from a family steeped in Scottish music. His great-grandmother was a fine pianist who is known to have played piano for the great fiddler-composer James Scott Skinner before the turn of the 20th century.

Ian is a familiar face on the Scottish dance scene. He is most often seen now leading his own band on accordion although he regularly plays fiddle with a variety of leading musicians. A regular at RSCDS Winter and Summer Schools, he has played for weekend schools, functions and festivals across the UK and throughout the world.

An accomplished composer, Ian has 2 volumes of tunes in print and more in the pipeline. His most recent solo fiddle recording is a CD entitled “Robertson: a musical heritage”, a collection spanning 3 centuries with all of the tunes written either for a Robertson, or by a Robertson.

For more information and free downloads of all of his compositions (well over 200 to date), head over to www.ianrobertsonmusic.co.uk

In addition to our full-week music staff, the Winter School will see a rich involvement of other Scottish dance musicians from around Melbourne and Victoria.

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