Soloists

Samson: Iain Paton (Tenor)

Dalila, wife of Samson/Israelitish Woman/Philistine Woman: Wilma McDougall (Soprano)

Micah, friend of Samson: Colette Ruddy (Mezzo-soprano)

Manoah, father of Samson/Harapha, a Philistine warrior: Alan Watt (Baritone)

Israelitish Messenger: Colin Brockie (Baritone)

Wilma MacDougall Soprano

Wilma MacDougall    Soprano

Wilma MacDougall was born in Scotland and after gaining her BA (Hons) in Music went on to graduate from Homerton College, Cambridge with a PGCE.  In Cambridge she sang and recorded with Jesus College Chapel Choir and performed regularly as a soloist in oratorio, recital and choral music. Back in Glasgow studying singing with Patricia MacMahon at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama she won several scholarships, awards and competitions.

Wilma is in great demand as a recitalist and soloist and has performed throughout Britain.  She has recorded and broadcast with BBC Radio and Television.

Her wide repertoire ranges from contemporary music e.g. the British premiere of Stockhausen's Sternklang directed by the composer to performances of oratorio in Germany, Denmark, Italy, Czechoslovakia and throughout Britain

Operatic roles have included Musetta in Puccini's La Bohème, Michaela in Bizet's Carmen, Grainne in the premiere of Bill Sweeney's Gaelic opera An Turus and the Queen of the Night in Mozart's Magic Flute – all receiving excellent reviews.

She teaches singing at Glasgow University, The Junior Academy RSAMD and The High School of Glasgow.  She is the vocal tutor for The Royal Scottish National Orchestra Junior Chorus. She also runs an annual singing course in the South West of France and enjoys adjudicating at music festivals throughout the country.     

Colette Ruddy Mezzo Soprano

Colette Ruddy Mezzo-Soprano

Dundee born Mezzo-soprano Colette Ruddy studied singing with Patricia MacMahon at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow where she was a prize-winning graduate.  Coming from a family of fine musicians and singers in both classical and traditional music, she was one of the first graduates to study and research Scottish music and in particular the singing of traditional singers as part of her honours degree.

Colette has been a soloist with all the major orchestras, choral societies and choirs and has sung in all the major concert halls in Britain and Ireland. She has broadcast for BBC TV, Radio 2 and Radio Scotland, STV, Channel 4 and Classic FM. Recordings include Burns Songs, Scottish Lullabies, Songs by John Thompson, Mozart Requiem and Vespers and Mahler Kindertoten-Lieder.

Oratorio, recital and concert work play a large part in Colette's career. Colette has always loved the music of Scotland and delighted audiences when she toured Canada with the SFO. Recently she toured Ireland with Les Artienne and engagements on the oratorio and concert platform have included Mahler's Rückert Lieder in Edinburgh, Berlioz's Nuits d'été in Chester, Bach's B Minor Mass in Dublin and Elgar's Sea Pictures in London.

Iain Paton Tenor

Iain Paton Tenor

Iain Paton was born in Scotland and studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.  He won the first Eric Vertier Award at Glyndebourne and has subsequently appeared in Australia, New Zealand and Norway singing the Lloyd Webber Requiem; with the Scottish Early Music Consort in Northern Ireland, Germany and Poland. For Scottish Opera he has sung Pedrillo (Die Entführung), Janek (Makropoulos Case), the Novice (Billy Budd), Vanya (Katya Kabanova), Tamino and the Shepherd (Tristan). He has also made recordings for the BBC.

In the 1996/97 season he made his debut with the Flanders Opera in Venus and Adonis and Dido and Aeneas and also sang Ferrando in a new production of Cosi fan tutte. He recently sang performances of the Messiah with the Rias Kammerchor and Freiburger Baroque Orchestra in Montreux and Paris, Ferrando (Cosifan tutte) with Scottish Opera and Almaviva (Barber of Seville) at Opera North. He also sang in a performance of Il Primo Omicidio conducted by Rene Jacobs at the Innsbruck Festival.

In autumn 2005 he sang Almaviva (Il Barbiere di Siviglia) for De Vlaamse Opera and L'Allegro under McGegan at the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York.  In 2006 he sang Almaviva in Dijon, Belfiore (La Finta Giardiniera) at the Zürich Opera, Publio (Il Sogno di Scipione) in Klagenfurt, Beethoven's 9th Symphony in San Francisco, Astromonte (Der Stein der Weisen) for Garsington Opera, made his Salzburg Festival début as Publio, sang Messiah in Boston. Last year he sang Albert Herring in Tokyo and Alessandro (Il re pastore) at Garsington, and with the Philharmonia Baroque in San Francisco. Plans include Flute (A Midsummer Night's Dream) for Opéra National de Lyon and in Athens, and the tenor roles in Thomas Adès's Powder Her Face at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

Alan Watt Baritone

Alan Watt Baritone

Alan Watt was born in Aberdeen and studied at The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.  He has sung principal" roles in many of the major opera houses throughout Britain and Europe. His extensive work abroad has included his Italian debut at La Fenice in Venice, singing Guglielmo in Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte, together with opera and concert work in Vienna, Basle, Brussels, Seville, Bruges, Berlin, Strasbourg, and Tel Aviv where he sang Papageno to great critical acclaim in a new production by Jonathan Miller of The Magic Flute, conducted by Zubin Mehta.

In the UK he has appeared at festivals throughout the country including Aldeburgh, Buxton, Edinburgh and Perth and performed regularly with the Scottish Early Music Consort.

Concert appearances in Scotland have included performances with Paragon Ensemble and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies at the St Magnus Festival in Orkney and with the Hebrides Ensemble in a critically acclaimed interpretation of Samuel Barber's Dover Beach.

His wide concert repertoire includes the major choral works of Bach and 19th-century and modern works ranging from the Requiems of Fauré, Duruflé, Mozart, Brahms and Verdi, to Rachmaninov's The Bells, Elgar's Dream of Gerontius and the Sea Symphony of Vaughan Williams.

He now combines his opera and concert work with teaching at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.

Colin Brockie Bass

Colin Brockie Baritone

Originally from Ellon, Colin first started singing and acting at Haddo House, being involved both on and off stage with the Children’s Theatre, Youth Theatre and the Choral and Operatic Society.

During his time at Gray’s School of Art, he continued his participation in many shows including Oklahoma (Jud) with Treading The Boards, HMS Pinafore (Assistant Director), The Sorcerer (Director) and Yeomen of the Guard (Sgt Meryll) with the University of Aberdeen Gilbert and Sullivan Society, Invasion of the Doric Snatchers (Production Assistant) and Date Expectations in HMT, Hot Mikado (Pooh-Bah) with AVE Productions and Oklahoma (Curly) with Meldrum Musical Society.

Colin has been a member of the National Youth Choir of Scotland (NYCoS) for 9 years, including their tours to Sweden (2001), Chicago (2004) and Hungary (2007). He also sang with the choir in London’s Albert Hall as part of the Proms season as well as the Last Night Proms in the Park concerts held in Glasgow each year.

After gaining a BA Hons from Gray’s, Colin has continued to receive his singing lessons at the North East of Scotland Music School (NESMS), being taught by Ruth Black, Alan Watt and Raimund Herincx, as well as being one of the assistant administrators there. He is a three times winner of the Ellie Pirie Scholarship funded by Aberdeen Bach Choir.

He keeps busy with a variety of solo recitals and charity engagements, having been involved with the Aboyne Festival, Deveron Festival, Cowdray Hall Lunchtime Concerts and through NESMS was auctioned off as ‘The Wedding Singer’ at their annual Keynotes Auction Lunch, fetching £2000. He hopes to pursue a career in opera after further studies in Manchester or London.