Dr Paul Tierney - Musical Director
Paul was born in Edinburgh in 1984 but grew up in Hawick in the Scottish Borders. He graduated from the University of Aberdeen in 2006 with a first-class BMus (Hons.) degree and in 2012 with a PhD in composition, also from the University of Aberdeen. He has taken part in numerous masterclasses with singers such as Donald Maxwell, Raimund Herincx, Cate Hughes, Irene Drummond, Margaret Cable and Stephen Varcoe. In 2005, he was awarded the Ellie Pirie award by Aberdeen Bach Choir and North East of Scotland Music School. In 2006 Paul was awarded the first Derek Ogston Postgraduate Music Scholarship from the University of Aberdeen.
As a soloist, Paul has performed with many groups including Aberdeen Choral Society, University of Aberdeen Choral Society and Chapel Choir, Concordia String Orchestra, Aberdeen Orpheus Choir, Peterhead Choral Society, Inverurie Choral Society, Roxburgh Singers and the Queens Cross Charity Concert. He also performed with the Hereford International Summer School Chorus in the role of Aeneas in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas. Paul has also performed with the Gustavus Adolphus New Music Ensemble in Minneapolis, USA. He gives numerous recitals of English Song and Lieder and gave the first Scottish performance of To a Poet by Gerald Finzi. He has also received rave reviews for his performances of Die Schöne Müllerin and Winterreise of Schubert; “Tierney's singing was a revelation!”
Paul is active as a conductor and composer and has studied with Alasdair Nicholson, Sally Beamish and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies as part of the first St Magnus Composers Course. His piece Threnody was premiered by the Kreisler ensemble at the St Magnus Festival. Paul's music has also been performed by the Edinburgh Quartet, members of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Gemini Ensemble and Lontano Ensemble.
Paul's work, Gallowgate Lard, based on the painting by Ken Currie, was commissioned as part of the 2009 Sound Festival and was given its first performance by Roberto Fabricciani, Tadej Kenig and Rohan de Saram.
Paul was also featured as principal guest composer at the Dana School of Music New Music Festival XXVII at Youngstown State University, Ohio, USA in May 2011. In June 2011 his percussion concerto Landscape from a Dream was performed by the Inverurie Orchestra. He recently presented a paper on the influence of Far Eastern music on the music of Benjamin Britten at the conference 'Britten 100: An American Music Centenary' at Illinois State University, Bloomington, USA.
Paul was musical director and conductor of the Haddo House Choral and Operatic Society from 2017-2025 and musical director of the Inverurie Orchestra from 2007-2019. With Haddo, performances included Elijah by Mendelssohn, Nelson Mass by Haydn, Te Deum by Dvorak and Samson by Handel in the presence of the society's patron HRH Prince Edward. Paul was the founding director of the University of Aberdeen New Music Group and has also conducted the University of Aberdeen Chapel Choir, the Learig Orchestra, Aberdeen Sinfonietta and University of Aberdeen Gilbert and Sullivan Society. He has conducted performances of Maxwell Davies' Eight Songs for a Mad King, Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire and Octandre by Varese. Paul has taken part in numerous choral conducting masterclasses working with conductors such as Stephen Layton (Polyphony), Neil Ferries (BBC SO) and Matthew Hamilton (Hallé), conducting the Hallé Choir in a masterclass performing Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius.
Paul has been musical director of Aberdeen Bach Choir since 2022 and is currently the Curriculum Manager for Performing Arts and Animation at the North East Scotland College in Aberdeen.
