MEET THE CONDUCTOR
Robin Versteeg
Robin was born and brought up in Edinburgh, and studied at the University of Edinburgh and the Royal Academy of Music in London. On moving to Strathspey in 2016, he established Cairngorms Music and enjoys a busy career as pianist, teacher, conductor and church musician.
He has worked as a pianist for auditions, workshops, and festivals all over Scotland, and as a founding member of the chamber trio Vocali3e, was featured in Creative Scotland’s curated showcase “Made in Scotland”, later commissioning, premiering, and recording Jennifer Margaret Barker’s Burns song cycle, A Lassie’s Love.As a passionate advocate of youth music, Robin has worked extensively for such organisations as NYOS, NYCOS, Scottish Opera Education, and Cromarty Youth Opera, and has taught piano in several independent schools, and as a music instructor with Dundee City Council. He recently joined the music examiner panel for Trinity College London. Robin continues to perform throughout the UK, and has played at the Royal National Mod, and for festivals in Inverness, Badenoch and Strathspey, and Lochaber. Also in demand as a writer, Robin has authored programme notes for the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, National Youth Orchestras of Scotland and the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra.
Conducting has played a central role in Robin’s working life over the past decade. He is a former musical director of Eastwood Choral Society, Cumbernauld Choir and Cunninghame Choir, and in addition to conducting numerous works from the main canon of sacred choral music, he has become known for his innovative approach to concert programming and has shown a notable commitment to 21stCentury music in performances of large-scale pieces by composers such as Bob Chilcott, Peter Maxwell Davies, Karl Jenkins and Will Todd. He directed the world premiere of Maciej Granat’s Requiem in Ayrshire in May 2015. Robin is currently Organist and Choirmaster at Old High church in Inverness, and musical director of Ness Sinfonia and Cairngorms Orchestra. This season, he will also be conducting Highland Chamber Orchestra in their spring and autumn performances.
He has worked as a pianist for auditions, workshops, and festivals all over Scotland, and as a founding member of the chamber trio Vocali3e, was featured in Creative Scotland’s curated showcase “Made in Scotland”, later commissioning, premiering, and recording Jennifer Margaret Barker’s Burns song cycle, A Lassie’s Love.As a passionate advocate of youth music, Robin has worked extensively for such organisations as NYOS, NYCOS, Scottish Opera Education, and Cromarty Youth Opera, and has taught piano in several independent schools, and as a music instructor with Dundee City Council. He recently joined the music examiner panel for Trinity College London. Robin continues to perform throughout the UK, and has played at the Royal National Mod, and for festivals in Inverness, Badenoch and Strathspey, and Lochaber. Also in demand as a writer, Robin has authored programme notes for the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, National Youth Orchestras of Scotland and the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra.
Conducting has played a central role in Robin’s working life over the past decade. He is a former musical director of Eastwood Choral Society, Cumbernauld Choir and Cunninghame Choir, and in addition to conducting numerous works from the main canon of sacred choral music, he has become known for his innovative approach to concert programming and has shown a notable commitment to 21stCentury music in performances of large-scale pieces by composers such as Bob Chilcott, Peter Maxwell Davies, Karl Jenkins and Will Todd. He directed the world premiere of Maciej Granat’s Requiem in Ayrshire in May 2015. Robin is currently Organist and Choirmaster at Old High church in Inverness, and musical director of Ness Sinfonia and Cairngorms Orchestra. This season, he will also be conducting Highland Chamber Orchestra in their spring and autumn performances.
