Angela Young was born and raised in Aberdeen, Scotland, surrounded by music and dance, taking lessons from the age of 4 and later studying Music at Aberdeen University.  Moving to London to work with the BBC, Angela quickly became involved playing for branch classes and went on to teach both adults’ and children’s classes for the RSCDS London Branch, including the London Demonstration Team. Relocating back to Scotland, Angela continued working with her Mum and the Airyhall Dancers. Most recently, she has been teaching for the St Andrews Branch.

In addition to teaching day and weekend schools in the UK and Europe, she has taught at the RSCDS Summer and Winter Schools, weekend schools in Toronto and Asilomar, and TAC and New Zealand Summer Schools.

Training teams for Festivals and Competitions across the UK, Angela has also choreographed displays for a variety of events and spaces, including London’s Trafalgar Square and the Royal Albert Hall. She has adjudicated at various festivals, including the Newcastle Festival in 2024 and 2025, and the Glasgow Music Festival in 2026.

As a musician, she has played regularly at the RSCDS Summer School in St Andrews since age 18 and has also served as a Director for the Music Courses. Most recently, Angela completed her term as RSCDS Membership Services Convenor and was proud to lead the team on the Society's centenary publication, RSCDS Book 53, in 2023. 

Away from dancing, Angela is a Children’s Television Producer, having created animation series and arts specials, including ballet, proms, and Shakespeare productions for preschoolers!

I started playing the fiddle at the age of 10 when my family moved to Tain, a small village in the Highlands of Scotland (probably most famous for Glenmorangie Whisky)!

During my teenage years, I started a Scottish dance band under the brilliant guidance of Ali McGregor and his Tain Scottish Dance Band. For over 30 years, I have played with several Scottish dance bands, including David Oswald, Colin Dewar, and Jim Lindsay, on gigs, broadcasts, and various recordings. Highlights of my career have included playing with the BBC house band at the National Mod, tutoring and leading the Musicians’ Course at the RSCDS Summer School, playing at the RSCDS Winter Schools in Pitlochry, and, most recently, playing at the RSCDS Australian Winter School.

I am a trained Mentor in Traditional Music Arts in Scotland and support various artists in the industry. I also volunteer as Secretary for the National Association of Accordion and Fiddle Clubs. My main job, however, is teaching the fiddle and other traditional instruments to both adults and children through the Feis movement across the Highlands of Scotland. I was also nominated for Tutor of the Year in the MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards 2025.

I am looking forward to playing in Canada for the first time and working with amazing musicians and dancers from across the world!

Originally from Blairgowrie in Perthshire, my musical journey began at the young age of seven, under the guidance of my tutor Willie Gordon, but it was the sounds of the Wallochmor Ceilidh Band, Iain MacPhail SDB, and most notably from the early 1990s, Jim Lindsay’s Band, with their innovative arrangements, that inspired me to form my own band and perform at my first Scottish country dance in 1991.

I have regularly played for classes at RSCDS Summer and Winter Schools, international schools and a variety of weekly classes throughout Scotland. I have travelled extensively, bringing my distinctive style and deep love of Scottish music to dancers in Australia, Germany, Spain, and Ireland, to name but a few.

Recent highlights with my band include recording RSCDS Book 53 and the RSCDS Centenary Ball in 2023, held at the Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh, with 400 members in attendance.

I am fortunate to be a good friend and musical colleague for over 18 years with Gillian Stevenson, this year’s TAC Music Director, and I look forward to being part of her team, bringing our music and, more importantly, fun and good humour, which we are both known for by dancers at home and abroad, to the TAC Summer School.