JENNIFER WRIGLEY

Fiddler Jennifer Wrigley is set to release a unique live album capturing a magical performance of her major new compositional work, Catch the Rhythmic Orkney Tide and Ride, which draws together a handpicked line-up of leading professionals from the traditional music scene and students from The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS).

Catch the Rhythmic Orkney Tide and Ride - Jennifer’s first solo venture - tells a progressive story based on a journey to Orkney, travelling over the four bridges of the Forth, Kessock, Cromarty and Dornoch, through the Highlands, Sutherland and Caithness, and across the turbulent waters of the Pentland Firth to a warm welcome in the islands.

The four pieces making up the album represent migration, a safe home for each of us to live, a simpler way of life and the sense of community that traditional music encapsulates. 

Jennifer is internationally recognised as one of the leading fiddle players and traditional composers to come out of Scotland in recent years, influencing and inspiring players all around the world. Her style reflects ages of musicianship that have been passed down aurally from her heroes in Orkney. 

For over three decades, Jennifer performed as one half of the celebrated duo ‘The Wrigley Sisters’ with her twin, Hazel, recording over a dozen albums, undertaking three world tours, visiting 47 countries (including 15 trans-Atlantic trips) and appearing in countless television and radio productions. Together, the sisters also ran Kirkwall’s iconic Reel – a music school, café/bar, music shop, concert venue and exhibition space – for 16 years until Covid forced its closure.

In 2021, Jennifer was chosen from over 200 applicants as a Sound and Music (London) New Voices Artist. Each year Sound and Music support eight composers and creatives in a major artist development programme, lasting 18 months, with coaching, mentoring and a grant to create a new piece of work and share it with new audiences. The result of this process was Catch the Rhythmic Orkney Tide and Ride. 

Jennifer is also an Associate Artist at RCS so, when it came to performing and recording Catch the Rhythmic Orkney Tide and Ride, she was keen to call upon the skills of students from the acclaimed Glasgow based institution and combine their talents with some of the finest players on the traditional music scene.

In addition to fourteen RCS music students, the performance captured on Jennifer’s new album features singer Alyth McCormack, multi-BBC award winning guitarist and accordionist Tim Edey, former BBC Folk on Two winner and past Riverdance band member, accordionist Luke Daniels, Scottish Borders pianist Harris Playfair, and Orcadian pianist Laurence Wilson. Jennifer Wrigley is highly respected globally not  only as a world class fiddler but as an  ambassador for traditional Orkney music. She is  internationally recognised as one of the leading  fiddle players and traditional composers to  come out of Scotland in recent years;  influencing and inspiring players all around the  world. Her style reflects ages of musicianship  that has been passed down aurally from her  heroes in Orkney. She is a previous winner of  the BBC Young Tradition Award and Nominee  for BBC Alba Instrumentalist of the Year. 

Additionally, Jennifer has worked with 'Live  Music Now', a charitable initiative created by  Yehudi Menuhin and patronized by Prince  Charles, delivering musical programmes to the  elderly, young and disadvantaged in a range of  health and care settings. 

Jennifer has written and arranged over 200 tunes which have been recorded and performed worldwide by artists including  Liz Doherty, Alasdair Fraser, BT Ensemble, Trondheim Soloists and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.