Coila

Led by three-time Scottish national fiddle champion, Alistair McCulloch and fiddler/synthesizer player Andrew McGarva, a co-conductor of the Scottish Fiddle Orchestra and director of music at the Wellington School in Ayr, Coila has transformed traditional Scottish tunes into forums for their instrumental wizardry. A former soloist with the Scottish Fiddle Orchestra, McCulloch formed Coila for a European tour in 1989. In addition to McCulloch and McGarva, the group features Scottish Fiddle Orchestra accordionist Willie Weir and bassist Dave Cowan and percussionist Gavin Welsh, whose prior experiences include stints with jazz big bands including the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra. The band is often joined onstage by pianist/synthesizer player Douglas Whyte and bagpiper Dougie Pincock. McCulloch, who released his debut solo album, Highly Strung, in 2000, continues to divide his time between two bands — Coila and Cantarach, which he shares with former members of the Tannahill Weavers, Iron Horse and Ossian.