Professional
experience:
John was part of a folk duo for ten years (1978-1988), performing
traditional
and contemporary music in bars / clubs, and occasionally
on the radio.
John was a founder member of the
Rowan Tree Company, a Borders-based
professional touring
company, playing venues throughout Southern Scotland
and beyond
(Edinburgh, Dumfries, Glasgow, Linlithgow, Pitlochry, Mull) and
overseas (Canada, South Africa).
John played the
major role in most of the Rowan Tree Tree productions
and
contributed music, dialogue and poetry to all of the shows.
Two of the shows were devised and written by John and
both received excellent reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe.
John is increasingly regarded as one of the best
exponents of Scots as a living tongue and he helps to develop
scripts from old texts.
He has a relaxed manner and is in great demand as an
accomplished and witty compère.
John is featured in the Scottish Storytelling Directory. His
voice is easy on the ear, and, with his talent for mimicry and
talking in many dialects, he has been chosen for radio and
television broadcasts, educational tapes, safety in industry tapes,
narration for dance and orchestral pieces, and for a large number of
audio/visual presentations for museums countrywide. He takes part in
Folk Festivals (Both Sides of the Tweed), and provides
entertainment at various outdoor locations for Cycling and Walking
Festivals in the Borders.
He provides
scripts for open-air performances depicting historical events,
notably for the annual Scott’s Selkirk Christmas
festival, for which he also devises the entertainment’s programme.
He acts in the
various pieces he has written, and in 2006 and 2007, he played the
part of Sir Walter Scott.
His musical
ability enabled him to perform Stravinski’s Soldier’s Tale’
with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in 1995. He also composes
music for dramatic productions and is a prolific song-writer.
In the Spring of
2005, he formed the theatre company, Ideoms, writing and
performing the show, Crossfire, at the 2005 Edinburgh Fringe.
With Ideoms,
he has compiled three shows containing the works of Robert Burns:
Lovers, Fules and Cutty Stools, Honest Poverty and Bard on
the Border.
In the Spring of
2008, he toured with The Curve Foundation Dance Company with
their acclaimed performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.
Television:
Echoes of the Ettrick, The Spark and Seventh Heaven
for Border TV
Hands On History
(The Time Team) for Channel 4,
The National Service for the Millenium for BBC Scotland (live from
St. Giles Cathedral).
Radio:
Singing, reciting and acting on Radio 2, Radio Scotland and Radio 4.
Film:
DVD on the life of Sir Walter Scott.
John Buchan – the First Spin Doctor
Recordings:
Echoes From A Tower
The Travels Of Mungo Park
(Both produced by Yarrow Records)
War and Glaur
The Southern Upland Suite
(Both
produced by ‘Big Sky Studios’)
Border Sangsters
(Produced by the School of Scottish Studies/Linn Records)Volumes
10, 11 and 12 of The Complete Works of Robert Burns
(School of Scottish Studies/Linn Records)
Hogg Live
(a live performance of the life & works of James Hogg)
Publications:
JORUM – a poetry anthology (all poems written in Borders Scots) |
John
Nichol