The Joy and Necessity of Ensemble

Born in Edinburgh in 1959 and brought up in the mining village of Whitecraig, East Lothian, Mike McGeary took up mandolin aged 8 and joined the Edinburgh Ukrainian Mandolin Orchestra. By 11, he had moved on to guitar and was soon serving his apprenticeship playing for the discerning dancers in Lothian’s miners’ welfare clubs!

In 1978, Mike became the first guitarist to study at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD). A successful teacher in Edinburgh schools since 1982, dozens of his pupils have progressed to study at prestigious conservatoires throughout the UK and abroad and he was named Yamaha Instrumental Teacher of the Year for 1999. He has given numerous solo recitals and concerto performances throughout the UK and has broadcast on the BBC and commercial radio, commissioning several new works enroute. Mike was appointed Head of the Edinburgh School’s Music Service in 2004. In 2012, he returned to full-time teaching, writing and playing, and taught for many years at the Junior Department of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.