TWELVE TALENTED individuals have been announced as the winners of a music competition inspired by Scotland's nature reserves.

Scottish Natural Heritage and Fèis Rois partnered up on the competition 'In Tune with Nature' which opened this spring, calling for individuals to submit songs inspired by the coasts and waters of Scotland's nature reserves, as part of the celebrations of the Year of Coasts and Waters 2020.

Entrants composed music ranging from classical to pop with songs written in Gaelic, Scots, Shetland dialect and English.

The competition featured a well-known panel of judges from the Scottish music industry, including Julie Fowlis; Vic Galloway; Gill Maxwell; and Karine Polwart.

Broadcaster, author and musician, Vic Galloway said: “This has been an interesting and satisfying project to be involved in, and I was honoured to be asked to assess so many brilliant applicants. Although it has been an epic task listening to almost 150 musical compositions, I've loved the sheer passion and diversity of music on offer – from classical to traditional, acoustic song writing to electronica, spoken word to rock, and way beyond. For these stunning Scottish nature reserves, I think we have some worthy winners and some extraordinary music to accompany them."

Entrants aged 16 and over were invited to compose a piece of music inspired by one of 10 national nature reserves across Scotland and were tempted by a £500 cash prize for each category. Each winner will also have the opportunity to collaborate with a professional film maker to make a film on the nature reserve that inspired their music.

The 12 winning entries were composed by musicians ranging from established artists like Marie Fielding, a lecturer at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and James Lindsay, a musician with renowned folk band, Breabach, to emerging young artists such as Malin Lewis, Neil Sutcliffe and Roo Geddes.

Acclaimed singer-songwriter, Karine Polwart, commented: “What a treat for the ears to hear such thoughtful, evocative new music, much of it written and recorded in extremely tight circumstances. Most of the winning artists are new on me, and I’m particularly delighted that they include so many young, emerging composers and songwriters from across the whole of Scotland, and beyond. I’ve found the thoughtfulness of their responses to each of the reserves fascinating, and often deeply touching. They evoke everything from craggy skylines and shifting dunes to delphinium spires and butterflies. And as a collection, the twelve winning entries tell a mighty story about how rich our Scottish landscape is, and how well we need to tend it.”

The 10 National Nature Reserves featured in the competition include Beinn Eighe (Ross-Shire), Caerlaverock (Dumfries), Creag Meagaidh (Lochaber), Forvie (North East), Isle of May (Firth of Forth), Loch Leven (Perthshire), Noss (Shetland Islands), Rum (Inner Hebrides), Tentsmuir (Fife) and Taynish (Argyll).

The 12 winning artists of In Tune With Nature are:-

BEINN EIGHE - Marie Fielding

CAERLAVEROCK - Lucie Treacher

CREAG MEAGAIDH - Charlie Grey

FORVIE - James Lindsay

ISLE OF MAY - Catriona Price

LOCH LEVEN - Beth Malcolm

NOSS - Sarah MacNeil

RUM (Joint winners) - Iona Lane and Ross Hull

TAYNISH (Joint winners) Malin Lewis and duo Roo Geddes and Neil Sutcliffe

TENTSMUIR - Barney Bridges

For more information on the individual winners go to https://www.snhpresscentre.com/news/scotlands-in-tune-with-nature-winners-announced