About

Aaron McGregor is a violinist and researcher. As a performer, he is a leading exponent of early Scottish music, while his research has uncovered a lost history of Scottish violin culture dating back to the 1550s.

Performing on modern and baroque violins, he has appeared with ensembles including Scots Baroque, Dunedin Consort, Ludus Baroque, Laudonia, Spinacino Consort, Oxford Baroque, Ex Cathedra, the RSNO, Scottish Ensemble, Scottish Ballet, Manchester Camerata, the Cinematic Orchestra, the GRIT Orchestra, the Evergreen Ensemble (Australia), and Les Musiciens de Saint Julien (France). A specialist in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Scottish repertoire, he performs regularly with Concerto Caledonia, with whom he has made five album recordings, appeared on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio Scotland, and toured internationally. Upcoming recordings include Hey to Christmas with Siglo de Oro and Spinacino Consort, a celebration of the traditional Twelve Days of Christmas to be released by Delphian in December 2026.

Alongside his work as a performer, Aaron is committed to bringing newly discovered repertoire to modern audiences. His research explores the social, cultural, and musical history of Scotland between 1500 and 1800, revealing a rich and previously overlooked tradition of professional musicians, composers, and performers. Through concerts, recordings, editions, and publications, he seeks to reconnect audiences with Scotland’s early musical heritage. His first book, Fillocks, Fiddlers, and Others of that Band: The Violin in Scotland, 1550–1750, will be published later this year.

Aaron regularly leads the Glasgow Barons Orchestra and Outwith Ensemble, and is founder and artistic director of The Curious Collection, an ensemble dedicated to rediscovering rare and neglected repertoire. He is Lecturer in Music at the University of Aberdeen, where he leads in performance and supervises postgraduate research in historical musicology and performance practice.

A graduate of the University of Edinburgh, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and the University of Glasgow, Aaron completed a PhD in 2020 under the supervision of Professors David McGuinness and John Butt. He is a two-time recipient of the Donald Dewar Award and has received numerous academic and performance prizes.