James Scott Skinner

Born near Banchory, James Skinner was taught by his older brother to play violin and cello. He was later tutored in Manchester and during 1861 toured with the New Orleans Theatre Company. On his return to Aberdeen, he took a course of dancing lessons from ‘Professor’ William Scott. The pair got on so well that James adopted ‘Scott’ as part of his professional name. A key figure in Scottish traditional music, James took the art of the Scottish fiddle to new heights. At the age of 17 he published Highland Polka, the first of over 600 compositions. He was one of Scotland’s first recording artists and from 1899, with the use of this new technology, gained international acclaim.