About

Rediscovering lost music. Reviving forgotten voices.

Founded in 2026 by violinist and researcher Aaron McGregor, The Curious Collection brings forgotten musical worlds back to life through performance, research, and storytelling. Combining archival research with vivid live performance, the company explores the rich musical culture of Scotland from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries. Each project begins with a discovery: a manuscript, a forgotten musician, a historic venue, or a story waiting to be told. Bringing together some of Scotland’s finest early music performers—alongside collaborators from theatre, dance and academia—The Curious Collection creates imaginative productions that reconnect audiences with Scotland’s remarkable musical past.

Dr Aaron McGregor (violin, artistic director) is a violinist and musical historian specialising in the music of early modern Scotland. His research traces the journey of the violin through Scotland’s cultural history, uncovering a lost tradition stretching back to the sixteenth century: from early fiddlers and dancing masters to the professional musicians who connected Scotland with the wider musical networks of eighteenth-century Europe. A graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, he has performed with ensembles including Scots Baroque, Spinacino Consort, Dunedin Consort, the RSNO, Scottish Ensemble, Scottish Ballet, the GRIT Orchestra, and Les Musiciens de Saint Julien. He regularly leads the Glasgow Barons and the contemporary music group Outwith Ensemble. With Concerto Caledonia, he has made five album recordings and appeared in numerous broadcasts on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio Scotland. He is a Lecturer in Music at the University of Aberdeen.

Alison McGillivray (cello, viola da gamba) studied cello in Glasgow at the RSAMD (RCS) and became became hooked on early music while at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Principal cellist and soloist with the Academy of Ancient Music and the English Concert for many years, she has an abiding interest in Scottish historical music and recorded many albums with Concerto Caledonia.  Alison has taught at music colleges across the UK and is on the faculty for the St Andrews University Summer Baroque Course.  Recent collaborations include the first ever Scottish Cello Night at Celtic Connections and performing on cello and viola da gamba in the premiere of Outlander in Concert. 

Mhairi Lawson (soprano) has worked worldwide with companies such as English National Opera, New York City Opera and The Early Opera Company in works from Monteverdi to Puccini.  She has sung as soloist with the Hallé, SCO, Northern Sinfonia, and period instrument ensembles Les Arts Florissants, Academy of Ancient Music, The English Concert and the Dunedin Consort. Her discography ranges from Haydn’s Creation (Oxford Philharmonic), Schubert Lieder (with Eugene Asti) and works by Vivaldi (La Serenissima) to traditional Scottish music (Concerto Caledonia). Mhairi sings on award-winning recordings of Purcell’s King Arthur and Fairy Queen with the Gabrieli Consort. Mhairi lives in the Scottish Borders with her family, teaches Vocal Performance at the RCS, and is a Professor of Historical Performance Practice at Guildhall.

British conductor William Cole (harpsichord) is emerging as a confident interpreter of music from baroque opera to works by today’s leading composers. Recent and future highlights include opera debuts at English National Opera (Handel’s Partenope) and Scottish Opera (Britten’s Albert Herring), and concert debuts with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia and Royal Northern Sinfonia. He has worked for many of the UK’s leading opera companies and festivals, and his engagements as harpsichordist include projects with the OAE, English Concert, SCO, RSNO and La Nuova Musica, collaborating with conductors including Laurence Cummings, Harry Bicket, Christian Curnyn, David Bates and Nicholas McGegan.