Arlene MacFarlane

Arlene began playing the trombone at the age of 11 through her local brass band and in 1996, joined the brass department of the RSAMD Junior Academy. As a youngster she became a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, where she spent four happy, eventful years. Throughout her youth she was also a member of the West Lothian Schools Brass Band.

Arlene went on to study at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama under Kevin Thomson and Lance Green where she graduated with a BMus Degree in Performance with Honors of the First Class, obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Performance with Distinction in 2005 and was awarded a Masters in Music with Distinction in 2006.

Throughout Arlene's academic studies she has been the recipient of several awards. In 2002 she won the Governors Recital Prize for Brass, the Professor Charles Leggett Award from the Musicians Benevolent Fund in 2004, and in 2005, the Musicians Benevolent Fund Education Award, the Countess Of Munster Musical Trust and the Caird Trust. In 2006, she was also awarded the Dewar Arts Award.

Arlene's professional work includes appearances with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Scottish Opera, RTE Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition to her orchestral work, Arlene has appeared with several prestigious chamber groups such as The Golden Section, Paragon Ensemble, Fine Arts Brass and Bones Apart. She is also a founding member of the award wining ensemble Thistle Brass which was formed in 2002.

Arlene was appointed Sub–Principal Trombone of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in 2008. As well as her work with the orchestra in Cardiff, she is regularly involved in community music projects around Wales and Scotland and enjoys teaching locally.