Feargus

Violinist/violist Feargus Hetherington has developed a wide-ranging career as an orchestral and chamber musician, concert artist and teacher. He studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and the Cleveland Institute of Music, USA, and has worked with some of today’s great performers such as Joseph Swensen (violin/conducting) violinists James Buswell, David Russell and Elizabeth Layton, violist Roger Chase and members of the Endellion and Cleveland Quartets.

Feargus works regularly with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. During the summers he spends time developing his artistic practice under the guidance of conductor/composer/violinist Joseph Swensen. He performs with the Kentigern Quartet and is a former member of the Live Music Now scheme. From 2010 - 2022 Feargus taught violin and chamber music at the University of St Andrews' Laidlaw Music Centre, Scotland. He has also worked with leading chamber ensembles and orchestras including the Scottish Chamber Orchestra (under Mackerras, Zacharias, Anderszewski etc.) and Red Note Ensemble (Ligeti: Kammerkonzert etc.)

He has developed international collaborations with pianists including Olga Gorelik, Adam Golka, Wayne Weng, Evan Shinners, Steven Beck, Geoffrey Tanti, Edward Cohen, Jonathan Cohen, Julia Lynch, and Gavin Brady, and has given recitals in Germany, Poland and New York City. With composer/pianist Lliam Paterson, he performs music by Scotland's foremost composers, and is the dedicatee of works by Paterson, Iain Matheson and Robert Ghillies.

As a soloist, Feargus has performed concertos by Mozart, Beethoven, Bruch, Brahms, Sibelius, Tchaikovsky and Elgar. (Glasgow Chamber Orchestra/BBC SSO/Glasgow Sinfonia etc.) In 2017 he premièred the Violin Concerto by Tom David Wilson (St Andrews Chamber Orchestra). He has play-directed from the violin in the Vivaldi Four Seasons concerti.

Feargus gives unaccompanied recitals featuring works by Edward McGuire, Stuart MacRae and Iain Matheson. He recorded ‘Ness by Gareth Williams for the Contemporary Music Centre of Ireland, and has recorded and performed for BBC Radio 3, BBC Scotland, BBC Ulster and Polish Television. He can be heard with classical accordionist Paul Chamberlain, on the artist’s CD release Accordion Sensations in the Piazzolla/Gubaidulina Le Grande Tango. His CD recording A Highland Ballad was released in 2012 to critical acclaim. As a guest of American pianist and J.S Bach maestro Evan Shinners, Feargus appeared at The Bach Store, New York City.

In 2020, Feargus established a new venture - record company Crieve Classics. This journey begins with a disk of sonatas by Mozart and Schubert with pianist Geoffrey Tanti.

He worked on the acclaimed new Shetlandic opera Hirda by fiddler/composer Chris Stout and composer Gareth Williams, performed Rant by Edward McGuire for the composer's 65th birthday concerts and has appeared as guest violinist with Hard Rain Soloist Ensemble in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Other collaborations include Meall a' Bhuiridh (Hill of the Bellowing) by Barry Reid, and Blair Douglas' An Aifreann Ghàidhlig (Gaelic Mass).

Feargus researches deeply the scores he performs, and his interests extend to the art of improvisation and the study of harmony and temperaments. Recently turning to composition, he is working on pieces for string quartet and string orchestra: As a young junior RSAMD student, he attended lessons with James MacMillan, in addition to writing music for string quartet for the 1996 BBC Proms Education Project.

Feargus has collaborated with outstanding traditional fiddlers such as Adam Sutherland, Chris Stout, Mike Vass, Gráinne Brady and Patsy Reid and improvised on the albums of numerous popular and jazz artists. Holding Irish citizenship, Feargus is passionate about playing Irish music. He frequently performs with James Grant (Love and Money) and his Hallelujah String Quartet, has worked with folk luminaries such as Karen Matheson, Donald Shaw and the Grit Orchestra. As a young musician, Feargus, and friends Martin and Peter Little were finalists in the National Daily Telegraph Young Jazz Musician Competition 1994 with their swing trio Confiture, sharing the stage with renowned saxophonist, Don Rendell. More recently, he has worked creatively with respected jazz musicians, guitarist Uri Stav and pianist Tom Gibbs.

Very active as a curator/programmer, Feargus has developed recital programmes in both Mackintosh Queens Cross, Glasgow, and the city's iota gallery, reaching new audiences. He has participated in the Starling-DeLay Symposium on Violin Studies at the Juilliard School, given by musicians including Itzhak Perlman and Monica Huggett.

Feargus performs on a violin by Neil Kristóf Értz, made in 2007, after Stradivari c.1715, and has been featured in the Strad magazine (July 2014) discussing the instrument. He works with fine bows by Andreas Grütter (Amsterdam). Feargus has in the past been generously supported by the Musicians Benevolent Fund and Creative Scotland and was a recipient of the John Ireland Prize.

Feargus occasionally writes, and some of his work can be found here:

https://feargushetherington.wordpress.com/