Bach, Beethoven, Shostakovich, Elgar, Dvořák, Maxwell Davies, Beamish: the list of classical composers who have written some of the most beautiful music ever, for cello, is a long one. Yet, it’s an instrument that is increasingly coming into its own in other styles of music, whether in ensemble or as soloist, particularly in trad and jazz. 

Cutting across all of the above is Scottish cellist Juliette Lemoine, whose debut album Soaring has just been released alongside a tour featuring live performance from the album. ‘I started learning classical cello at the age of eight,’ she explains. ‘Both of my parents were classical violinists, but in my teens I took a break from it. I was jealous of the improvisation and fun my friends had with jazz.’ Traditional music was also a pull and the focus of her studies at the Royal Conservatoire Of Scotland. ‘It’s quite unusual to play cello in traditional music,’ she says, ‘although with people like Natalie Haas, it’s more of a thing in the US. In Scotland, it’s becoming more integrated with classical cellists doing second study trad music. It’s so cool, really exciting.’

^{Pictures: Camille Lemoine (above) / Nicky Murray (top)}

Along with the developments in her playing, composition came naturally, with Lemoine’s scoring putting cello in a role of melody instrument, something more commonly given to the fiddle. ‘I’d been writing for a while,’ she says, ‘and wanted to record my own stuff.’ Performing with her on tour (including dates at Celtic Connections and Edinburgh’s Tradfest) and on the album are other leading lights on the up-and-coming artists roster. Fergus McCreadie plays piano, with tenor saxophonist Matt Carmichael and 2017 Young Traditional Musician Of The Year, fiddler Charlie Stewart. Together, they personify what Lemoine’s Soaring is all about. ‘It’s overarching theme,’ she says, ‘is the feeling of freedom.’ 

Juliette Lemoine is on tour until Thursday 1 June.