SPAE Artists

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 Brian McNeill is a virtuoso on fiddle, viola, mandolin, cittern, bouzouki, bass, concertina, and hurdy-gurdy. Brian was the founder of the Battlefield Band in 1969, one of Scotland's best known folk ensembles. He is a leading writer of Scottish Song, has numerous recordings - solo and with other leading Scottish traditional musicians. In 2010, he released his twelfth solo album of original material. He has produced recording for many new and well-known folk artists, and has published 3 original mystery novels. He was head of Scottish Music at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD)) in Glasgow, Scotland from 2001-2008. Brian is a Master Teacher, able to motivate audiences and students of all ages. Visit www.brianmcneill.co.uk for more information. 

 
Jil Chambless, originally from Montgomery, AL, now resides in Tuscaloosa and has played an active role in the Celtic music scene for more than 20 years.  As singer and flute and whistle player, Jil has completed many recording projects and performed at Celtic festivals and concerts all over the USA, Canada, Scotland and Israel with Henri’s Notions, Ed Miller, The Vogt Family Contra Band, The Vulcan EEjits, and with guitarist Scooter Muse.  She teaches math at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. 

 MK Stallings, poet, teacher, founder of UrbArts, holds a Master’s degree in Sociology from the UM St. Louis, teaches Introduction to Sociology for St. Louis Commu-nity College at Florissant Valley, has developed and facilitated youth writing workshops since Fall 2001, specializing in poetry. He is the slammaster of UrbSLAM and directs VerbQuake, a city-wide poetry performance competition where high school students refine their writing and presentation skills under the instruction of poets experienced in slam.