Alison Turriff

Alison Turriff (born 10 August 1984 in Lanark, Scotland) is a Scottish folk fusion clarinettist, composer, recording artist, researcher, producer and artist for world leading clarinet makers Buffet Crampon.

Early life Turriff spent her early years in Wishaw, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. Despite showing an early interest in music, particularly the piano and composition, she didn't receive any tuition until a school teacher recognized her talent for singing. At age 10 she entered and won 3rd place in a local Robert Burns competition singing "A rosebud by my early walk". From this she was quickly encouraged to take up an instrument and decided on the clarinet because she "didn't know what it looked like" and thought it "might be interesting". During her studies she participated in an exchange programme which took her to Barcelona to study with Spanish soloist Joan Enric Lluna at Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya. Turriff then furthered her studies with Lluna at Trinity College of Music, London where she won the Harold Clarke prize for woodwind and was awarded a Master of Music with Distinction. Turriff then took lessons in Paris with 'supersoliste' from the Paris Opera, Philippe Cuper. In 2008 she gave the UK premier of Alexandre Tansman's clarinet concerto in a performance that was hailed by the critics as "ravishing" and "one to keep in the memory". She has also recorded works by Alan Hovhannes for Naxos under the baton of American conductor Keith Brion in a project which was dedicated to the memory of Lady Evelyn Barbirolli, widow of Sir John Barbirolli.

Turriff's first solo album, titled Distant Shores, was released on 11 November 2011 and is a mix of folk styles works from throughout the world within a classical framework.

Charity work Turriff is patron of The Sky Project in Shortlees, Scotland, which works to support significantly disadvantaged young people in the area. In conjunction with her work, she was interviewed and appeared on Scottish television on 9 September 2011 to raise awareness of the issue of child poverty in Scotland.

Discography Distant Shores (2011)