Phamie Gow

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Phamie Gow
BornGalashiels, Scottish Borders Scotland[1]
GenresInstrumental, classical/Celtic crossover
Occupation(s)Musician, composer, singer-songwriter, producer, musical director, creative director, producer
Instrument(s)Harp,(acoustic and electric), piano, voice[1][2]
Websitewww.phamiegow.com

Phamie Gow is a singer, composer, harpist, 21st century pianist, film and creative director and international recording artist.[3]

Early life and education[edit]

Phamie was born in Scotland, though has lived in four different countries including France (Montpellier), Spain (Barcelona), England (London) and spent time living between Edinburgh in Scotland and New York City, United States. She first publicly performed at the age of 11 and a half having taught herself to play the Celtic small harp in six months using a tutor book and cassette.[2] In her teens she later studied piano with the late composer and concert pianist Ronald Stevenson. At only 16 years old Phamie was one of the first to be accepted to study a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Scottish Music at The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) in Glasgow, Scotland whilst continuing to study classical piano and composition. In her early twenties she was invited back to teach the piano as part of this degree course.

Her first commission as a composer was at the age of 16 for a local short film on the subject of the Millenium. Phamie wrote 'Annandale' which is featured on her 'Moments of Time' CD and is featured regularly on Classic FM, the UK and Europe's most successful and commercial classical music radio station.

Phamie left home to study in Glasgow at the age of 17 and soon after was one of the first solo artists to win a 'Danny award' winner in Glasgow's Celtic Connections festival which resulted in Phamie's second commission as a composer and wrote Lammermuir featuring Alasdair Fraser on fiddle, Eric Rigler on uilleann pipes, Mairi Campbell singing and other Celtic music stars. She also performed centre stage in the main auditorium at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall opening for Seaumus Heaney and Liam O Flynn and used this opportunity to sing in public for the first time to a full house. Lammermuir later became Phamie's second album which she licensed at that time from Wildfire Records and Publishing to Greentrax Ltd. Twenty years later, to the very day of the premiere, and in the same building at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall (main auditorium) Phamie performed Lammermuir once again, this time in its orchestrated version with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) featuring soloists Mairi Campbell singing, Alasdair Fraser on fiddle, Jarlath Henderson on uilleann pipes and was conducted by America's, Teddy Abrams. Phamie was featured in this performance playing small harp and singing.

2023 has been a very productive year for Phamie as she branched out by directing a few music videos. She also released her 11th solo album entitled Dancing Hands Remastered featuring some of the best Celtic and world music musicians from Scotland and abroad. This album offers a platform for Phamie's voice to be heard singing her own song, Sea and Sailors. She also directed this music video in collaboration with Alexander Peacock of Peacock Studios, and is available on YouTube.

Music[edit]

Phamie has released 11 solo albums and her debut album, Winged Spirit, when she was 19.[4]

She has been invited as a headlining musician to perform around Europe, United Kingdom, North and South America (Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay), Canada, and China.

Her 9th release Beyond the Milky Waycame to fruition, and was chosen for Classic FM's Drive Discovery, and was described on Alan Titchmarsh' show as being his 'Great British discovery'. The piano solo composition Sweet Frederik has reached over 10 million plays on Spotify in less than a year. Her eighth album, Softly Spoken, was chosen as "Album of the Week" by John Suchet at Classic FM. Her seventh, released in August 2012, The Angels' Share which includes Edinburgh, was a commissioned work featuring Classic Brit Award winners, the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards and the London Metropolitan Orchestra, recorded in Metropolis Studios, Chiswick, London.[5] A composition from the album was incorporated and choreographed for The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo in 2012, and was also broadcast on BBC 1 TV. Phamie's work has been featured on the BBC 4 TV documentary about Royal Scots Dragoon Guards and is regularly played on BBC Radio.

Phamie has performed around the world on such occasions as the Opening of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh in July 2011,[6] where Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom was present, albeit not directly while Phamie performed; the Closing Ceremony of the London Olympics 2012 in Scotland House, Pall Mall, London, commissioned by the Scottish Government and Creative Scotland. Phamie has performed for the Dalai Lama; Princess Anne and Prince Charles before he was King.

In 2007 she morphed her performing skills in a different nature and starred in The Broadway sellout show, Tapeire, which led to her performing on the Regis and Kelly Show in the USA alongside world-renowned Irish tap dancer James Divine and Canada's Celtic superstar fiddler Ashley MacIsaac. Phamie has worked and collaborated with many international artists such as Band of Horses (USA), Carlos Núñez (Spain), Marisa Monte (Brasil), Ashley MacIsaac (Canada), and Alan Stivell (France), Kepa Junkera (Bilbao) and more.

Phamie was commissioned to write and musically direct the Vox Motus production of The Infamous Brothers Davenport, which had a run of 32 performances in Edinburgh's Royal Lyceum, Glasgow's Citizen's Theatre and the Eden Court Theatre in Inverness.[7]

Phamie is the founder and director of Wildfire Records and Publishing, which has published over 30 sound recordings digitally as well as physically, and numerous books of original piano music and scores.

Her piano piece War Song made it to the 2021 and 2023 Hall of Fame at Classic FM 2021 charts and has been released on numerous Classic FM/Universal compilation albums and is probably her more famed composition. Her works on the piano are regularly given airplay on Classic FM.[3]She also was voted into The Great British Classics Charts of 2023 for Rackwick Bay and War Song at Classic FM.

She was officially the number one most played Artist in Caffè Nero for over two years running.

Another commissioned work by Hector Christie was to compose 'The Death of Tibbie Tamson' to raise awareness of this Scottish Borders' story.[8]

In July 2022 10 minutes of Phamie's music was chosen to be performed at White Hall, on The Horse Guard Parade in London by The Household Division in the show A Military Musical Spectacular to an audience of thousands of people each show in celebration of Her Majesty the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

2023 has been a productive year for Phamie as she released various singles and her 11th album Dancing Hands Remastered which is available digitally.

Charity Concerts[edit]

Phamie is the first World Peace Tartan Ambassador promoting peace in the world from the heart of Scotland.[9][10] She is an ambassador for Nordoff-Robbins music therapy.[11] In 2010 Phamie organised benefit concert 'A Cry Out for Chile', with the money raised going to the Chilean Red Cross and the Victor Jara Society to help victims of the earth quake and tsunami there.[12] In 2008 Philip Glass invited her to take part in the 'Tibet House Benefit Concert' at the Carnegie Hall in New York. She performed with Band of Horses, Marisa Monte, Ashley MacIsaac, and Ray Davies and alongside Sufjan Stevens.[2]. She also sang in Mahler's Symphony no 8 in the Carnegie Hall, New York in January 2013.[13] In 2015 she won the kindred spirit award for music. Phamie also made a guest appearance for a benefit concert for Ukraine at The Voodoo Lounge, Edinburgh, UK. Scotland in May 2022.

Commissions[edit]

  • 1997: commissioned to write for the opening of the extension to Edinburgh Airport. 'Highflyer'
  • 1998: commissioned to write the sound track to a short film about Dumfries and Galloway. 'Annandale'
  • 1999: New Voices Commission for Celtic Connections, Glasgow, Scotland. 'Lammermuir'
  • 1999: commissioned to write the musical score for The Winters Tale theatre production directed by Hugh Hogart at The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. Glasgow. Scotland
  • 2000: commissioned to write a song for the Gaelic Choir of Edinburgh, Scotland.
  • 2000: commissioned to write the music for Le Roi Cerf by Le Petit Pied Theatre Company, Paris, France, directed by Josephine de Meaux
  • 2001: commissioned to write a composition for Real CD and wrote Death of Tibbie Tamson
  • 2001: commissioned to write sound track for Morpheus Theatre production of Pilot
  • 2002: commissioned to write the sound track for film Across the Waters by director Sana Bilgrami
  • 2011: commissioned to write The Edinburgh Suite The Angels' Share by Tim Hollier of Atlantic Screen Music
  • 2012: commissioned by Vox Motus to write the sound track to the theatre production of The Infamous Brothers Davenport

Discography[edit]

  • 1999 – Winged Spirit
  • 2001 – Lammermuir
  • 2005 – Dancing Hands
  • 2007 – Moments of Time
  • 2008 – La Vida Buena – The Good Life
  • 2011 – Road of the Loving Heart
  • 2012 – The Angels' Share
  • 2013 – Softly Spoken
  • 2018 – Beyond the Milky Way
  • 2018 – "The Peace Farmer" (single-digital)
  • 2019 – The Sea Inside of Me Single and EP
  • 2019 – Bu Tusa An Gaol
  • 2019 – The Traveller
  • 2019 – In the Bleak Midwinter single and EP
  • 2020 - Stone Dance of the Chameleon single
  • 2020 - You are my Haven single
  • 2020 - Seeing the Light single
  • 2020 - Summer Rain single
  • 2020 - Harp Land single
  • 2020 - Leaving Lonely Lands single
  • 2020 - Piano Improvisations - album (digital version)
  • 2021 - Piano Improvisations album
  • 2021 - Hope is the thing with feathers Single
  • 2021 - 9/11 I'm Still Waiting Single
  • 2022 - Peace Song for Ukraine Single
  • 2022 - Purple Ribbon Music Video
  • 2023 - Not Alone Music video and single
  • 2023 - Sea and Sailors Single and music video
  • 2023 - Carnival single
  • 2023 - Sea and Sailors Music video and single
  • 2023 - Dancing Hands Remastered album (digitally ONLY)
  • 2023 - Dancing Hands Remastered Music video (Youtube)

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Vallely, Joanna (6 February 2008). "A dream come true as Phamie makes a date with a legend – The Scotsman". The Scotsman. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Gow, Gaga and Galloway". Daily Record. 25 February 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
  3. ^ "Phamie Gow: "I'm so in love with the piano!"". Classic FM.
  4. ^ Veevers, Brendon (12 June 2011). "Album review: Phamie Gow – Road of the Loving Heart". renownedforsound.com. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
  5. ^ "The Angels' Share". Phamie Gow. 12 October 2012.
  6. ^ "Information on the Open Afternoon on 1 July". Scottish Parliament. 10 July 2011.
  7. ^ "2012: The Infamous Brothers Davenport in amongst many more commissions as a composer for theatre". Vox Motus.
  8. ^ ""Scotland the Real": the Representation of Traditional Music in Scottish Tourism" (PDF). Glasgow University.
  9. ^ "World Peace Tartan Ambassador". Phamie Gow. 3 January 2013.
  10. ^ "World Peace Tartan 2014". Celtic Life International.
  11. ^ "The American-Scottish Foundation – Events". American Scottish Foundation.
  12. ^ "A Cry Out for CHILE benefit concert : Edinburgh 13 March 2010". Hands Up ForTrad.
  13. ^ "Gow wakes up and smells the coffee with Nero deal". Berwick Advertiser.

External links[edit]

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