FORMER Greenwood Academy pupil Scott Lygate is part of an elite group of musicians.

The 26-year-old, who also attended Annick Primary, is one of only a handful of performers in the UK who play the contrabass clarinet.

Currently on tour with the Scottish Ensemble with performances in Glasgow, Dumfries and Inverness, Scott regularly practices on the instrument, which produces a unique deep sound.

Further afield, there are very few people in Europe who are competent on what he calls a ‘monster instrument’ which for Scott continues a musical journey which started in Irvine.

He said: “I have been playing music for as long as I can remember — by age three or four I was playing the piano and got my first drum kit.

“Not long after that, I was performing with church bands and tried various instruments while I was at Annick PS, including saxaphone, violin and even a cornet for a while.

“Eventually settling on the clarinet, I have always composed as well from a young age. Composing is central to what I do as a musician and performing comes from that.”

While still at school in Irvine he became involved with various bands, including funk, wind and jazz, where the different styles were a big part of Scott starting to write his own music.

Scott has also played at the BBC Proms and is now in the second year of a masters course, called Performance Practice in Contemporary Music, at a university in Graz, Austria.

“Over in Austria, they have a very different culture of composing and I really wanted to go out there and try the various music styles.

“Also, developing what they called extended instrument techniques which involves using the instrument in different ways to get a wide range of sounds.

“They are really into that in Austria and I am studying with one of the best ensembles in the world as the principal clarinetist,” he added.

Nearer home, he will be performing at the Cumnock Tryst Festival, an event which is growing each year and will involve Scott playing music composed by Sir James McMillan.

Scott said: “It is really exciting that Sir James is writing me a new piece written especially for the contrabass clarinet for the festival.

“I have just received the hand-written score and I will also be bringing some music from Austria over here to perform.”

Cumnock Tryst, starring Ayrshire’s Nicola Benedetti, takes place between September 29 and October 2 — visit www.thecumnocktryst.com for information.