Elena Piras:
Award winning folk, opera & jazz singer/songwriter

I was born in Sardinia, and started singing at age seven.  At the age of nine I sang for about 30,000 people at a childrens' annual convention.  At 11 I started playing guitar weekly in church. I went on to join a professional choir and performed with them until I was 18, when I moved to the UK. 

During this time I sang at weddings with the conductor of the choir. In Britain I heard several different styles of music, in particular Scottish and Bulgarian folk. 

In 2000 I co-founded the London Bulgarian Choir with its current leader Dessislava Stefanova, who I met when I first arrived in this country in 1995.  I assisted her in running the choir, organising extra rehearsals for people who needed it.  I sang with the Maspindzeli Georgian Choir for three years and worked with the Jazz pianist and composer, Barry Booth. 

When I came to Scotland in 2006 I performed at the Edinburgh Festival and was featured in the Sunday Herald Magazine and STV news that year.  I also performed on BBC Radio 4. 

I was part of the cast of Liar, a play by Davie Anderson. We performed at the Citizens Theatre, in several schools and venues around Scotland. For this performance I sang Scottish travellers' songs.

I have just finished an HNC in Traditional Music at Stow College.

In recent years I have performed at several folk festivals around Scotland. I won the open stage competition at Girvan and took part in the open mic at the Dougie MacLean's Pershire Amber Festival. 

In 2010 and 2011 I performed at the Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow, and at Glasgow City Halls in April. I have recorded an album, which includes songs in Gaelic, Scots, Bulgarian and Sardinian.