Glasgow-based multi-instrumentalist Lucia Capellaro is recognised for her ‘rich-toned cello and viola da gamba playing’ and for pioneering a bold synthesis of historically informed performance and contemporary sound. Rooted in early music traditions, her artistic practice also weaves in eighteenth-century Scottish folk, improvisation, global musical practices, jazz, and live electronics. The result is a sound world that folds centuries-old sensibilities into fearless experimentation - music that feels at once ancient and strikingly new.

 

Her engagement with historical instruments has also attracted national attention: Following its restoration in 2024, Lucia was lucky enough to become the first musician to perform on what is believed to be Scotland’s oldest surviving cello. Read more about it in BBC News HERE, and The Strad, HERE,​​​ and listen to a sample HERE.

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Lucia is a regular member of Dunedin Consort, with whom she performs and records internationally. Her work with the ensemble has included numerous guest principal appearances, live broadcasts for the Edinburgh International Festival and the Royal Philharmonic Society Awards on BBC Radio 3, a 2025 joint commission with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Out of Her Mouth cantata tour, Dido’s Ghost at the Buxton International Festival, and a Bach cantata tour of the USA. She has also appeared with leading early music ensembles including the Academy of Ancient Music, Concerto Copenhagen, Ex Cathedra, Irish Baroque Orchestra, Early Opera Company, Gabrieli Consort, London Handel Players, La Serenissima, Vache Baroque, and the Hanover Band. From 2017 to 2022, she was a core member of English Touring Opera’s Old Street Band, performing three operas or passions annually.

 

In recent years Lucia has developed a distinctive solo practice drawing inspiration from a variety of genres. These strands culminate in her debut album, OMOW, supported by a Creative Scotland Open Fund award and the Bothy Project, and due for release in 2026.

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Lucia is a member of the electroacoustic ensemble Haptic (formerly Ensemble 1604). In 2020, …shadows that in darkness dwell…, written for the group by composer Timothy Cooper, was nominated for both a Scottish Award for New Music and an Ivor Award. Their 2023 debut album features Labyrinth, a fourteen-minute work for cello and electronics that won the Royal Musical Association’s Tippett Medal.

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A passionate collaborator, Lucia thrives in cross-disciplinary contexts. She has collaborated  in ‘Where late the Sweet Birds Sang' directed by Martin Parr,'Noh Time like the Present' with Noh theatre master Akira Matsui at LSO St Luke’s, ‘Calcutta’ directed by Katie De La Matter, ‘A Thousand Faces’ directed by Amina Khayyam, London Handel Festival’s 'In the Realms of Sorrow', and Dunedin Consort’s two dance collaborations - ‘Sonata', directed by Marc Brew, and 'Baroque in Motion' with Just Us. In 2023 she created and directed (stage and music) her first fully immersive production, ‘The Enchanted Snake', with storyteller Mara Menzies, musicians of Dunedin Consort, and a set created by artist, James Abell. See the trailer HERE.

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Lucia has performed eighteenth-century Scottish repertoire with Concerto Caledonia and Scots Baroque, and collaborated with contemporary artists including DJ Yoda, Eva Lazarus, Joel Culpepper, Swindle, and Meilyr Jones. She also performs in the nine-piece jazz ensemble the Sam Watts Band.

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Deeply committed to widening access to the arts, Lucia is Learning & Participation Manager at Dunedin Consort, where she delivers an extensive annual programme of schools workshops, relaxed performances, open rehearsals, choral projects, and two young artist schemes. In 2022 she spearheaded Intrada, an international artist development initiative in collaboration with Concerto Copenhagen, B’Rock Orchestra, Le Banquet Céleste and Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century. An experienced educator and animateur, she has worked as a guest at institutions including McGill University, the Colburn School, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, the Royal Academy of Music, University of Newcastle, University of Nottingham, Goldsmiths, and Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. She currently sits of the Board of The Glad Foundation.

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Lucia completed her undergraduate studies at the Birmingham Conservatoire, graduating with a First-Class BMus (Hons), and went on to earn a Master’s degree with Distinction and the DipRAM Award from the Royal Academy of Music, studying with cellist Jonathan Manson.

 

Lucia’s work is driven by a commitment to honouring the past whilst reimagining it - playing with ideas and crafting performances that resonate with history yet speak to the present.

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