Paul Chamberlain was one of the first classical accordionists to graduate from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow, where he studied with Djordje Gajic. He completed a BMus (Hons) degree and subsequently graduated from the conservatoire with a Master of Music Performance with Distinction. Whilst studying there he was awarded the acclaimed Governors Recital Prize for Keyboard, and was also one of the keyboard section finalists in the 2011 Royal Overseas League competition.
Paul is a highly accomplished player with appearances at international music festivals such as Baltica Harmonica in St. Petersburg – Russia, Sata-Häme Soi Accordion festival in Ikaalinen – Finland, The St Magnus Festival in Orkney and the world famous Edinburgh Fringe Festival, held annually in Scotland. He has also performed in France, Italy, Greece, Bahrain and the USA. In 2011, Paul released his debut solo album entitled “Classical Accordion” featuring a mixture of transcriptions of works by J.S. Bach, Rameau, Moszkowski and Khachaturian, as well as original works by Alexander Nagayev and Franck Angelis.
He made his Bridgewater Hall debut with a solo recital as part of the long established Manchester Mid-Days concert series in 2013 and completed a major national tour of concerts in July 2014 to coincide with his CD release ‘Accordion Sensations’. The disc features a mixture of solo repertoire by Scarlatti, Zolotariev and Weber as well as and chamber works by Piazzolla for which Paul is joined on the recording by violinist Feargus Hetherington and the Maxwell String Quartet.
He has also performed with Ute Lemper and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Paragon Ensemble, Scottish Opera Connect Orchestra, London Concertante and is a founder member of the Scottish Tango Ensemble.
Paul has been featured on BBC Radio 3’s ‘In Tune’ programme with Sean Rafferty, performing live in the studio, BBC Radio Scotland’s ‘Classics Unwrapped’ and California’s KDFC Classical Music Radio Station in San Francisco.
Paul formed a successful duo Chamberlain & Haywood with multi-instrumentalist Michael Haywood (violin, soprano saxophone, whistle & clarinet) in 2014 and they perform a wide range of world music.
He also established HotScotch Ceilidh Band , a trio comprising accordion, fiddle and drums who provide Scottish traditional music for weddings, and corporate events around the UK and abroad.
Following a successful heart transplant in 2022, Paul has enjoyed a return to the concert stage and in June 2024 he performed Accordion Concerto in Bb by Nikolai Chaikin with Sheffield Symphony Orchestra.
