The 13 women recognised for contributions to Scottish culture - including Nicola Benedetti and Liz Lochhead

Musicians, poets, singers and cultural leaders have all been named in a list recognising women’s “significant contributions” to Scottish culture.

Violinist and Edinburgh International Festival director Nicola Benedetti, poet Liz Lochead and theatre head Jackie Wylie are among the women named in Hands up for Trad’s Women in Music and Culture List.

Michelle Shields artistic programmer for HebCelt, and Celtic Connections producer Mikaela Atkins-Blake, Jemima Levick, artistic director of the Tron Theatre in Glasgow and Ms Wylie, chief executive of the National Theatre of Scotland, all appear on the list, published to mark International Women’s Day.

Meanwhile, Gaelic singer Mischa MacPherson, harpist, composer and educator Corrina Hewat, harpist and singer Mary MacMaster sand jazz vocalist and violinist Seonaid Aitken, are among Scottish musicians listed, as well as singer and composer, Ali Burns.

Violinist Seonaid Atkinson. | Hands Up for Trad

Playwright Morna Young and writer Rona Munro are also listed, alongside Ms Lochead.

Some of the nominees spoke about what had driven them to take up a career in the arts in Scotland.

Singer Ms MacPherson said she had been inspired to perform by singing Gaelic songs on her home island of Lewis as a child.

She said: “I’m so fascinated by how we can take music, poetry, and stories from past generations and present them in a way that feels true to both their origins and our present world – balancing respect with individual creative interpretation.”

Ms Young, who adapted play The Snow Queen for the Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh and whose debut full-length play, Lost at Sea, toured Scotland in 2019 , said she had been influenced by both Ms Lochead - who was Scotland’s first female Makar and has had a 50 year career as a poet and playwright - and Ms Munro’s work.

She said: “When I was in school, I didn’t know that playwriting could be a career and I was often torn between my working-class instinct to take a ‘safe’ job versus chasing my dream of writing professionally.

Violinist Nicola Benedetti is director of the Edinburgh International Festival. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire

“Rona Munro and Liz Lochhead were both influences and they were very visible female voices. I have since worked with both Rona and Liz, and I often think of how proud/disbelieving my younger self would be.”

Harpist and composer Ms Hewat said: “I wasn't going to be a musician when I grew up, I was going to be an actor. I wanted to inhabit others’ lives, I wanted to be allowed to feel and be in a way I felt I couldn’t as a girl. And now I am older, I realise the connection – it was the expression of ‘the body’.”

Simon Thoumire, creative director of Hands Up For Trad, which works to promote Scottish music, language and culture, said: “At Hands Up For Trad, we’re proud to highlight the remarkable contributions that women make to our cultural landscape in Scotland.

“The 2025 Women in Music and Culture List is a powerful testament to the talent, creativity and resilience of women who shape and strengthen the arts scene across many areas, enriching people’s lives as a result.”

He added: “By shining a light on their achievements and stories, we aim to promote gender equality, inspire future generations, and reaffirm our commitment to a cultural scene that is diverse, equitable and inclusive.”