Findlay Spence

"the subtlety of Spence's playing brought out every delicious nuance and change of mood...it seemed to touch the infinite" (The Times *****)

Described in The Guardian as "exciting, engaging and profoundly musical", Scottish cellist Findlay Spence has established himself as one of the leading chamber musicians of his generation.

He has performed major cello concertos with numerous British orchestras, most recently with the BBC Philharmonic (Lutoslawski Concerto) and Manchester Camerata (Beethoven Triple Concerto). Findlay has been invited for residencies in association with Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme, Musethica, McGill University Montreal, Lucerne Festival and the Mendelssohn on Mull Festival. He was a Resident Artist at the Grafenegg Festival and also at the St. Magnus International Festival where he curated several programmes of solo cello music spanning 400 years of repertoire, for which he received 5 star reviews in The Guardian and The Times. Findlay has performed as Principal Cello of Royal Northern Sinfonia, Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra, Riot Ensemble, Grafenegg Festival Orchestra and Ensemble Modern Hans Zender Ensemble.

​Findlay is Resident Cellist at W. E. Hill & Sons, where he has the opportunity to play and critique the finest modern and antique instruments.

Findlay was a scholar at the Royal College of Music in London where he studied with Melissa Phelps, and he was then mentored by John Myerscough of the Doric String Quartet. He received an International Artist Diploma from the Royal Northern College of Music in 2025. Previously he studied at St. Mary's Music School in Edinburgh with Ruth Beauchamp.

Findlay plays Robert Brewer Young’s ‘Rostropovich’ cello, generously loaned to him by the St. Paul’s Foundation.

Whenever he can find a gap in his schedule, Findlay returns to the Scottish Mountains with his 1-person tent.