Ian Darling was born in Edinburgh and raised in various strange mining villages in Midlothian and Fife until his father escaped mine management for planning and moved the family to Edinburgh just in time for Ian to get a typical Edinburgh education – and that means public school. You won’t find the name of the school here as he didn’t really like it but it did bring him into the orbit of some fairly eccentric music people and broadened his musical tastes which at 12 ran to an addiction to Gilbert and Sullivan and the Readers Digest Festival of Light Classical Music.

These musical friend encouraged Ian to join in the schools choral activities and from singing bass in first and second year (and a first appearance at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall) his voice decided to go up…..and up………an up. By 17 he was performing in a bizarre late night ‘Victorian Cabaret’ with 6 other teenage boys who instead of shouting at football matches and experimenting with drink and drugs, were instead singing Victorian Glees, duets (a first acquaintance with Excelsior which is still in his repertoire more than 30 year later) and odd instrumental pieces. Ian’s lack of knowledge about music and freakishly high tenor voice led him to finish every solo and duet up the octave and the late night fans of Victorian Cabaret (of whom there were not many) were treated to high C’s, high D’s, high Eb’s and even high E’s – the confidence of youth.

During that time he became the paid tenor at Old St Pauls Church in Jeffrey Street then in its halcyon days under the Rectorship of Richard Holloway soon to be Bishop of Edinburgh with Martin Shaw as curate and wonderful baritone soloist – now Bishop of Argyll. First performances there included, Messiah, Creation, Matthew Passion, Finzi Dies Natalis and the highlight of them all Varley Roberts ‘Seek Ye the Lord’.

Singing lessons followed at Lancaster University which convinced Ian to throw up academic life and transfer to the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama where he studied with Margaret Dick and Marjorie Blakiston. During his time at the RSAMD he performed leading roles in The Marriage of Figaro, Cosi fan tutte and Albert Herring and took part in a highly successful master class with Sir Geraint Evans.

An injury to his back requiring surgery and a long recovery period was not a typical graduation celebration but gave Ian a few years to look at both his voice and his future. He made the decision to stay in Scotland and teach as well as sing, a decision helped by the offer of a teaching job at the North East of Scotland Music School from the late, and very much lamented Dorothy Hately. Ian had been having singing lessons at NESMS from the renowned bass baritone Raimund Herincx who gave him much sage advice and encouragement as well as endless scopes for high notes and coloratura (Ian’s speciality!)

Other teaching jobs followed, most notably Aberdeen College, Aberdeen University and Northern College Aberdeen campus – yes, you have spotted the flaw, British Railways got a lot of money from commutes between Edinburgh and Aberdeen! The joys of the last train, the 20.20 Aberdeen to Bristol, filled with drunken workers just off the rigs, was a rare pleasure. An offer of teaching at St Andrews University Music Centre led to Ian bidding a sad farewell to NESMS but he continued to teach on the B.Ed (Music) course at Northern College and at Aberdeen College where he taught diploma level students both singing and principals of singing teaching and repertoire.

St Andrews began to take over Ian’s life and in a fairly short while he was doing 3 days teaching, conducting the Musical Society Chorus (he re-launched the choir), running an annual Opera Workshop directed by his friend the mezzo soprano Linda Ormiston, and helping put on two highly successful performances of Mozart’s The Magic Flute.

What about singing though? Well, during all this time he was busy building up repertoires and travelling all over the country singing mostly Oratorio, but also Opera and Recital. There were appearances on television and radio, Edinburgh International Festival debut and also European debuts.

Operas performed included the ever present Cosi fan tutte, but also Gluck’s Alceste, Vaughan Williams Sir John in Love, Mozart La Clemenza di Tito and the stratospheric Count Ory and Italian Girl in Algiers by Rossini.

Appearances abroad included regular trips to Scandinavia with highlights being Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings with the Odense Symphony Orchestra and a performance of Messiah in a former riding school in Randers.

A thread running throughout Ian’s singing career has been the Evangelists in the Bach Passions. He first performed these in the 1980’s and has performed the Christmas Oratorio, St John and St Matthew Passions many, many times in both English and German throughout the country. At a recent performance an audience member who had heard Ian perform the St Matthew Passion with the Edinburgh University Singers under John Grundy in 1986 remarked that his voice sounded not a day older but that his interpretation had grown deeper and even more moving and direct.

Ian still teaches at St. Andrews University, still sings, still sounds the same and can still knock it out above the stave for hours and hours! He has added adjudicating and giving workshops and master classes to his portfolio.