I’m Mary-Jannet Leith, a Scottish musician, researcher, and educator based in London. Across my career, whether through performance, publication or teaching, there is nothing I enjoy more than bringing forgotten musical stories to life for new audiences. I specialise in the musical world of the eighteenth century, and recently was awarded a PhD in Musicology, which explored the fascinating lives of Scottish musicians in London. I am founder and Artistic Manager of period group, Ensemble Hesperi, and an Artist in Association at the Music Department at University of York.
Performance
As a recorder player, I perform widely across the UK and further afield with Ensemble Hesperi, and as a soloist. In 2011, I received a scholarship to study for a Master in Performance at the Royal College of Music, from which I graduated with a Distinction. After graduation, I performed widely with my former recorder consort, Audite Nova, with whom I appeared at several events surrounding the discovery of Richard III in 2012. As a soloist, I reached the Section Finals of the Royal Overseas League Competition in 2014, and won first prize at the Internationaler Gebrüder-Graun-Wettbewerb in 2018.
In 2016, I was selected, with my duo partner, harpsichordist Thomas Allery, for Brighton Early Music Festival’s young artists’ scheme. Tom and I then won the coveted audience award at the Utrecht Oude Muziek Fringe Festival, selected from more than 70 young ensemble performances, returning the following year to give a ‘Fabulous Fringe’ concert. In 2019, we formed Ensemble Hesperi with our friends and colleagues Magdalena Loth-Hill (Baroque Violin) and Florence Petit (Baroque Cello). Our debut project, “The Pheasant’s Eye”, which showcased Scottish eighteenth-century music, was funded by a Lottery grant from Arts Council England. Since then, we are extremely grateful to have received several grants from the Continuo Foundation for research-led performance projects (see “Music and Heritage”).
With Hesperi, I appear regularly on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune and the Early Music Show, have recorded in studio for Classic FM, and perform at leading festivals and venues across the UK and Europe. With the ensemble, I have been selected as a Britten Pears Young Artist, as a City Music Foundation artist, won first prize at the LIFEM Young Ensemble Competition, and was a prizewinner at the International Van Wassenaer Competition in Utrecht. I am so proud of our two commercial recordings, the first, with EM Records, Full of the Highland Humours, and most recently, A Gift for your Garden, with BIS Records.
Research and Education
As a freelance musician specialising in historical performance, research is fundamental to every aspect of my working life. While I do enjoy research for its own sake, I feel strongly that music on the page, often hidden in libraries and archives, should be transformed into sound, and heard and enjoyed by as many people as possible. Alongside publications, I regularly present my research in the wider media. In 2023, I was selected for the BBC New Generation Thinkers workshop, and later that year appeared as part of an expert panel on Radio 3’s Free Thinking programme, where I talked about Queen Charlotte’s passion for the musical fashion and her own musical talents.
My love of history began when I was studying for a BA in Ancient and Modern History at Trinity College, University of Oxford. I then received AHRC funding to pursue a 2-year MPhil in Roman History, also at Oxford. My Masters dissertation, which explored the eighteenth-century reception of the Epicurean figure Titus Pomponius Atticus, was awarded the Ancient History prize that year. In 2019, after several years as a performing musician, I embarked upon a PhD at the University of Southampton, supervised by Dr Jeanice Brooks and Dr Jackie Collier, and funded by an AHRC studentship through the SWWDTP2. My thesis, "From Caledonia to the Capital: Scottish Musicians, Music-Making and Culture in London 1741-1815" was a real labour of love for me. Having spent my formative years in Scotland, I feel very close to those Scottish musicians who chose to move to London to make their musical fortunes in the historical past. My thesis is freely available on the Southampton thesis repository.
Teaching is one of the most rewarding parts of my career, and I value every opportunity to encourage people of all ages in their musical journeys. Introducing historically informed performance to anyone unfamiliar with it is very important to me, and I particularly enjoying working with young adults and students at tertiary level. From 2023-2024, I was a Lecturer in Music at University of York, where I was responsible for delivering teaching on the Masters in Historical Performance, and the undergraduate introductory module “Playing with the Past”. Since 2021, I have also taught a music module for Lawrence University London Centre, "The Grand Tour: Musical Taste and Concert Life in Europe". This is a hands-on course, designed for students of any subject, which brings Baroque music to life through classes, concerts, and exploration of London’s fascinating musical past.
As an Artist in Association with my fellow members of Ensemble Hesperi, I coach the University of York’s Baroque Ensemble, which performs twice a year, usually at the National Centre for Early Music.
See “Teaching” for more information on my teaching and coaching practice.
Selected Publications, Awards and Presentations
Publications
2025: Review Article: “Coloured for Sight and Sound: The Sound of the English Picturesque: Georgian Vocal Music, Haydn, and Landscape Aesthetics by Stephen Groves”, Early Music, 2025, Issue 2, accessible here.
[Forthcoming] Book Chapter: Loukia Drosopoulou and Mary-Jannet Leith, “Manuscript Editions by Luigi Marescalchi in the Royal Music Library at the British Library” in https://www.fondazionelevi.it/attivita-editoriale/nuove-collane/libraria-musicale
2024: Awarded PhD in Musicology from University of Southampton: “From Caledonia to the capital: Scottish musicians, music-making and culture in eighteenth-century London, 1741-1815”, accessible in full text here
2024: Commercial Recording: A Gift for your Garden, BIS Records 2508, with Ensemble Hesperi
2021: Commercial Recording with Ensemble Hesperi, "Full of the Highland Humours", with EM Records, based on the music at the core of my PhD research
2020: Article for the Burns World Federation Newsletter: “A Scots Musical Museum”: A Glimpse into the Musical Landscape of Burns’ Edinburgh
Presentations and Public Appearances
2025: Conference Paper at British Society of Eighteenth-Century Studies: “‘Ready to dance a Reel, morning, noon or night’: Jane, Duchess of Gordon and Scottish dancing in late eighteenth-century London
2024: BBC Radio 3, “In Tune” with Sean Rafferty with Ensemble Hesperi
2023: BBC Radio 3, “Free Thinking” and Radio 4 “Pick of the Week”, discussing the musical talents and tastes of Queen Charlotte
2023: Public Talk at Dalkeith Palace, Opening Symposium of the exhibition, “A Passion for Music”: From Caledonia to the Capital and Back
2023: Conference Paper at British Society of Eighteenth-Century Studies: "Meeting Robert Bremner, a Musical Scot “At Home” in London"
2022: Conference Paper at Eighteenth-Century Scottish Studies Society: "Meeting London’s Musical Scots: James Oswald and Robert Bremner “Abroad”"
2022: Conference Paper at BSECS: “Then I playd upon the Harpsichord”: Music in the Private Lives of George III and Queen Charlotte (nominated for Postgraduate Prize)
2022: BBC Radio 3, “In Tune” with Sean Rafferty with Ensemble Hesperi
2022: BBC Radio 3, “Early Music Show” and “Afternoon Concert”, excerpts from performance at LIFEM 2021
2021: Conference Paper at Birmingham Baroque: “Airs for the Seasons"
2021: Conference Paper at BSECS: Remembering “The Tears of Scotland”: James Oswald, London’s Rebellious Musical Scot (nominated for Postgraduate Prize)
2020: Conference Paper at English Folk Dance & Song Society’s “Traditional Tunes and Popular Airs” conference: “Thy new Polish’d Danton Me”: Exploring the Eighteenth-Century Repurposing of Scots Lowland Tunes as Art Music
2020: Conference Paper at University of York, “Distance 2020”: “Farewell to the North”: James Oswald’s role in the cultural transfer of Scottish music in eighteenth-century London
Awards and Grants
2023: Grant from the Continuo Foundation, supporting a project with Ensemble Hesperi, "Celestial Music did the Gods Inspire"
2023: Doctoral College Director's Award, University of Southampton, in recognition of outstanding achievements in the area of Public Engagement & Outreach
2023: BBC New Generation Thinkers' Workshop: selected to attend a day of media training, including pitching a programme about the musical passions of Queen Charlotte
2022: Grant from the Continuo Foundation, supporting Ensemble Hesperi's project, "Then I play'd upon the Harpsichord"
2021: Georgian Papers Fellowship: awarded a Georgian Papers Fellowship (funded by KCL/British Society of Eighteenth-Century Studies), to undertake research into music in the domestic lives of Georgian monarchs
2021: Grant from the Continuo Foundation, supporting Ensemble Hesperi’s project, “From Caledonia to the Capital”
2021: Selected as City Music Foundation artist with Ensemble Hesperi
2021: Awarded third prize at the International Van Wassenaer Competition, Utrecht with Ensemble Hesperi
2021: British Library PhD Placement: a six month, part-time placement at British Library Music Collections: “The Royal Music Library: Understanding Provenance and Collecting Practices”
2020: Emergency Coronavirus Grant from Arts Council England for a collaborative online project linking Scottish eighteenth-century music and Highland dance
2019: Lottery Grant from Arts Council England: “The Pheasant’s Eye” with Ensemble Hesperi: a collaborative project celebrating Scottish Baroque music and Highland dance
2018: Internationaler Gebrüder-Graun-Wettbewerb, Bad Liebenwerda: first prize in the ‘Solisten Instrumental’ category
2017: Oude Muziek Utrecht Fringe: Audience Award, selected from over 70 performances
2016: Selected as BREMF Live! artist