New voices Rachel Sermanni: It's nice to be part of different musical communities

The youngest artist to be commissioned for this year's New Voices series at Celtic Connections, 19-year-old singer-songwriter Rachel Sermanni, from Carrbridge in the Highlands, is already generating quite a buzz across different areas of the Scottish and UK folk scene. She grew up immersed in traditional music at home, playing fiddle and whistle from an early age, and cites Robert Burns as a key formative influence.

While Celtic Connections director Donald Shaw first spotted her in a school ceilidh band, however, leading eventually to the New Voices invitation, Sermanni has...