Allan is Professor of Guitar and Harp at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (Formerly known as the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama), Glasgow. He studied at the RSAMD (1984) and the RNCM (1988) and has since been performing worldwide. He is a regular guest at many of the worlds leading musical events and has worked with many influential musicians including Nikita Koshkin, Edward McGuire, Hans Werner Henze and Stephen Dodgson.
To date career highlights have included recording Gordon McPherson's concerto 'Born of Funk and Fear of Failing’ with new music group, Psappha - performing Scottish Guitar Music in Peru, a tour of Australia with virtuoso flautist Alison Mitchell in addition to a tour of the far east with Tetra Guitar quartet, performances of Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez with the RSNO in their prom season and recording the soundtrack for a film documentary about the great Scottish painter, John Bellany.
Allan has also been Artistic Director of the Dundee International Guitar Festival since its inception and in 2000 he received the ‘Scotland on Sunday’ Glenfiddich ® Spirit of Scotland Award for Music. These awards were set up to recognise individuals who lead the way in Scottish culture.
An attractive programme of mainly familiar music, but Allan includes also a recent work composed for him by David Fennessy (Éire, b. 1976). David Fennessy began his musical studies at the D.I.T. Conservatory of Music and Drama, studying guitar with John Feeley and composition with Eibhlis Farrell. He gained a B Mus in performance from Trinity College, Dublin in 1997 and an M Mus in composition with James MacMillan at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in 2000, where he now lectures in composition. 'Rosewood' was commissioned by the 2011 St Magnus Festival for Allan Neave. He writes: “The knowledge that this piece would be premiered at the Italian Chapel and my vivid memories of visiting there a few years ago guided me during the composition of Rosewood. Without wishing to somehow create a musical evocation of the place, notions of calm, reflection, open spaces, echoes and resonances permeate the music. The title refers to the type of wood often used in the construction of the fingerboard of the guitar. It has a distinct aroma and when I smell it I am immediately and vividly reminded of the once close relationship I had with that instrument”.