AS music teachers go, he has to be one of the coolest in town.
Deep Purple legend Jon Lord will be taking a group of budding Edinburgh rock stars under his wing as they prepare for a special performance of one of his seminal works.
The six local students, aged between 16 and 22, will be playing with Lord, as well as the Scottish Philharmonic orchestra and students from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama Glasgow, next year.
It is thought to be the first time his rock/classical composition Concerto for Group and Orchestra has been performed in Scotland.
And before then, the 66-year-old keyboardist will be visiting the college to take the young musicians through their paces, ahead of watching them perform at a gala dinner later this month.
They will play a selection of highlights from the piece at the annual Edinburgh and Lothians Colleges Group (ELCG) dinner on June 19, at Prestonfield Hotel.
Ken Thomson, head of music at Stevenson College, said the students were thrilled at the chance to work with Mr Lord.
"We will be playing the guitar, organ, saxophone and vocal parts of the piece, with Jon Lord on keyboards, and it is a real honour to be chosen to work with him ahead of this concert," he said.
"As far as I know it is the first time this piece has been performed in Scotland, as it is something that requires a huge number of people.
"As well as ourselves and the Glasgow students there will be the full Scottish Philharmonic Orchestra, and it should be an amazing event, particularly as Jon is going to play the keyboard section.
"(Jon] will be talking to the students ahead of the performance at the gala dinner, and it is great that he has agreed to go along and hear them play."
Organisers of next year's planned concert are currently looking at venues in both Edinburgh and Glasgow.
The six Stevenson students will be performing the rock/jazz section of the concerto, and Mr Lord will be taking his original place at the keyboard for the show.
It is expected Lord, who also performed with Whitesnake, will work closely with the group in the build up to next year's concert.
A spokeswoman for the Edinburgh and Lothians Colleges Group said: "We are delighted that Jon Lord will be attending the event to support the students from Stevenson College.
"Students from all six colleges will be performing at the dinner, which is held to celebrate the investments made in the colleges. I don't think Mr Lord will be performing himself, but he may well introduce the piece, and it should provide a fitting finale to the evening."
A preview performance of the rock/jazz pieces from Concerto for Group and Orchestra will be performed at Stevenson College's Music Box on June 10, and is open to the public.
ROCKING THE CLASSICAL WORLDJON DOUGLAS LORD was born in Leicester in 1941, and studied classical piano from the age of five, with his major influences being Bach and Elgar.
In 1968, he co-founded Deep Purple with drummer Ian Paice, and the pair were the only constant band members from 1968 to 1976, and from 1984, when the group reformed, until Lord's retirement in 2002. The band's most famous hit was Smoke On The Water, which was a worldwide hit in 1973.
One of his finest works was his composition Concerto for Group and Orchestra, which was performed at the Royal Albert Hall in 1969 by Deep Purple and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The concerto was revived in 1999 with another performance at the Albert Hall, performed by Deep Purple with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
Since 2002, Lord has concentrated on composing, as well as low-key blues/rock performances, and earlier this year, his work Durham Concerto entered the classical charts. He recently announced that he would join Deep Purple on-stage for the first time in six years at the Sunflower Jam charity event in London, being held in September.
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