Calum hails from the
island of Tiree in the Hebrides. He started fiddling at an early age,
learning from neighbor Willie Kemp who studied with James
Scott-Skinner. He has been active in competitions both as a competitor
and a judge. After being runner up in the 1988 US National
Championships for Scottish Fiddling, he returned to judge the Nationals
in 1989, 1991, 1998 and 2001.
The infectious energy
and sensitivity of Calum's playing makes him highly sought after as a
performer and as a teacher. His busy schedule of playing for dances,
concerts and teaching workshops has taken him across the US and Canada
and to Scotland, England and Japan.
Calum has joined with
Andy Imbrie, piano and Ralph Gordon, cello and bass in the Scottish
Country Dance Band, The Music of Spey. The combination of Calum and
Muriel Johnstone, piano as a dance music duo has also been very popular
over the last three years. Calum recently released a CD of Scottish
Fiddle Music, past and present with Muriel Johnstone, aptly called It's
About Time. It also features Ralph Gordon, bass, Germaine Morgan,
cello
and Judith Peacock-Cummings on harp.
Calum is held in high
esteem as a teacher and has coached several National Champion winners
over the years. When at home in Edmonds, Washington, he finds time to
offer private lessons.
Last year Calum
conducted workshops and concerts in Chicago, Seattle, Port Townsend and
Bellingham in Washington State, the Swannanoa Gathering in Asheville
NC, Grandfather Mountain Highland Games NC, Vancouver BC, Columbus Ohio
and Los Angeles.
This year will take
Calum to dances and concerts around the country and to teaching
engagements at The Swannanoa Gathering in North Carolina, The Festival
of American Fiddle Tunes at Fort Worden, Washington State, and to the
prestigious Mastery of Scottish Arts Winter School also at Fort Worden
where he will teach Scottish fiddle along with Alasdair Fraser.