Jori Chisholm

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Jori Chisholm, solo bagpiper with the multiple World Champion Simon Fraser University Pipe Band, during a warm-up session just prior to the band competition at the Pacific Northwest Highland Games in 2006.

Jori Lance Chisholm (born September 23, 1975) is an American professional Champion bagpipe player and teacher, who lives in Seattle, Washington. He has played with the grade one Simon Fraser University Pipe Band since 1998 and on numerous occasions and in recordings, has been a featured solo performer for the SFUPB. Chisholm has performed in front of sold-audiences with The Chieftains and with ex-Grateful Dead rocker Bob Weir and his band Ratdog.[1]

[edit] Biography

Raised Finnish-American bilingual household (hence the first name, which is Finnish), Chisholm, together with his siblings, began musical training early, beginning with the piano at the age of four and continuing with that instrument until high school, where he played the cello and sang various school choirs.

With siblings involved in Highland dancing, it was natural for Chisholm to migrate to the bagpipes, taking his first piping lessons at age 11 from a close neighbor and professional piper, Colin MacKenzie, who was the founder of the first American Grade 1 pipe band, the Blue Heron Bay Pipe Band.

Early on in his piping career, Chisholm performed exclusively as a soloist since there were few pipe bands where he grew up (and no pipe bands for youth). In those years, Chisholm attended piping work shops and competitions, as well as making an annual trip to the Coeur d'Alene (Idaho) Piping School where he studied piobaireachd under P/M Evan MacRae and Andrew Wright.

After graduating from high school, Chisholm enrolled at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. While there, he travelled regularly to British Columbia to take lessons, progressing to the Professional level in his piping. After graduating from UPS with a degree in psychology in 1997, Chisholm was admitted to the national honorary society, Phi Beta Kappa. It was the following year that he joined the SFU PB.

In 2000, Chisholm went on a solo competition tour in Scotland in an attempt to achieve sufficient piping prizes to meet the qualification standards for elite competitions the following year. That he did, and was invited to compete at the Argyllshire Gathering at Oban and the Northern Meeting in Inverness in 2001. In his first year competing at the elite level, he won the Royal Scottish Pipers' Society Bronze Star for 1st Place in the 'A' Marches at the Argyllshire Gathering at Oban and Runner-Up in the Silver Medal Piobaireachd at the Northern Meeting in Inverness.

Chisholm continues to compete internationally, taking top prizes in North America and Scotland.

[edit] Trivia

Chisholm is the grandson of the famous Finnish fighter ace Jorma Sarvanto.

[edit] Prizes

• 3rd place in the Gold Medal competition at Oban (2006)
• United States Prize Pipe (2005) - 1st place
• Inaugural U.S. Gold Medal Piping Championships (2004) - 1st place
• Cameron-Gillies Challenge Recital (two time winner - 2004 and 2005)
• B.C. Piper's Association Professional Knock-Out Competition (2004) - 1st place
• Western Regional Piping Championships (2004) - 1st place
• 4th place in the Gold Medal Piobaireachd competition at Inverness (2003)
• Runner-Up in the Silver Medal Piobaireachd at the Northern Meeting in Inverness.
• 'A' Marches at Argyllshire Gathering in Oban (2001) - 1st place

[edit] Discography

[edit] As a soloist

• Masters of Scottish Arts - Volume II: Live at Benaroya Hall
• Dr. Dan Reid Memorial Challenge Recital 2004
• The 2004 Band Room MASTERS: Recorded Live at the National Piping Centre
• The 2004 Band Room MASTERS Piobaireachd: Volume One -- ""DVD""
• Winter Storm III: The Pipes and Drums Concert
• Simon Fraser University Pipe Band: On Home Ground: Volume One

[edit] As a band member

• Simon Fraser University Pipe Band: On Home Ground: Volume One
• Simon Fraser University Pipe Band: On Home Ground: Volume Two
• Simon Fraser University Pipe Band: Down Under: Live at the Sydney Opera House
• Winter Storm 2006: The Pipes and Drums Concert

[edit] As a producer

• Masters of Scottish Arts - Volume II: Live at Benaroya Hall
• Masters of Scottish Arts - Volume I

[edit] As a composer

• Raven: A Soft Wind Blows

[edit] With Bob Weir & Ratdog

• RatDog Live: At the Moore Theater in Seattle. February 17, 2007.

[edit] Reference

• Celtic Heritage Magazine profile article on Jori Chisholm (July/August 2002): page 1 and page 2

[edit] External links

• Jori Chisholm's homepage
• Simon Fraser University Pipe Band homepage

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