Glenn Graham (fiddler)
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Glenn Graham was born on April 29, 1974 to Daniel ("Danny") Graham and Mary (Beaton) Graham of Judique, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
The Graham household was a musical one, as Danny Graham was a well known Gaelic singer, and Mary was an accomplished pianist. At age seven, Glenn sang a Gaelic song with his father in a concert in Glendale, Nova Scotia. Glenn started taking fiddle lessons at age ten from his mother's brother, Kinnon Beaton, a well known Cape Breton fiddler ([1]).
Rodney MacDonald, the Premier of Nova Scotia (as of 2006) is a first cousin of Graham. MacDonald is also an accomplished Scots Gaelic musician (fiddler). In 1997 the cousins released Traditionally Rockin', a recording that received two nominations in 1998 at the East Coast Music Awards ([2]).
Graham and MacDonald's musical family tree includes over 44 musicians (violinists, pianists, dancers, pipers, Gaelic singers, and composers). Their grandfather, the late Donald Angus Beaton, was a legendary fiddler/composer, and their grandmother, Elizabeth Beaton, is a well known pianist. Graham and musicians from his maternal family, the Beatons, were recorded by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution([3]). Cape Breton Fiddle and Piano Music, The Beaton Family of Mabou was released in 2004.
Glenn has received music industry recognition for his solo recordings. His second solo release, Step Outside, garnered nominations for "Male Artist of the Year" and "Roots/Traditional Solo Recording of the Year" at the 2002 ECMAs. In 2006 he received his fifth nomination at the ECMAs for his recording, Drive, in the Roots/Traditional Solo Recording category ([4]).
Glenn Graham studied political science at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, and obtained his Masters degree in "Atlantic Canada Studies" at Saint Mary's University, Halifax in 2004.
In 2006 Glenn Graham authored the book "The Cape Breton Fiddle" published by the Cape Breton University Press ([5]). Graham and his cousin, Rodney MacDonald, previously owned their own label, GlennRod Music Incorporated. Glenn has since created his own label, Bowbeat.
[edit] Discography
- Let 'Er Rip (1996)
- Traditionally Rockin (1997, with Rodney MacDonald)
- Step Outside (2000)
- Cape Breton Fiddle and Piano Music (2004, with The Beaton Family of Mabou)
- Drive (2005)
- Decade: A Compilation (2007)
