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Colin's musical journey started at the age of 7 when a music teacher asked a class of primary school pupils, 'Who would like to play the violin ?' The first memory of playing a Scottish song by ear was one which had been learnt from a record. During the early years, Scottish music held pride of place beside its classical counterpart, both of which egged on the other to aspire to a higher standard of play. This was the case throughout high school. After high school, the love of Scottish music took over and the journey of expansion into bagpipe, ceilidh and Irish music began. Colin would be just at home playing in a concert hall, a pub session or at a ceilidh. Over the last nine years, the style has expanded to encompass South African rhythm aswell as Australian Bush.
So, how did Colin develop his playing style ? Well, the Scottish repertoire was influenced by playing with different Strathspey and Reel Societies, entering fiddle competitions, travel and having the opportunity to see some of the greats of the Scottish fiddle world e.g. Ron Gonella, Angus Cameron and Bill Cook live in concert. The classical upbringing is evident in Colin's fiddle technique and assists in producing the quality of sound which one hears. Rhythm as always, is present in an effervescent form.
Major fiddle influences to date have included Ron Gonella, Liz Carroll (Irish Fiddler), Roby Lakatos (Gypsy Violinist) and Haugaard and Hoirup (Danish fiddle and guitar duo). Somehow, as with a lot of other musicians, they each seem to make their instrument sing and sparkle within the realms of their distinctive styles and sounds.
Colin is currently based in Australia and audiences have enjoyed his musical moments in Europe, the US and South Africa.
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