Musician. Cape Breton Fiddler. Academic...and more.

One of Cape Breton’s most in-demand traditional fiddlers, Dr. Glenn Graham is also composer, songwriter, music instructor, published author, and academic. Glenn’s roots stretch far into the rich musical past of Cape Breton. On his mother’s side, Glenn is a member of the renowned Beaton family of Mabou. Many generations of this family have produced countless musicians including fiddlers, piano players, Gaelic singers, pipers, poets/songwriters, composers and dancers. These include his mother Mary and grandmother Elizabeth (both accomplished pianists), his uncle Kinnon Beaton, (one of Cape Breton’s premier dance players), well-known pianist Joey Beaton, and well-established fiddling cousins Andrea Beaton and former Nova Scotia Premier Rodney MacDonald. Glenn’s grandfather Donald Angus Beaton was one of the island’s most revered fiddlers. Donald Angus was a posthumous recipient of the East Coast Music Awards' Stompin' Tom Award. Glenn's father, Danny Graham, is an accomplished Gaelic singer; Glenn's other grandfather, Alex Graham, was a step dancer. Oral history states that Alex’s grandfather Stephen was a fine step-dancer, helping to establish and corroborate that the step-dance tradition was carried over by Gaels emigrating to Cape Breton communities prior to the 1840s. Glenn’s lineage also features Gaelic style fiddler and grand-uncle Alex Francis MacKay and Cape Breton’s most recognized composer Dan R. MacDonald.

Glenn grew up surrounded by Gaelic culture. Growing up in Judique, he often heard his grandparents speaking Gaelic. His father also taught him Gaelic words and phrases in his pre-school years. Glenn first performed publicly at the age of 7 at a concert in Glendale NS where he sang a Gaelic song with his father. When he was 10 years old, he and some cousins were taught violin and music notation by uncle Kinnon Beaton for about a year. After this, for the most part, Glenn quit practicing for a few years, but these lessons were his foundation when he began playing seriously when he turned 15. He learned by repeatedly listening to home and commercial recordings of the Beaton family. He also took some lessons a couple of years later from fiddler Neil Beaton, who lived in Judique at that time. Since then, Glenn was self-taught, occasionally turning to his parents and Kinnon and Betty Beaton for advice on tune interpretations. He focused on learning tunes from various tune books as well as extracting tunes and techniques from home recordings and watching older players at concerts and dances. Drawn to the "Mabou Coal Mines" fiddle style, Glenn’s main fiddling influences include Donald Angus, Kinnon, and John Morris Rankin while other notable players such as Alex Francis MacKay, Buddy MacMaster, Jerry Holland, and Howie MacDonald also served as strong reference points for his learning and playing.

In 1996 Glenn recorded his first solo album, Let ‘er Rip, while completing his B.A. with Honours in Political Science at St. Francis Xavier University ("St. FX"). A year later he teamed up in the studio with Rodney MacDonald (they often play twin fiddles for performances) and released Traditionally Rockin’, which was a double nominee for Instrumental and Roots Traditional Artist of the year at the 1998 East Coast Music Awards. The band "Rodney and Glenn" quickly came to be in high demand at special events, festivals and dances.

In 1999, Glenn began actively pursuing a solo career when Rodney moved on to a career in politics. Glenn released STEP OUTSIDE in July 2000. Adding his singer-songwriter and step-dancing sister Amy to the mix, Glenn’s songwriting and singing played a major role in the recording and helped garner him ECMA nominations in 2002 for Male Artist and Roots Traditional Artist of the year. In 2004, Glenn recorded with the Beaton Family for the Smithsonian Folkways label. He followed this in 2005 with Drive: A Traditional Cape Breton Fiddle Recording. Nominated for Roots Traditional Solo recording at the 2006 ECMAs, this project (as with his other recordings) featured some of Glenn’s compositions and highlighted his ornamented, driving traditional style. Glenn's 2007 release, Decade: A Compilation, was an 18 track retrospective of his previous recordings and included "Silent Heroes", a previously unreleased vocal number penned by Glenn that included Amy on lead vocal. Glenn has composed hundreds of tunes. Another one of his creative works is The Glenn Graham Collection of Cape Breton Violin Music, a book released in 2010 containing over 200 original compositions and a few joint/solo tunes written with/by family members. Another book of his compositions has been compiled and is scheduled for release in 2023. Glenn's original music has gained attention from music publishers and recording artists, having been featured on international TV series like Dawson’s Creek and Party of Five, multiple CDs and CD compilations, TV specials and independent films and DVD productions, as well as solo artist and compilation recordings.  

Glenn has appeared at various venues such as California’s Villa Montalvo, the Celtic Colours International Festival, Stan Rogers Folk Festival, Lunenburg Folk Festival, Saint John Festival By the Sea, Granville Green Concert Series, College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor Maine, the Wayne Gretzky Invitational, and numerous other venues. He performed in the first ever Cape Breton Live on Tour production which toured Quebec and Ontario in November of 2006 with some of Cape Breton’s most recognized musicians. He has taught at such institutions as the Gaelic College (St. Ann’s, NS), Ceolas (South Uist, Scotland), Musicamp Alberta (Red Deer, AB), and Celtic Arts Foundation Winter School (Seabeck, WA).  When scheduling allows, Glenn continues to perform and teach fiddle throughout the Maritimes, Canada, the North-Eastern US, and the United Kingdom.

On the academic side, Glenn has taught at Dalhousie, St. FX, and Cape Breton Universities. He is an Assistant Professor in L'nu, Political and Social Sciences at Cape Breton University (CBU), and an Adjunct Professor (as well as former Assistant Professor) in the Department of Political Science at St FX. Glenn is revising a new book (currently at the "R & R" stage at University of Toronto Press) and has published articles in journals such as the Journal of Canadian Studies and the Canadian Political Science Review. He is also engaging in other research projects related to his book, including articles on electoral redistricting and health policy in Atlantic Canada. Glenn finished his PhD in Political Science in 2016 at Dalhousie University, where he was awarded the Joseph-Armand Bombardier CGS Doctoral Scholarship from SSHRC. He wrote his PhD dissertation about regionalism and region-building in Cape Breton in past and globalizing contexts. Glenn also completed a Masters in Atlantic Canada Studies at Saint Mary’s University, where he is listed as one of the institution's notable alumni. His Master's thesis explored the evolution of Cape Breton fiddling in the context of globalization. He published a revised peer-reviewed book version, The Cape Breton Fiddle: Making and Maintaining Tradition, with CBU Press in 2006. The book has been cited by many scholars. Glenn is also interested in sustainable regional and community development. He completed accreditation related to this field from the University of Cambridge, and is currently the Chair of the Board of Directors for the Celtic Music Interpretive Centre in Judique, NS. Glenn lives in Lower South River, Antigonish County, with his wife Dr. Claire Hamilton, son Alec, and daughter Eva.

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