Jori Chisholm

Last updated
Jori Chisholm
Jori chisholm.jpg
Background information
Born (1975-09-23) September 23, 1975 (age 46)
Genres Highland [ disambiguation needed ]
Instruments Bagpipes, Piano, Cello
Years active1990s–present
Website www.bagpipelessons.com

Jori Lance Chisholm (born September 23, 1975) [1] [2] is an American professional bagpipe player and teacher who lives in Seattle, Washington. Chisholm is a successful solo competitor winning the United States Gold Medal four times and has placed in the top three in Scotland's Argyllshire Gathering Gold Medal competition. [3] He played with the six-time Grade One World Champion Simon Fraser University Pipe Band and was a featured solo performer for the band on multiple occasions. [4] Chisholm has performed in front of sold-out audiences with The Chieftains and with ex-Grateful Dead rocker Bob Weir and his band Ratdog, [5] and has been featured as a soloist or band member on over 20 recordings. His debut solo album Bagpipe Revolution [6] was nominated for Album of the Year by Pipes|Drums magazine. [7] He writes the "Sound Technique" column for the National Piping Centre’s bi-monthly Piping Today Magazine. [8] The New York Times featured Chisholm's online teaching program, BagpipeLessons.com, and described him as a "top-tier teacher" in a front-page story about the growth of Skype music lessons. [9] A cover story in American Profile Magazine named Chisholm one of the "world's elite pipers." [10]

Contents

Biography

Raised in a 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 workshops and competitions, as well as making an annual trip to the Coeur d'Alene Piping School in Idaho, where he studied piobaireachd under Pipe Major Evan MacRae and Andrew Wright.

After graduating from high school, Chisholm enrolled at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. While there, he traveled regularly to British Columbia to take lessons, progressing to the professional level of piping competition. 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 Simon Fraser University Pipe Band.

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. He succeeded, 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. [3]

Chisholm continues to compete internationally, taking top prizes in North America and Scotland. His first solo album, Bagpipe Revolution, was released in 2008 and was Runner-Up for the Reader's Choice Recording of the Year award by PipesDrums. [7]

Trivia

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

Chisholm is a graduate of the Yamaha Music School.

Solo Prizes

Discography

As a soloist

As a band member

As a producer

As a composer

With Bob Weir & Ratdog

Related Research Articles

The Northern Meeting is a gathering held in Inverness, Scotland, best known for its solo bagpiping competition in September.

Pibroch, piobaireachd or ceòl mòr is an art music genre associated primarily with the Scottish Highlands that is characterised by extended compositions with a melodic theme and elaborate formal variations. Strictly meaning "piping" in Scottish Gaelic, piobaireachd has for some four centuries been music of the Great Highland Bagpipe. Music of a similar nature, pre-dating the adoption of the Highland pipes, has historically been played on the wire-strung Gaelic harp and later on the Scottish fiddle, and this form is undergoing a revival.

The Army School of Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming is a British Army training establishment that provides instruction on Scottish pipe band music to military pipers and drummers.

Jack Lee (piper) Canadian musician

Jack Lee is a Canadian bagpiper and has been the pipe sergeant of the Simon Fraser University Pipe Band since its inception in 1981. The band has won the World Pipe Band Championships six times.

This article defines a number of terms that are exclusive, or whose meaning is exclusive, to piping and pipers.

Pipe Major Donald MacLeod was a Scottish bagpiper, British Army Pipe major, composer and bagpipe instructor.

Roderick 'Roddy' (R.S.) MacDonald is a pipe major, living in Brisbane, Australia, and a composer of tunes for the bagpipes.

Stuart Liddell is a Scottish bagpipe player. As well as competing in solo competitions, he is the Pipe major of the Inveraray and District Pipe Band.

Margaret Dunn is an Irish bagpiper, originally from Cullen, County Cork, now living in Scotland.

John Davie Burgess was an eminent Scottish bagpipe player.

Gordon Walker is a bagpiper.

Faye Henderson is a bagpipe player from Scotland. In 2010, she became one of the youngest ever winners of a Highland Society of London Gold Medal, as well as the first ever female winner.

Angus MacColl is a Scottish bagpipe player.

Callum Beaumont Musical artist

Callum Beaumont is Scottish bagpipe player.

The Argyllshire Gathering is a Highland games held in Oban, Scotland.

G. S. McLennan Musical artist

Pipe Major George Stewart McLennan was a Scottish bagpipe player. He was a successful solo piper, as well as a pipe major and composer.

Pipe Major John MacDonald was a Scottish bagpipe player.

Donald MacPherson was a Scottish bagpipe player, and one of the most successful competitive solo pipers of all time.

In competitive solo bagpiping, a Gold Medal is awarded at the Northern Meeting and Argyllshire Gathering for pibroch playing. The prize is one of the most prestigious awards a solo player can receive, and by winning it a player qualifies for a number of restricted competitions.

References

  1. ↑ Jori Chisholm profile in Celtic Heritage magazine - Page 1
  2. ↑ Jori Chisholm profile in Celtic Heritage magazine - Page 2
  3. 1 2 BagpipeLessons.com
  4. ↑ "BagpipeLessons.com Studio". studio.bagpipelessons.com. Retrieved 2016-06-29.
  5. ↑ BagpipeLessons.com | Jori Chisholm with Bob Weir and RatDog
  6. ↑ Bagpipe Revolution by Jori Chisholm
  7. 1 2 3 PipesDrums
  8. ↑ Piping Today Magazine
  9. ↑ "With Enough Bandwidth, Many Join the Band" New York Times, December 11, 2012
  10. ↑ "Jori Chisholm: Bagpipe Virtuoso" American Profile Magazine, March 10, 2013
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.