Paul A McCallum - A Singing Crofter - Biography (Courtesy of the Artist's site, 2007)

Don't let that title fool you! I am a tenor, trained in singing in English, G�idhlig, and Latin.

I was brought up in the village of North Glendale which is the heartland of g�idhlig music and song. It is also one of the most beautiful places imaginable and I am indeed fortunate to live here. In fact, I shall share its beauty with readers of our website when I put up my photos. It was here that the renowned folklorist Margaret Fay Shaw stayed from 1928 -35. One of her books 'Folksongs And Folklore Of South Uist' is a world acclaimed work, a tribute to those gentle people of the glen who contributed to this book. Next year we shall be hosting a conference here in South Uist in her honour with many international participants taking part..

My own musical back ground comes from my Irish ancestry. My grandfather was a violinist, well-known and highly regarded in the world of classical music, and my aunt was also steeped in music having been a classical pianist until her career was tragically cut short by a horrific accident. My cousin Byron is an accomplished guitarist and has many compositions to his name.

I have won the two gold medals at the Royal National M�d. The first was in 1985 for traditional singing and the second in 1987 was the prestigious Comunn G�idhealach Gold, Medal for which I was trained by Margaret. I have sung in many countries including Italy, Ireland, America, and also of course nearer home, from the South of England to the far north of Scotland. Because of my work and living in the Outer Hebrides, I have not been able to accept the many invitations I have received but hopefully I can rectify this in 2007.

My work involves tutoring students in Benbecula in songs from South Uist and also in vocal technique and during the winter months I teach children at evening classes , preparing many of them for competitions at the various M�ds, something I enjoy immensely.