From The CD "Eclection" 2010
Gabe McVarish hails from Northern California where he learned his first traditional tunes on the fiddle.
Having twice won the U.S Junior National Scottish Fiddle Championship by the age of seventeen, Gabe travelled to his ancestral homeland of the Scottish Highlands where he spent a year studying music under the tutelage of fiddler and tradition bearer Angus Grant Sr. After a couple years spent travelling, busking and playing in Irish and Scottish pubs from Amsterdam to San Francisco, Gabe settled in the Highlands of Scotland. Having the opportunity to meet and play tunes with the wealth of great musicians in the area. Gabe was soon performing full time locally and internationally. The formation of Daimh in 1998 was a milestone in Gabe's career. These likeminded local Lochaber musicians are now hailed as a "Gaelic super-group" having released four albums, touring extensively and appearing regularly on National TV and radio.After a three winter sojourn in Glasgow, Gabe graduated from the R.S.A.M.D. with a BA in Scottish Music in 2003. The subsequent
years have seen Gabe greatly expand his skills, working as a session musician in studios from Ardgour, to Edinburgh and London's Maida Vale.
His versatility as a tutor has seen him highly saught after, having taught at festivals and higher education establishments including the University of Limerick he also teaches fiddle regularly in Lochaber.
This album is a culmination of fiddle styles and repertoire from every side of both the Atlantic and the Irish Sea, and Gabe's love of the traditional music of the Celtic Diaspora shines throughout.