Colin Adjun at the Glenbow Museum
Colin Adjun is one of Nunavut’s foremost fiddlers.
Kugluktuk, Nunavut
Colin is from the small community of Kugluktuk, NV on the Arctic coast. Colin has been playing his fiddle for almost 50 years. He has 3 recordings and many songs about the Arctic to his credit. He first started fiddling when he was 9 years old and living on Reid Island. With the help of his uncles, Colin developed skill and passion for music. He has also trained himself by ear, by waiting for new recordings and by listening to the Saturday Night Hoe Down Show on northern radio. Colin and his fiddle have travelled to festivals and concerts across the North, through southern Canada and the USA. Colin has had special invitations to play in Anchorage, Alaska, Whitehorse, Yukon, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and Inuvik, NWT. Colin Adjun interprets old favourites as well as his own compositions with the seamless skill of a master. Whenever he plays, it’s not long before the dance floor fills up! Colin said once in an interview that he was born “with music in his head”. He plays square dances in villages all over the Arctic. He plays wherever people will listen to his unique country and northern stylings. Colin has 3 recordings now. His latest is Beluga Waters which was recorded in 1997 at Spiritwalker Productions in Yellowknife, NWT with Norm Glowach. This CD was made possible by generous support form the NWT Arts Council. Beluga Waters features 12 original tunes including “Gustin’s Reel” which Colin wrote for his son and also “When You Look Into My Eyes” which he wrote for his wife, Mavis Elias. Colin doesn’t read music. He says he learns a new melody just by listening to it. During the day, Colin is a Wildlife Officer with the Nunavut Territorial Government. Besides making the strings of his fiddle sing, Colin is comfortable with guitar, piano, banjo, accordion and mandolin. In 2002, Colin appeared at the Great Northern Arts Festival in Inuvik, NWT and also the Folk on the Rocks festival in Yellowknife, NWT. And recently, Colin and his unique northern fiddling music was introduced to Japanese listeners with songs from Beluga Waters featured on Radio Nagasaki. Colin now makes his home in Yellowknife, NT.
Alan Budd with Colin Adjun
