Angus Cameron, musician; born April 12, 1936, died April 6, 1998
ANGUS Cameron, the celebrated Scottish fiddle player, has died after a long illness, aged 61.
The Kirriemuir-born musician is seen by many as a central figure in the history of Scottish music, and is viewed as the best Scottish fiddler of his time. He was a popular figure on radio and television for more than three decades, and recorded with such greats as Lindsay Ross and Jimmie Macgregor.
Highlights of his career included conducting a 70-piece orchestra with Yehudi Menuhin for a TV broadcast from Blair Castle. He also composed and performed for the Queen Mother at Glamis Castle to celebrate her 80th birthday.
Founder of the Angus Strathspey and Reel Society in 1963, Mr Cameron was its president and conductor until well into the mid-80s when illness overtook him. Fellow member Cyril Robb, who played all over the world with the Angus Cameron Band, remembers him as a talented and popular man whose unique style is still copied today.
He began playing the violin at the age of eight. At 18 he came second in the Scottish Fiddle Championships, later taking part in the World Youth Festival in Moscow, where he accompanied gold medallist Callum Kennedy.
When in his twenties, a competition win gave him the chance to appear on the radio, leading to a long broadcasting career in which he was a regular contributor to Radio Four and many Scottish dance programmes.
His compositions include the popular Willie Man of Paddy and the Claymore Strathspey Reel. The tune he wrote for the Queen Mother proved so successful that she wrote to Mr Cameron asking for more copies. Playing for the Queen Mother was his greatest honour.
A graduate of St Andrews University, Mr Cameron worked as a maths teacher at Websters Seminary in Kirriemuir for 29 years until his retirement in 1989. He is survived by two sons.
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