Colin Gordon

Colin was born in Aberdeen and raised in Ayr (Burns Country) as a "son of the manse," his father being a Church of Scotland minister. His was a musical family. He and his siblings were allowed to select which instrument they wanted to learn, but the option of not taking lessons was not offered. The selection of instruments was small: piano or violin. There were no other teachers in town! Colin's violin teacher disapproved of Scottish fiddle music, preferring that he limit his attentions to the classical composers -- Bach, Vivaldi, Elgar, etc. Of course, over time it is the fiddle music that stayed with Colin, although he will never regret his classical training.

When he's not playing the fiddle, Colin is President of Colin Gordon & Associates. The company providesg consulting services in noise and vibration control. His company is particularly known for its work with the microelectronics industry where vibration and noise can interfere with the production of modern integrated circuits. The company's work is international and he and his colleagues travel globally to serve their clients.

Shauna Pickett-Gordon

Starting in southern Utah, Shauna's military family travelled across the States and sojourned a while in Turkey before settling in southern California in the late 1950s. No matter where they landed, the old spinet piano was carted along, and a piano teacher was found. Shauna's father was a patient and generous listener whose parents had been singers; her mother was a modern dancer and teacher of the Martha Graham school, a player of the Vibraharp, and a facile by-ear pianist. The two younger siblings also are musicians: Lynds, a classical cellist in northern Utah, and Spence, a Cajun and bluegrass fiddler in southern California.

Shauna attended music schools from her teens: first, the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, and then the School of Music at the University of Southern California, as a piano and voice major. She found her vocation in technical writing, but kept music as a fond avocation, teaching piano and voice students in the evening and on weekends, and serving churches and synagogues as organist, choir director, and soprano soloist. Ever devoted to the vocal repertoire of the great classical composers, she nonetheless found a second home in the fiddle music and the songs of Scotland when she met Colin. .

The two have played Scottish music together for nearly 25 years, in various capacities--as a duo, as members of the Thistle Band, and as leaders of their own fiddle clubs. Shauna plays the piano for the Peninsula Scottish Fiddlers, and arranges and composes music for them. (She also wistfully recalls the vocal ensemble, St. Andrews Singers, that she led in Los Angeles, and for whom she arranged many SATB pieces. If you're interested in forming a chorus to sing traditional Scottish, Irish, and Welsh music from printed music, please email her at Pickett@eng.sun.com.)

During the week, Shauna can be found at Sun Microsystems, writing online help and books for users of Sun's software. She's also a dedicated bellydancer, performs solo and with the Bahar al' Amar Middle Eastern Dance Company, and teaches