A great driving reel by Graham Townsend From The Canadian Encyclopedia - Graham Townsend. Fiddler, mandolinist, pianist, composer, b Toronto 16 Jun 1942, d Barrie, Ont, 3 Dec 1998. His father, Fred was Don Messer's square dance caller for many years. Graham Townsend was raised in the Ottawa Valley community of Buckingham, Que, where he began to play violin as a child. Returning to Toronto, he won a CNE '30 and under' fiddling competition at the age of nine and subsequently learned repertoire and technique there from the Irish fiddlers Tom McQuestion and Billy Crawford. In his teens Townsend began to perform on tour and on CBC TV with Don Messer and made his first records for Rodeo. Having placed third in the open class of the Canadian Open Old Time Fiddlers Contest at the age of 11, he won the event in 1963 and annually 1968-70 before retiring from competition. He recorded many albums of fiddle music and performed throughout his life. He was also a busy session musician in Toronto.