Marcus
Holden began studying the violin at the age of 8 in Canberra when his parents
moved there from Melbourne. Playing classical music as a member of the Canberra
Youth Orchestra, from the age of 11 he toured and recorded with choirs, groups
and the CYO culminating in a tour of Europe. In his late teens his interest
in rock, jazz and blues was sparked by the newly amplified violin and his career
as a soloist began. Moving to Sydney in 1979 to study jazz at the NSW Con, Marcus
quickly became the city's premier fiddle session player, recording well over
500 award winning records, films and jingles working with such luminaries as
Jimmy Barnes, Ross Wilson, Diesel, Mark Hunter, Ross Ryan, John Williamson,
Richard Clapton, Daryl Braithwaite etc! As his experience increased he began to pick up the skills as a composer, producer and recording engineer along the way. Feeling the need to develop other skills besides the supporting role most often offered to him, Marcus along with 3 other legendary fiddlers (Ray Schloeffel, Pixie Jenkins, and Andrew Clermont) formed a loose group of lunatics which eventually became known as the Fiddlers Festival.
From these humble beginnings (really just glorified jam session) at the 1996 Tamworth CMF, under his guidance the FF is now the most widely recognized fiddle band in Australia.
Several tours to Japan as well as high profile appearances back home have inspired a whole new generation of aspiring fiddlers and groups (like the Hawkesbury National Fiddle Festival www.fiddlefestival.com and the Golden Fiddle Awards www.goldenfiddleawards.org.au dedicated to the promotion of the fiddle as an alternative to the classical stream of tuition and performance. More recently he has been performing with Orchestral stage production Scotland the Brave, performing with major orchestras around Australia, New Zealand and North America.
Marcus also runs a successful recording studio (Bloody Dog Studios) where he produces much of his most recent work including the Fiddlers Festival's CDs.