With my two sticks and tambourine, I drum and dance with the discourse of Europe and the West, interacting, finding music in the tension of contradictions and cross rhythms – a process of continuous retrieval and renewal, often filled with delight.
Malcolm Lim is a Canadian Percussionist, Teacher, and Composer.
Malcolm Lim served as Acting Principal Percussionist of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra from 2024-2026; he also served as the Acting Principal Percussionist of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra from 2021-2024. Malcolm has been teaching percussion at the Mount Royal University Conservatory of Music for over ten years. He is the current director of the World Music Ensemble at the University of Calgary; previously he served as director of the Calysto Steelband from 2016-2025 and was musical director of the Afro-Brazilian dance and drum ensemble, Calgary Escola de Samba, from 2002 to 2012. Malcolm has taught courses at the University of Lethbridge and the University of Alberta, led master classes at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, and worked as a creativity facilitator at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. He has published in Percussive Notes, the journal for the Percussive Arts Society.
Malcolm completed a Bachelor’s degree in Percussion Performance from McGill University where he studied with Pierre Béluse and D’Arcy Gray. He also studied under Louis Charbonneau of l’Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal. He recently participated in the Platinum Percussion Program under Matt Howard, Principal Percussionist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Mentors also include Glen Velez (frame drumming), Dr. Trichy Sankaran (S. Indian percussion), Boca Rum and Marcos Suzano (Brazilian percussion), John Amira (Haitian and Afro-Cuban percussion), Michel Mirhige and Amir Naom (Arabic percussion), Alessandra Belloni (S. Italian percussion), Dr. Alex Dea (Javanese percussion), and Sylvain Matthieu (Balinese Gamelan). Malcolm has received Canada Council for the Arts grants to study in Rio de Janeiro and Salvador da Bahia, Brazil.
Malcolm has shared the stage with Jesse Cook, Amir Amiri, Iskwe, Jamey Haddad, Glen Velez, and Sarah Slean. He has also performed with the samba bateria of G.R.E.S. Estação Primeira de Mangueira (Rio de Janeiro), and the Canadian National Jazz Orchestra.
As a migrant, Malcolm has tried to locate artistic meaning in the interaction with the discourse of Europe and the West. His compositions explore the meeting of cultures in the post-colonial landscape, what Edward Said has termed “The Voyage In”. He recently published his first work “Two South Indian – American Rudimental Solos” through Bachovich Music Publications.
Malcolm was born in Singapore and grew up in Taber, southern Alberta. He is grateful for the early music training he received with the support of his parents Christopher and Betty. He lives in Calgary with his wife Barbara and cat Dora.
Teachers, mentors, those who have inspired me, and those who have opened doors for me: Thank you.
Glen Velez, Alessandra Belloni, Gordon Gottlieb, Louis Charbonneau, Jamie Haddad, Michel Mirhige, Sal Ferreras, Arthur Hull, Kevin Bobo, John Wyre, John Amira, Michael Spiro, Pierre Beluse, Dr. Grace Chang, D’Arcy Gray, Leroy Little Bear, Marcos Suzano, Colin Funk, Sifu Brian Lewadny, Dr. Trichy Sankaran, Matt Howard.