Fiddling CGM 21 Competition Weekend - CGMFA-ACGMVcgmfa-acgmv.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010-Canadian-Grand-Master... · 21st Fiddling Competition Weekend Friday, August 27, ... sideman,

August 27-31, 2010

Canadian Grand

MastersFiddling

Association

FiddlingCGM 21st

Competition Weekend

www.yamaha.ca

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Canadian Grand Masters 21st Fiddling Competition Weekend

Friday, August 27, 2010Competitors Showcase & Dance

Travelodge Ottawa Hotel & Convention Centre 1376 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario

CGMFA General Meeting: 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. (Rotary)Competitor Showcase & Dance: 6:30 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. (Beachcomber)

Saturday, August 28, 2010CGM 21st Annual Fiddling Competition & Show

Shenkman Arts Centre, Orléans Town Centre 245 Centrum Road, Orléans, Ontario

Preliminaries at 12:00 p.m.; Finals at 7:00 p.m.

CGMFA Golf TournamentThe 2010 1st Annual

Entry Fee: $75 per person (price includes a round of golf with cart and a *chicken dinner) *Dinner is available for up to 40 people at the golf course so get your reservation in early!

For more info or tickets, please visit www.canadiangrandmasters.ca

Valley Heritage Radio’s Annual Fiddle Fest FundraiserNick Smith Community Centre, 77 James Street, Arnprior, Ontario - Starts at 7:00 p.m.

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President’s Message

A very warm welcome to the 21st Annual Canadian Grand

Masters Fiddling Competition!

We have a great show for you to enjoy with some of the best fiddlers from across Canada competing for the title of Canadian Grand Master, and as our guest artists this year we have invited the group When Here Meets There, featuring Shane Cook and Troy MacGillivray. In addition, during the evening program, I am certain that you will enjoy

the four Junior Showcase performers we have invited to play for you.

At last year’s 20th Anniversary Competition we introduced a new format and corresponding rules for the competition with the aim of encouraging the fiddlers from across Canada to feature the many distinct styles of fiddling that exist in this country. This was very well received by the audience and the competitors, so we will continue with this new format this year.

For the afternoon Preliminaries, the contestants will play a waltz, a jig, a reel and a tune of their choice in any order within a five minute time span. For the evening Finals, the competitors will have five minutes to play any four contrasting tunes of their choice.

Our thanks to the management of the Shenkman Arts Centre and the Theatre Volunteer Company for the substantial contribution they make to ensure the success of this event. I also give a big thank you to the Executive and Board of Directors of the Canadian Grand Masters and all of the volunteers who have worked very hard for the past year to make today’s show possible.

On behalf of the CGMFA organization, I thank you for being here today in support of the preservation of Old Time Fiddling in Canada. ©Photo by Lois Siegel

Sincerely,

Peer Norgaard, PresidentCanadian Grand Masters Fiddling Association

The Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Association (BN: 87397 0065 RR0001) is tax-exempt and has been recognized by the Canada Revenue Agency

as a National Arts Service Organization with charitable status.

For more information, please visit our website at: www.canadiangrandmasters.ca

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Prizes

During the preliminaries, the contestants will have the opportunity to participate in a random draw for two

fabulous prizes donated by Yamaha Canada:

Carbon Fiber BowSV130 Silent Violin

The top eleven finalists will also compete for the Canadian Grand Master title and prize money:

1st place $3,500.00The 1st place trophy awarded by the Renfrew County Fiddlers

2nd place $2,250.00The 2nd place trophy has been awarded annually by the Ottawa Folklore Centre

since the first Canadian Grand Masters competition in 1990!

3rd place $1,100.00The 3rd place trophy awarded by Calvin Vollrath

4th to 11th places $500.00

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Thank you to the Planning Committee members for their continued commitment and support in

making this annual competition possible:

Executive Board Members:

Peer Norgaard President

Bonita Leblanc Vice-President (Chairperson of Membership)

Todd Thompson Treasurer (Chairperson of Finance, Corporations & By-Laws)

Marg Côté Secretary (Chairperson of Publications & Website)

Directors:

Calvin Vollrath Director (Steering Committee Chair)

Randy Foster Director (Chairperson of Entertainment)

Jim Hunter Director (Chairperson of Sound / CD Recording & Sales)

Patti Lamoureux Director (Chairperson of Contestants & Junior Showcase)

John Miller Director (Chairperson of Promotion)

Rick Wedge Director (Chairperson of Advertising)

Ron Bourque Director (Chairperson of Fiddle Camp)

Geoff Horrocks, Director

Brian Hebert, Director

Trent Bruner, Director

Bob Daly, Director

Helena Guzmán Publications Editor/Website Manager

Thank you to all of our service providers and volunteers:

Shenkman Arts Centre - www.shenkmanarts.ca (Venue)

Travelodge Ottawa Hotel & Convention Centre www.travelodgeottawa.com (Accommodations)

Lois Siegel - www.siegelproductions.ca (Photography)Helena Guzmán - www.hgf-design.com (Program & Poster Design)

Marquardt Printing Ltd. - www.mprint.net (Printing)

Kathleen Small (Program Advertising)

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Thank you to the sponsors and advertisers for their generous support:

Yamaha Canada•

Fiddleheads•

RBC Foundation•

Rideau and District Old Tyme Fiddling Corporation•

Renfrew County Fiddlers•

Ottawa Folklore Centre Ltd.•

Calvin Vollrath

Brigadoon RestaurantChad Wolfe Studio of Dance & Music

ChancesR RestaurantClass Axe Guitars

Craig & Taylor AssociatesDairy Barn

D’Arcy McGee’sBryant - Harold Workman Ltd.

Kemptville Truck Centre LimitedLa Vallée Restaurant

Les Écuries Knight StablesMacEwen

Peter Dawson ViolinsThe Royal Oak PubThe Sewing Room

Venosan

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2010 CGM Judges

Ray Legere (Amherst, NS)

Ray Legere is the 2003 East Coast Music Award (ECMA) Winner for Bluegrass Artist of the Year which he also won in 1996. The Amherst, Nova Scotia native is becoming known as one of Canada’s premiere fiddle and mandolin players. Ray is a five-time winner of the Eastern Division

Bluegrass Awards in the categories of Mandolin and Fiddle Player of the Year, honours which have distinguished him with a Masters Award for each. As an ongoing performer of many styles, Ray plays great stages like the Grand Ol’ Opry and Carnegie Hall. Not only does Ray perform on his own, he also performs with the group, Bowfire. ©Photo courtesy of Legere www.raylegere.com

Mark Sullivan (Vancouver, BC)

Mark Sullivan is a three-time Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Champion and three-time Canadian Open Fiddle Champion. Regarded as one of the finest musicians in his field, his playing is simultaneously brilliant technically and full of feeling.

Mark has toured throughout the world and has performed alongside some of the finest names in the industry. A leader in Canadian fiddling, Mark is in demand as a spirited performer, sideman, recording artist, guitarist, and teacher. He is a regular instructor at prominent Music Camps in Canada and the United States. Mark holds his Masters in Education and is currently living in Vancouver, British Columbia working as a teacher and active as a musician. ©Photo courtesy of Sullivan www.marksullivan.ca

Calvin Vollrath (St. Paul, AB)

Calvin Vollrath is a world-class fiddler and is a veteran recognized for his performing, teaching, judging and composing abilities. To date he has composed just over 400 tunes, 50 albums, numerous music books of his original tunes and an instructional DVD.

Just recently, Calvin was commissioned to compose five fiddle tunes for the Vancouver Winter Olympics 2010 Opening Ceremonies to represent the various styles of fiddling our country has to offer. He also wrote the theme for the international fiddle convention Fiddles of the World, held in Halifax, Nova Scotia in July 1999. Calvin is now producing recordings for fiddlers from across the country in his home studio in St. Paul, Alberta. ©Photo courtesy of Vollrath

www.calvinvollrath.com

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Les Écuries Knight Stables

104, Chemin McLintonWakefield (Québec) J0X 3G0

Téléphone / Telephone : 819-459-3587Télécopieur / Fax : 819-459-4482

LeçonsPension

Manège intérieurConcours complet

LessonsBoardingIndoor ArenaCross-Country

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Gordon Stobbe, Master of Ceremonies

Gordon Stobbe, master fiddler, teacher and composer, makes his home on the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia. He has developed and continues a teaching program at the Canadian Conservatory of Music in Halifax. Gordon’s performance history includes: theatre, radio host,

television host, composing and recording scores for CBC dramas, producing and performing on other artists recordings, as well as composing and recording his own compositions. He is a publisher of fiddle music and instructional books and recordings. Gordon is in demand for workshops, camps and music retreats across Canada. ©Photo by Lois Siegel www.fiddlebooks.com

Jake Charron, Piano Accompanist

Jake Charron is continuing to build a reputation as one of Canada’s finest accompanists for fiddle music. He has become a much sought-after musician for traditional styles, playing guitar and piano with artists across the country. Jake has performed with fiddle champions: Shane Cook,

Mark Sullivan, Louis Schryer, Pierre Schryer, and many others including his younger brother Kyle. He has been the house pianist at the Canadian Open Fiddle Championships in Shelburne for the past five years. Jake has also worked with Cape Breton tenor Tom Leadbeater, renowned tune writer Brian Pickell, and more recently toured with East Coast Music Award winner Troy MacGillivray. Jake continues to enjoy teaching at camps, and has recently graduated from the University of Western Ontario with an Honours degree in Kinesiology. ©Photo courtesy of Charron

Martine Billette, House Accompanist

Martine Billette was born into a family of great traditional fiddlers from Ste-Barbe, Quebec. She put on her first pair of dancing shoes at the age of four while taking lessons with Serge Mathon. After spending a couple of years with Serge, Martine continued to learn the art of

dancing from other notable dancers like Martin Duheme and Gilles Roy. With a strong foundation established from years of hard work, Martine has become one of the most respected young professional Quebecois dancers. She has performed for seven years with Montreal based trio, Rapetipetam, with Pierre Chartrand and Marie-Soleil Pilette.

Martine completed her second Bachelor’s degree at the University of Quebec, in Montreal, a three year Music Therapy program and is now working in two retirement homes in the Lanaudière area. ©Photo courtesy of Billette

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Junior Showcase Performers

Jane Cory (Saint Norbert, MB)

Fourteen year old, Jane Cory, has been playing fiddle and violin since she was five. One of her great pleasures is attending Old Time fiddle festivals and contests, where she loves to compete, meet and share with other fiddlers and to play for dancers.

Jane comes by her love of fiddle music honestly. Born and raised in a French and Metis stronghold steeped in history and tradition, she

has been encouraged by residents of her home community of Saint Norbert and other Manitoba towns who appreciate her feel for Old Time waltzes, jigs, two-steps and reels. She has provided entertainment at numerous cultural events and has enjoyed countless opportunities to perform, jam and compete at fiddle festivals in communities such as Brandon, Carman, Holland, Miami, Neepawa and Portage La Prairie.

Renee Doucet (Lower Sackville, NS)

Renee, now 17, has been fiddling for over 10 years. Originating from Cape Breton Island, Renee is a proud Acadian whose roots are firmly planted, visible by her love for fiddling and dancing. Her passion for music has driven her to many accomplishments, from competitions to performances to releasing her first CD.

Renee has been very involved in the small French community in Halifax. For three years, Renee was part of a step dancing troupe, Les Étoiles Acadiennes, as both a dancer and fiddler. She has not only been present on the Halifax music scene but has had the opportunity to be employed by the Cheticamp Arts Council in the summer of 2009. In two months she played for no less than half a dozen shows, among which are Le Grand Cercle, and La Soirée Chez Gélas. In February, through the Acadian organization l’Association des artistes acadiens de la Nouvelle Écosse, this fiddler performed throughout the province in the show La Revue Musicale Acadienne 2010. During the time of the East Coast Music Awards in March, Renee was hired by the same francophone organization to play as part of the Acadian showcase at the Governor’s Pub in Sydney.

©Photos courtesy of Junior Showcase performers

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Georgia Kuchinsky (Edmonton, AB)

Georgia Kuchinsky, 16, was born in Edmonton, Alberta. At the tender age of four, she picked up her first violin. Taught by her Dad for the first 10 years, she began receiving classical training from ESO First Violinist Broderyck Olson two years ago.

The biggest highlight of her musical history was in October 2008, where she accompanied her father to Ireland and stayed for a

month. She and her father drove up and down the country playing music every night, and she got to jam with Irish legends, such as Jackie Daly and Peter Horan. She attended the Patrick O’Keefe Music Festival in County Kerry, and played seven pub sessions in four days. She returned the next year for only nine days, but she still managed to play fifteen pub sessions in her time there. Georgia is currently enrolled in Grade 10 at Austin O’Brien Senior High, where her favourite classes are band and drama.

Benoit Schryer Lefebvre (Desbarats, ON)

Benoit, the youngest son of Julie Schryer, began playing fiddle at age seven. Benoit was exposed to traditional fiddle music from the time he was born through the playing of his uncles, friends and mom.

As a young child, before he spoke very many words, Benoit would whistle tunes from start to finish. He has learned from some

of Canada’s finest fiddlers, including Shane Cook, Mark Sullivan, Pierre Schryer, James Stephens and Dan MacDonald, both at AlgomaTrad and while on the road with his mother, Julie, as she toured with the Pierre Schryer Band and the Brian Pickell Band. He has attended AlgomaTrad since its inception, has performed with the family band throughout the Algoma Region and in Michigan for the last six years, and was part of the “Schryer” concert at Shelburne in 2007. Benoit and his fiddle have led the family band at numerous contra and square dances.

He has been studying violin at the Sault Symphony School of Music and the Algoma Conservatory since he was seven years old, has won numerous awards at the Sault Kiwanis Festival, and has competed in some fiddle and step dance contests.

In 2009, at 15 years of age, he placed 3rd in a field of 39 in the 18 and Under Class at the Pembroke Fiddle and Stepdance Contest.

©Photos courtesy of Junior Showcase performers

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Special Guests! ‘When Here Meets There’ featuring Shane Cook & Troy MacGillivray!

--- **Fun fact: Shane Cook (left) is a three-time Canadian Grand Masters Champion throughout 1999-2003; and Troy MacGillivray (right) was a Canadian Grand Masters Finalist both 2006 & 2009. --- ©Photo courtesy of ‘When Here Meets There’

When Here Meets There is the coming together of Shane Cook’s swinging Ontario-oldtime fiddle with Troy MacGillivray’s driving Nova Scotian fiddle and piano. Winner of the 2009 East Coast Music Award for Traditional Group Recording of the Year, When Here Meets There showcases why these two young Canadian fiddlers are at the top of their game!

Individually, these two fiddlers are virtuosic musicians and dynamic performers; together, stimulating and feeding off of each other and their top-tier back-up musicians, they are inspirational! It’s a mix of East Coast and Ontario, of bluegrass, country and Scottish tradition. In concert, Troy and Shane together provide an astonishing breadth of styles, tunes, and arrangements individually but together there is an obvious excitement and spark between the two players and their ensemble that is infectious!

The ensemble, When Here Meets There, is accompanied by New Brunswick mandolin player Ray Legere, Nova Scotia guitarist Skip Holmes and Jake Charron, guitar and piano accompanist.

Ray Legere is one of the best musicians that exist who is definitely proud of his East Coast roots and it shows in his personality and his music.

Skip Holmes was a regular face on Up Home Tonight for a number of years and has played with hundreds of fiddlers from around the world.

Jake Charron is a much sought-after musician for traditional fiddle styles, playing guitar and piano accompaniment.

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Audience Rating Guide: (based on Danceability, Quality & Overall Performance)

Poor j | Fair k | Average l | Good m | Excellent n

Attendance: (based on number of appearances for each CGM contestant)

2010 Contestants

5 Chris Anstey (Winnipeg, MB)

Chris is a native of St. John’s, Newfoundland. In 2005, he joined the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s first violin section after completing studies in violin performance at Memorial University of Newfoundland and the Glenn Gould School in Toronto.

Aside from his regular work as a violinist and private teacher, Chris has also led a varied musical career as a fiddler. He performed, toured and recorded with Newfoundland-based celtic/folk band The Ennis Sisters for five years, and has also appeared with various other folk, rock, alternative, jazz and classical groups. As a result, Chris has appeared at folk festivals and concert halls throughout North America, and has also toured Norway and China.

He is a three-time finalist (96-98) at the Canadian Grand Masters Competitions and is a former winner of the Don Messer Award and Trophy at the Dartmouth Competition in Nova Scotia. After a twelve-year hiatus from competitive fiddling, Chris is very excited to be participating in the CGM competition this year. ©Photo courtesy of Anstey

Danceability: j | k | l | m | nQuality: j | k | l | m | nOverall Performance: j | k | l | m | n

2 Michael Audette (Lorette, MB)

Michael, now 17, has been playing the fiddle since he was four years old and is currently Manitoba’s two-time Provincial Old Time Fiddle Champion. Michael performs with his band The Reel Deal Band at many Old Time dances and special cultural events for the Metis Federation. He is also one of four fiddlers in the group Quadrille, who perform at many special events and concerts.

Michael has released two CDs: one in 2007 entitled Keeping the Tradition, and his most recent and very popular project, Showtime. Michael also loves to perform for various fundraisers and charity events as well as the Festival du voyageur, at which he won 1st place in the Open Class in February, 2010. This will be his 2nd year competing at the Canadian Grand Masters. ©Photo by Lois Siegel


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3 Rosanna Burrill (Upper Musquodoboit, NS)This is Rosanna’s 3rd appearance at the Canadian Grand Masters. She was a finalist in the 2009 CGM competition and is looking forward to competing again this year. In 2008, while in Ottawa for the CGM, Rosanna placed 4th in Pembroke. Rosanna will be attending Dalhousie University in the fall to pursue a career in violin performance. ©Photo by Lois Siegel


3 Kyle Charron (Barrie, ON)

Kyle began competing in fiddle competitions at five years old and continues to add to a growing repertoire of fiddle tunes. Kyle won the Shelburne Canadian Open Fiddle Championship both in 2007 and 2009 and placed 2nd in 2008. He also won the 2008 Pembroke Open Fiddle Competition, as well as placing 3rd in the Canadian Grand Masters competition in 2008.

Kyle has recorded two CDs entitled Tribute and Charron’s Fine Blend, and regularly performs with his brother Jake, in their group The Charron Brothers. He has currently completed his first year at Western University studying Kinesiology. This is Kyle’s 3rd appearance at the Canadian Grand Masters. ©Photo by Lois Siegel


1 Émilie Chartier (Winnipeg, MB)

Born in Québec but raised in her parents’ home province of Manitoba, Émilie now 15, was classically trained since she was three years old. She most recently played for the Winnipeg Youth Concert Orchestra and studies music with the University of Manitoba Preparatory Division.

Her very first teacher incorporated old tyme fiddling which obviously took on a life of its own. Most of Émilie’s fiddling is self taught and influenced by Manitoba’s fiddling legends as well as Canadian fiddling icons such as Natalie MacMaster. This is Émilie’s 1st appearance at the Canadian Grand Masters. ©Photo courtesy of Chartier


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2 Paul Dacier (Fassett, QC)

Paul, pianist and fiddler, is highly respected in the Canadian Old-Time music community. At the age of 17, he started touring with the Pierre Schryer Band. Paul has played alongside many of the finest names in the field, touring extensively throughout Canada and Europe. He has recorded for Calvin Vollrath, Mark Sullivan, Kyle Charron, Randy Foster, The Wieler family, Bruce

Armitage, Mitchell Grobb and Webb Acheson. Paul is still very active in music, with a busy schedule of performing and recording. This is Paul’s 2nd appearance at the Canadian Grand Masters. ©Photo courtesy of Dacier


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2 Julie Fitzgerald (Bancroft, ON)

Julie is currently taking Jazz Violin and Contemporary Music at Humber College and teaches fiddle and dance during her time off. Julie has performed in the Junior Showcase in 2005 and as guest entertainer with Everything Fitz in 2006 and 2008. Last year, she won the CGM competition and this year has come back to compete for the 2nd time. ©Photo courtesy of Fitzgerald


7 Trent Freeman (Comox, BC)

Trent has toured and recorded across Canada and the U.S. with bluegrass, rock and jazz bands such as The Clumsy Lovers, Chasing Blue and The Bread & Butter Band, and is currently touring with country singer Jessie Farrell. He plays for Old Time and Contra Dance and teaches at music camps around B.C. and Ontario. Trent placed 3rd in the CGM competition in

2006 and is competing again this year in his 7th appearance. ©Photo by Lois Siegel


A Proud Sponsor of the 2010 Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Competition

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2 Braden Gates (Fort Saskatchewan, AB)

Braden is an 18 year old fiddle and he started playing fiddle at the age of five and is the 2008 Alberta Provincial Old Time Fiddle Champion. Alongside his twin sister Marlee and his dad Troy, Braden plays in the Gates Family Band for dances, concerts and jamborees all over Alberta. This is Braden’s 2nd time competing at the Canadian Grand Masters. ©Photo by Lois Siegel


2 Kathleen Gorey-McSorley (Fredericton, NB)

Kathleen is 16 years old and began as a fiddle player about eight years ago. She is the two-time winner of the Don Messer Award at the Harvey Music Festival (2007-2008). Also in 2008, Kathleen placed 2nd in the Mid-Atlantic Fleadh in Pearl River, NY. She began studying classical violin with Sylbie Roy a couple of years ago and is enjoying the challenge and the genre of

music. She plans to continue to expand her musical horizons and to eventually enter musical studies at university. Kathleen has released her first CD, Caitlin Is Ainm Dom (Irish for My Name is Kathleen). This is Kathleen’s 2nd appearance at the Canadian Grand Masters. ©Photo by Lois Siegel


1 Wesley Hardisty (Fort Simpson, NWT)

Wesley, now 16, took up the fiddle just three years ago in his hometown of Fort Simpson. His extraordinary musical talent has taken him all over Canada. He‘s proud to have performed at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver as part of the Northwest Territories cultural delegation and as well as part of Daniel Lapp’s All Star Fiddle Orchestra. His passion is Northern, Métis and West

Coast fiddle music. Wesley is now attending the Gulf Islands School for Performing Arts on Saltspring Island, British Columbia. This is his 1st appearance at the Canadian Grand Masters. ©Photo courtesy of Hardisty


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3 Greg Henry (Sombra, ON)

Greg, now 23, started playing at the age of five and competing at the age of seven. Since then he has been a three-time Ontario Open Champion and three-time Ontario Open Junior Champion at Bobcaygeon, a Canadian Open Junior Champion at Shelburne, a SW Ontario Junior Champion at Tavistock, 18 and

Under Champion at Pembroke, and a U.S. National Traditional Open Champion at Barre, Vermont. Greg has won many Duet Championships with fiddler Chuck Joyce. Greg has been teaching for six years and this is his 3rd appearance at the Canadian Grand Masters. ©Photo courtesy of Henry


3 Alex Lamoureux (Courtenay, BC)

This is Alex’s 3rd appearance as a competitor and was a Junior Showcase Performer at the CGM in 2006. He placed in the top 11 in 2008 and in 2009; and placed in the top 10 of the Open Class in Pembroke in 2008. He is currently performing with the Lamoureux Family Band and doing solo gigs as well. ©Photo by Lois Siegel


2 Adam LeBlanc (Memramcook, NB)

Adam, now 19, has been playing the fiddle for nine years and took classical violin for four years. He has competed in numerous competitions and has performed in many different shows throughout the Maritimes. Adam is also a step dancer and was Open Step Dance Champion in 2007 and 2008. He is going into his second year at Mount Allison University, majoring in Chemistry

and minoring in Music. He was part of the Mount Allison Chamber Orchestra of the 2009-2010 season. This is Adam’s 2nd appearance at the Canadian Grand Masters. ©Photo courtesy of LeBlanc


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2 Paul Lemelin (Sudbury, ON)

Paul has been playing the fiddle since the age of four and has been competing at various contests since the age of eight. He has won a number of competitions including the 1st place in the Open Category in Richmond, Ontario and the 1st place in the Open Category in Sturgeon Falls. He also placed in the top five in Pembroke Ontario for the last three years and had competed at

the Canadian Grand Masters back in 2006. Recently Paul has been playing with various Bluegrass bands such as The Rivets and Honey Grass. Paul is quickly becoming a sought out “Bluegrasser” playing Fiddle and Mandolin. ©Photo by Lois Siegel


1 Cassie Anne MacDonald (Halifax, NS)Cassie Anne is an 18 year old rising star in the Nova Scotian celtic music scene. Cassie Anne is a multi-talented artist who has been playing the fiddle since she was seven and began step dancing at five years old.

Along with her sister Maggie Jane, Cassie Anne was a featured soloist in the 2009 Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo and

performs frequently in many festivals throughout the Maritimes. She appeared in the Junior Showcase at the Canadian Grand Masters last year and is back to compete for the 1st time this year. ©Photo courtesy of MacDonald


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1 Lee Mandeville (Yellowknife, NWT)Lee has been a stage performer since the age of nine and was 14 when he started fiddling. He is the recipient of the Golden Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Award; the North’s Living History Award; the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Northwest Territories Métis Nation; and currently holds the National Métis Fiddle Championship title. Lee is currently

producing and recording his fourth fiddle album and has traveled throughout the north, Canada and internationally. This is his 1st appearance at the Canadian Grand Masters. ©Photo courtesy of Mandeville


1 Kaitlyn Obedzinski (Winnipeg, MB)

Kaitlyn is a grade 10 International Baccalaureate student at Miles Macdonell Collegiate. She began playing the violin at the age of seven with the Suzuki Program and fiddling at the age of nine. She has played with the Winnipeg Junior Strings and volunteered at community seniors homes playing the fiddle. She also plays in the group Quadrille. ©Photo courtesy of Obedzinski


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1 Kieran Poile (Whitehorse, YT)

Kieran has been playing fiddle for about ten years. He has worked with well-known Yukon musicians Keitha Clark and Annie Avery, to mentor young and upcoming fiddle players. With Come Eat a Cat and the Fiddleheads, he performed at The Rotary Music Festival, the Sunstroke Music Festival, recorded and played live on CBC radio, recorded a CD, played at the Frostbite Music

Festival and the Kluane Mountain Bluegrass Festival.

Recently, Kieran has also been involved extensively with local theatre, acting and singing and playing violin. He appeared in the Junior Showcase at the Canadian Grand Masters last year and is back to compete for the 1st time this year. ©Photo by Lois Siegel


1 Eric Provencher (Oshawa, ON)

Eric, now 18, picked up his first fiddle at the age of seven and since then has explored a number of different fiddle styles. He has competed in Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario and Alberta. Last year, Eric moved from the 18 and Under to the Open Division. He placed 3rd at Bobcaygeon and Shelbourne, 1st at Radway, Alberta and 4th at Pembroke. Eric performed in the Junior Showcase at the

Canadian Grand Masters in 2008 and is honoured to be invited back as a contestant. ©Photo courtesy of Provencher


14 Anthony Rissesco (Halifax, NS)

Anthony is the 2006 and 2007 Maritime Fiddle Champion. He started playing piano at five and violin when he was seven years old, and has been competing in fiddle contests for 29 years. Anthony is a member of the Gig Dogs and likes to share his love of music from classical to Cape Breton styles. We welcome Anthony back for his 14th appearance at the Canadian Grand

Masters. ©Photo courtesy of Rissesco


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3 Eric Ross (Winnipeg, MB)

Eric’s current involvement in Manitoba’s Fiddling community includes: competing in contests; playing for Manitoba festivals; teaching students individually; and teaching in a ‘fiddle camp’ in a Northern Community. Eric also belongs to a fiddle group called Quadrille that is accompanied by Yvette Audette. Eric is going into his third year of university with plans to take physiotherapy

in the near future. This is Eric’s 3rd time attending the CGM. ©Photo courtesy of Ross


11 Karrnnel Sawitsky (Saskatoon, SK)

2009 Canadian Folk Music Award Nominee for Instrumental Solo Artist of the Year, Karrnnel just released a new album with Juno nominated multi-instrumentalist Daniel Koulack, entitled Fiddle and Banjo. Karrnnel released his debut self-titled solo recording in February 2009 which features 100% original compositions that couple traditional fiddle styles with modern mainstream sounds.

On the competition front, Karrnnel is a 2008 Canadian Grand Masters Finalist; a four-time Saskatchewan Provincial Fiddle Champion; a four-time Govan Champion; and the 2007 Grand North American 1st runner-up. We are happy to welcome Karrnnel for his 11th Canadian Grand Masters appearance. ©Photo by Lois Siegel


1 Sarah Tradewell (Victoria, BC)

Sarah, now 18, is an active performer in Victoria and beyond. This year, Sarah was chosen to play at BC Place Stadium for the first Victory Ceremony of the 2010 Olympics. She is spending her summer performing as the fiddler in Blue Bridge Repertory’s production of Hank Williams: The Show He Never Gave.

She released a recording of traditional fiddle music in 2009 entitled, Traditions, and has just finished recording an album of Celtic music. Sarah is working on a new recording that will feature original compositions. This is Sarah’s 1st appearance at the Canadian Grand Masters. ©Photo courtesy of Tradewell


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Fiddling CGM 21 Competition Weekend - CGMFA-ACGMVcgmfa-acgmv.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010-Canadian-Grand-Master... · 21st Fiddling Competition Weekend Friday, August 27, ... sideman,