Celebrated fiddler and his friends will bring smiles to your boots
Calvin Vollrath says Canada’s fiddle music tradition comes from all over the place. “French Canadian, Métis, Ukrainian, Scottish, Irish, the list goes on and on,” he says.
And that’s what makes it so Canadian.
He remembers the producers of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics opening ceremony travelling the country to tap into what is recognizable Canadian culture. “They found out in most every culture, fiddle was the culture,” he said.
“And so they featured fiddle in the opening ceremonies of the Vancouver Winter Olympics and they commissioned me to write five tunes in various styles, because there’s so many styles in Canada. It really is Canadian culture.”
Vollrath will be bringing a gang of his friends onto the stage at Bonnyville Strathcona Performing Arts Centre August 7 for a dazzling evening of music ranging from old time fiddle tunes to high-energy popular selections.
“It’s a celebration of fiddle music,” he said. “This is my 50th year in the music business this year, so I’ve kind of got myself a busy year.
“I don’t want to say it’s my last year, but I’m starting to slow down a little bit and so I’ve got some other fiddle players along with me. Some are students of mine over the years that have gone on to do real well.
“Daniel Gervais, who is originally from St. Paul and he’s a two time Canadian grandmaster fiddle champion. Mark Sullivan from Abbotsford, BC—he’s a three time Canadian grandmaster fiddle champion. And then a guitar player from Burns Lake, BC. His name is Clinton Pelletier.”
Add Québécois pianist and fiddler Germain Leduc to the mix and you have up to four master musicians playing their fiddles together at a given time.
Step dancers Patric Hamelin (also from Quebec) and Rhea Labrie will add their intricate, percussive footwork and visible energy to the show.
Fiddles and violins are incredibly versatile, expressive instruments, and skilled players can evoke intense sorrow or explosive joy through their music. While fiddlers carry a profound respect for tradition, their music is a living—and lively—art form.
Part of that is because the old tunes literally travelled by ship, canoe, on foot, or in horse-drawn wagons as fiddlers learned from each other.
“There was no radio,” Vollrath says of the olden times. “A fiddle player heard [a tune] somewhere from another fiddle player that lived 20 miles down the road. It was horse and buggy. And then they went home and they tried to remember it and they played it.”
The player’s memory may have been imprecise, so the tune developed its own regional “accent.”
Vollrath says that’s the story of the famous Red River Jig, the unofficial national anthem of the Métis people.
“It came from the voyageurs from Quebec that were travelling way back in the day,” he explained. “The French Canadians have a tune called ‘Le grand jig simple,’ and it’s pretty much the same tune.
“I think when they traveled, they played this tune and the Métis people in Red River heard this tune and adapted it, and it became the Red River Jig.”
The Red River Jig is on the program August 7 with Labrie, who is Vollrath’s wife, dancing.
Vollrath is clearly excited to be bringing all these great performers together.
“It’s a family event, it’s good for everybody. They’re going to hear stories—every tune has a story,” he said.
If you don’t consider yourself a big fiddle fan, he says, you’ll still have a great time.
“I’ll tell you what, if they like music and stories, they’re going to enjoy this show. The musicians on stage are all top drawer musicians and we’re going to bring back memories for the old folks.
“For the younger folks that come out, they’re not going to hear any Jennifer Lopez or anything like that, but it’s all instrumental and we’ll be bringing smiles to the faces and smiles to people’s boots as they’re tapping their feet. It’s going to be a memorable evening.”
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