Instructor Bios 2014

2014 Salt Spring Fiddle Camp Instructors:
This yearʼs band in residence are "The Bills":
Adrian Dolan (fiddle, accordion, piano)
Chris Frye (voice, guitar)
Marc Atkinson (mandolin, guitar, voice)
Richard Moody (violin, viola)
Scott White (bass, voice)
Plus our other wonderful instructors: Clay Ross (guitar, voice, percussion)
Corbin Keep (cello)
Erynn Marshall (old time fiddle)
Karen Dignan (dance, fiddle)
Maggie Chow (art)
Merrie Klazek (brass, orchestra, dance)
Olivia Budd (fiddle) Pierre Schryer (fiddle)
Ryan Dignan (percussion)
Zavallennahh Huscroft (fiddle)
Ze Mauricio (percussion) Adrian Dolan (fiddle, accordion, piano) www.adriandolan.com
Adrian Dolan is a multi-instrumentalist and composer based in Victoria, best known for
his work with the award-winning roots ensemble The Bills over the past decade. His
skills as a violinist, fiddler, pianist and accordionist have landed him on stage with some
of the best in the business, and along with a passion for composing, educating and
leading a new generation of folk music into the 21st century.
"Unquestionably one of Canadaʼs very finest fiddlers" Steve Edge, Rogue Folk Club,
Vancouver
After Adrian joined The Bills at age 17, the band became one of the foremost touring
groups in Canada, playing nearly 160 shows annually and extensively travelling around
Canada, the US and the UK, and Europe. Their 2002 and 2004 releases both garnered
JUNO Award nominations, Western Canadian Music Awards, and received worldwide
airplay. Music videos for two songs from "Let Em Run" have been featured on CMT
Canada. They've played for countless radio broadcasts, including CBC (This Morning,
Q, Canada Live), Radio-Canada, BBC Scotland, Radio Sweden, NPR, and Woodsongs
Old-Time Radio Hour. The Bills continue to tour in support of their latest release "Yes
Please" (September 2012).
Classically trained on piano, violin, and viola, Adrian began composing at a young age,
and performing professionally in his mid teens. After taking up fiddling with Daniel Lapp
he was soon putting his piano skills to use as an accompanist, culminating with guest
performances with the Victoria Symphony, and summer festival stages around the
province.
For the past 10 years Adrian has been honing his creative and technical prowess in the
studio as a producer and engineer, working with an eclectic array of artists over the
years spanning the folk and Bluegrass realms, into country, garage rock, storytelling,
jazz, and comedy. Adrianʼs skills as an arranger have been sought out in many projects
to expand the sonic landscapes to include live string sections. As a multi-instrumentalist
he has been frequently called upon for session work in Vancouver, Victoria, and beyond.
Currently, Adrian maintains a busy schedule of performing, arranging, producing, sound
engineering, and teaching. He frequently travels to instruct at traditional music
workshops across Canada, and has also served as Musical Director for the BC Fiddle
Orchestra. Adrian currently performs with Ruth Moody (The Wailin Jennys), and has
also toured and recorded with a wide array of artists including BCCMA winner Ridley
Bent, The Arrogant Worms, Irish legends The Chieftains, Barney Bentall, Old Man
Luedecke, and Cape Breton's Rankin Sisters. He recently was hired by Musical
Director Bill Henderson to perform viola in the band for the world premiere production of
Bruce Ruddellʼs “Beyond Eden” which ran for 49 performances in Vancouver and
Calgary as part of the Cultural Olympiad in 2010.
Adrian has served as concertmaster for Bach on the Rock Chamber Orchestra, and the
Sooke Phiharmonic Chamber players under the direction of Norman Nelson, as well as
performing on both viola and violin with the Victoria Chamber Orchestra and the Victoria
Civic Orchestra.
Chris Frye (voice, guitar)
Chris Frye has been a guitar-strumming, songwriting, lead vocalist-type guy since he
first hit the stage with his father's stringband, Loafer's Glory, at the age of six in front of
1000 dancing hippies, draft dodgers and rednecks at the Nelson Civic Centre. He's
never looked back.
Chris is a founding member of The Bills and has been the band's chief lyricist, rhythm
guitarist and business manager since the group hit the international folk/roots scene in
2001. He also embraced the teachings of his jazz mentor and Bills bandmate, Marc
Atkinson, and wound up playing rumbling rhythm guitar for Marc's renowned trio for a
decade, including on all of the Trio's four albums to date. In 2006 Chris also released a
solo CD, Raised on Rhythm and Rhyme, which featured his dream lineup of
accompanying Canadian roots music stars.
Never short on inspiration or energy, Chris tackles life and music with spirit and
abandon. He loves nothing so much as a thoughtful turn of phrase, a well-recorded
melodic hook (be it bluegrass, Britpop or Belgian bebop) or laying down a bedrock
groove over which he can enjoy the sound of one of his bandmates or other friends
taking musical flight.
Always listening and learning, Chris has learned much over the past 15 years about the
collaborative approach to songwriting and arranging vocals and instruments in the
acoustic context. He is truly excited about sharing some of what he's picked up during
his first visit to the Fiddlworks summer camp.
Marc Atkinson (mandolin, guitar) www.marcatkinson.com
Marc Atkinson is one of Canada's finest JUNO-nominated, Western Canadian awardwinning musicians. He is the leader and composer of the internationally renowned Marc
Atkinson Trio (and co-founder, composer and performer in the acclaimed “The Bills”).
The music of this virtuosic group is melodically captivating, sensually charged and
ferociously, technically awe-inspiring.
Embracing a lifetime of musical influences, Marc and the Trio have just released their
fourth CD, The Marc Atkinson Trio IV, praised as the finest yet. The compositions on this
CD are punchy, driving and rhythmically inventive. The Trio, formed in 2000, has toured
North America, England and Europe and has received standing ovations everywhere
they perform from the Montreal Jazz Festival to the Vancouver International Folk
Festival to DjangoFest Northwest.
The many original Marc Atkinson compositions are jewels in Canadian guitar repertoire.
The first three CDs are still garnering international attention for its stunning
compositions and extraordinary guitar dexterity The Marc Atkinson Trio II was voted one
of the top five albums in North America by Acoustic Guitar Magazine. The Marc Atkinson
Trio III was nominated in 2006 for an Outstanding Album Award at the Western
Canadian Music Awards.
The Marc Atkinson Trio IV pushes the boundaries of this instrumental group even further
than the first three CDs. It is a technically demanding, melodic and rhythmically pulsing
50 minutes of music. The new CD includes 11 Marc Atkinson original compositions and
one impressive rearrangement of a Russian Rag. The compositions glide seamlessly
from unusual beauty, to raucous rhythm. If you are a lover of the guitar, instrumental
music or just music, you will love this new recording.
Marc Atkinson, a multi-instrumentalist/composer/arranger/producer, is one of Canada's
most talented musicians. His catchy compositions, found on the self-titled CDs I, II, III
and now IV take guitar beyond the usual repertoire and sound. The tunes have a fiery
but elegant guitar style, infused with a catchy blend of influences. All this while still
maintaining the laidback humour and casual 'good time feel' of Canada's West Coast.
Atkinson's picking has been described as flawless, surprise-filled, sizzling and
supremely melodic. His music is original, complex and challenging in its conception and
delivery but remains accessible and absorbing.
Richard Moody (violin, viola)
A veteran of the Canadian music scene, violinist/violist Richard Moody has delved into
almost every style a string player can try. After an education in classical viola at the
University of Manitoba and the Conservatoire Nationale de Musique in Caen, France,
he co-founded the folk-rock group Acoustically Inclined, garnering national following and
acclaim. He would subsequently perform and/or record with the Wailin Jennys, the Bills,
Joel Fafard, Jane Siberry, Glenn Buhr, Paris to Kyiv, the Wyrd Sisters and the Manitoba
Chamber orchestra, among many others. Most recently, he has cofounded the duo
"Moody-Amiri" which combines Persian with classical, jazz and Indian influences.
Richard's musical interests lie largely in improvisation, drawing from diverse styles
ranging from bluegrass to jazz to classical. As a composer and arranger for such groups
as the Manitoba Chamber orchestra and Eagle and Hawk with the Winnipeg Symphony,
he combines a knowledge and love for classical counterpoint with a edgy style of
harmony. Richard currently resides in Victoria, British Columbia, and as often as
possible, spends the winters in India studying yoga.
Scott White (bass, voice) www.scottwhite.net
Scott White is a multi faceted bassist, and music therapist from Canada currently
residing in Berlin, Germany. He has performed with many of Canada's most renowned
musicians, toured much of the world in various bands, acted as music director for a
Cirque du Soleil show in Germany, and practised music therapy for years in various
hospitals and care facilities. Not to mention workshops, teaching, composing and the
many current projects he is involved with, performing around Europe and North
America.
Currently, Scott is the bass player and musical director for a cabaret kind of show which
plays all kinds of music, in a 100 year old tent with stained glass windows... they were in
Vienna last year, and are just finishing up in Stuttgart now.
Mr. White has recently recorded an album on ECM which is out this year, with a small
orchestra from Dresden, which won the German CD of the year. Last spring he enjoyed
touring Russia with a jazz quintet. Scott has played in many different projects all over
Europe, of course the Bills in Canada and some times Europe, and has been teaching
in Canada a fair bit, while still living in Berlin.
Clay Ross (Guitar) http://clayross.com
Clay Ross was recently selected by the U.S. State Department and Lincoln Center as a
Jazz Ambassador. Under this title, he has toured throughout Turkey, Greece,
Macedonia, Kosovo, and Brazil. After graduating from the University of Charleston with
a degree in classical composition he became an integral part of the South Carolina Jazz
scene. Now based in NYC, Ross has spent much of the last four years touring with Cyro
Baptistaʼs world renowned percussion ensemble “Beat the Donkey.”
He has released three recordings of original music that showcase a wide range of
stylistic influences including jazz, funk, Brazilian, bluegrass, classical, and more. In his
recent project, Matuto, Ross collaborated with many of the most sought after young
musicians on the NYC scene. Matuto is Brazilian slang for “country bumpkin.” With this
group, Clay mixes the best of bluegrass and baiao for a sound like a Carnaval in the
Appalachian Mountains. This year his band mate Ze Mauricio will also be joining the
Fiddleworks team. Clay has also played and recorded with the multi award winning
April Verch Band.
Corbin Keep (cello) www.wildcellist.com
A rich and diverse musical background began at age eight with guitar, followed by his
introduction to the cello when he was twelve. Interest in many styles was apparent early
on; in high school, he excelled in both the classical and jazz areas. At 17, he had his
first pickup and effects pedal for his cello, which he played, along with guitar, in the
school jazz combo.
University followed and over the course of three years at two schools (U. of CO at
Denver and Western WA U. in Bellingham, WA) all but two of his courses were in music.
Five years on the road were next, playing pop, rock, metal and even some country in
bands and a one-of-a-kind experimental duo called 'Meet Men Not Machines'. This
featured Corbin on guitar, electric cellos, Taurus pedals and vocals, with a partner
playing 'body drums' (their invention) keyboards and vocals.
Within a year after the demise of the 'Meet Men', Corbin's life and musical interests had
shifted dramatically. Preferring acoustic cello over all of his other instruments, he began
doing 'cello portraits,' (improvised sound readings of people), work with an
improvisational theatre company, dance troupes, art show openings, plus occasional
performances with various acoustic ensembles. In 1993, ending a six year hiatus from
being a full-time professional musician, Corbin returned to the scene with a new solo act
featuring the combination of cello and voice, playing a wide variety of music, in settings
ranging from intimate coffeehouses to opening for rock bands.
In 2002, Corbin was a presenter at the annual New Directions Cello Festival, where he
played a solo concert and led workshops on alternative cello techniques. He has
returned to this same festival every year since 2005 to teach, and has also appeared at
a number of other music festivals in the US and Canada.
Erynn Marshall (old time fiddle) www.hickoryjack.com
Erynn is a Canadian fiddler who has carved out a niche for herself as an old-time fiddler
in North American and Abroad. She has played for over thirty years, learned old-time
music from visiting 80-95 year-old fiddlers in the South, and performed in Canada, the
US and England. Erynn won first place in the open fiddle category at "Clifftop" (The
Appalachian Stringband Festival) in West Virginia and was the first woman and person
from outside the US to win. This festival is one of the largest and most prestigious for
Appalachian music in the country. She was a featured musician on the roots music
documentary Iʼll Fly Away Home (Bravo), The Clifftop Experience (Outlook, WV Public
Broadcasting) and has recently been filmed as part of the Voices of Virginia series
(Boston Productions). Erynn has authored a book, Music In The Air Somewhere, filmed
an instructional fiddle DVD, and recorded four CDs: Calico, Meet Me in the Music,
Shout Monah (the Haints), and her 2013 release Tune Tramp - a new CD featuring 45
traditional musicians from across North America.
Erynn lives in Galax, Virginia, where she performs with husband and songwriter/multiinstrumentalist Carl Jones, as well as with the Bow Benders (Carl, Kenny Jackson and
Bobb Head). For five years Erynn directed the concert series at the Blue Ridge Music
Center in Galax, Virginia. She also sings, plays banjo, guitar, composes tunes in her
free time and loves to flatfoot dance when she hears a good tune. Erynn is excited to be
back at Fiddleworks in 2014!
Karen Dignan (dance, fiddle) www.sandpointfiddle.com
Karen earned a B.A. in music education from the University of Idaho. She has taught
everything from general music and choir to beginning band, middle school orchestra
and high school band. Currently, Karen is the string ensemble teacher at the Sandpoint
Waldorf School. She also teaches private music lessons, and is a gifted fiddler. She
loves the sense of community that comes from shared music and social dance. Karen
started the Sandpoint Fiddle & Folk Arts Camp to create a musical community beyond
the boundaries of individual schools and towns and to build the confidence of all the
musicians who attend through creative performances and group collaborations.
Maggie Chow (Art)
Maggie studied at Emily Carr University of Art and Design. She has been teaching art
for 21 years with 9 years of experience in Early Childhood Education. She founded Six
Principles fine arts studio in 1996, an organization which studies the Reggio Emilia
approach using childrenʼs art as community-building initiatives to find renewal through
promoting creativity. Her inspiring classes feature hands-on creative play with open
ended materials. Maggie has taught in many private and public school settings as well
as community centres in the Greater Vancouver area. She is a 2008 Harvard University
Project Zero participant and an active member of the National Art Education
Association. Her work has been commissioned in numerous private collections. Along
with her husband, daughter and dog, she lives on the Sunshine Coast and continues to
brings her extensive research and practices out of her studio. Merrie Klazek (brass, orchestra, dance)
Merrie is active as a performer and recording artist in orchestral, solo, folk and pop
music. She holds a BMus from the University of Calgary in her hometown, and a MMus
from Northwestern University where she studied with the late Vincent Cichowicz. Her
musical travels have taken her around the world with performance highlights including
the Spoleto Italy Festival, Musik Contemporaire in Strasbourg France, Tokyo's Bunka
Kaikan hall, Brandenburg #2 with the TBSO, performances at the International Trumpet
Guild Conference 2008 & 2011, as well as the 2010 International Women's Brass
Conference.
Merrie has been principal trumpet with the Thunder Bay Symphony since 1999 and has
previously held the same position with the Victoria Symphony (2005) and Orchestra
London Canada (1996-99). She has been a sessional instructor at Lakehead University
since 2001, recently taking on the post of director of the LU Wind Ensemble.
Her solo recording entitled "Songs to the Moon" has been featured on TVO's Studio 2
and CBC. She appears on three JUNO nominated recordings and performs regularly
with her husband, renowned Celtic fiddler, Pierre Schryer. Merrie's commitment to her
community of Thunder Bay is a great source of joy and she is rewarded to collaborate
with Pierre on the presentation of the Canadian Celtic Celebration.
Olivia Budd (fiddle)
Fiddler and composer Olivia Budd began playing at the age of seven in her hometown
of Salt Spring Island, BC, where she originally was taught by Zavallennahh Huscroft.
She was accepted into the Gulf Islands School of Performing Arts as a high school
student, and went on to earn a Bachelor of Music in Music Composition from Memorial
University of Newfoundland, where she studied under Nancy Dahn.
From the beginning, Olivia's passion for Irish and Celtic traditional music was clear, and
she later expanded that passion to include Scottish, Scandinavian and Canadian styles,
including exploration of Newfoundland, Cape Breton, and West Coast genres.
As a teenager, Olivia competed in and won several fiddling competitions, both in BC
and in Newfoundland, and in 2008 she travelled to the Isle of Skye, Scotland, where she
studied Scottish traditional music under Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas.
As a performer, Olivia has played on stages on both coasts, throughout the Gulf Islands,
as well as across Newfoundland, both as a traditional fiddler, and as a part of several
classical ensembles. She has opened concerts for the likes of Martin Hayes, Ben
Heppner, Valdy, Harry Manx, and Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas.
After graduating from university in 2013, Olivia travelled to Ireland, where she spent four
months travelling the country and playing music, becoming steeped in the local cultures
and musical styles.
As a musician, Olivia's personal style reflects her strong technical background achieved
through many years of classical training, combined with a strong knowledge and
passion for a traditional Irish sound. She currently lives on Salt Spring Island, teaching
enthusiastic young musicians,
and working on several current musical projects.
Pierre Schryer (fiddle) www.pierreschryer.com
Pierre is one of Canada's leading traditional fiddlers. JUNO nominee, Canadian Folk
Music nominee, and celebrated performer and producer, Pierre has established himself
as a gem on the music scene among fans and fellow musicians. He was immersed from
an early age in the Franco-Ontarian traditions of his heritage, through multiple fiddle
competitions along with his triplet brothers. The Schryer Triplets recorded 2 albums and
appeared several times on the "Tommy Hunter Show."
As a solo performer Pierre has received numerous titles and awards including Canadian
Open Fiddle Champion, Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Champion, Violoneux
Championnat, and North American Irish Fiddle Champion. Over the last decade, Pierre
has released six solo recordings on his own label, New Canadian Records, of which
"Blue Drag" was honoured with a nomination at the 2004 JUNO Awards for best Roots
and Traditional Album of the Year, and "Mélange" was nominated at the 2008 Canadian
Folk Music Awards for Instrumental Solo Album of the Year.
Pierre has shared the stage with many colleagues in the traditional music scene
including Natalie McMaster, members of Leahy, Jane Bunnet, the Barra MacNeils,
Ashley MacIssac, Liz Carroll, John Doyle, Matapat, Club Carrefour, La Bottine
Souriante, Altan, Old Blind Dogs and others. He has performed with numerous
symphony orchestras across Canada with his acclaimed Symphony Pops show.
Pierre is the creator and artistic director of the "Canadian Celtic Celebration", a threeday festival presented in Thunder Bay, Ontario each June. A native of Northern
Ontarian, Pierre is proud to continue planting roots in the north with his wife, TBSO's
prized trumpeter Merrie Klazek, and their lovely children, Kyran and Tamsyn.
Ryan Digan (percussion)
Ryan is a percussionist with a long history of musical collaborations starting at the
University of Idaho where he earned a B.A. in music composition in 1997. He then
attended the University of New Hampshire where he completed his Masters in
Composition in 1999. Ryan taught private lessons and music classes in private schools
in Seattle for a few years before completing his teaching certificate. He is currently the
band director at Sandpoint Middle School and Clark Fork Jr/Sr High School. He has
played in rock bands, country bands, swing bands, Irish groups, blues groups, jazz
quartets and orchestras. At fiddle camp Ryan teaches a combination of performance art
and percussion, much like STOMP and the Blue Man Group. He composes pieces for
each individual group of students he works with.
Zavallennahh Huscroft (fiddle/viola) www.zavallennahh.com
Zavallennahh is an innovative, spunky fiddler/violist, pianist, composer, and community
builder. She creates exceptionally evocative original acoustic music, and loves to share
her music through teaching.
As a recording artist with Dog My Cat records, RT's debut album “Reach” and the duo
album “Spark” (under previous name Jaime RT) have both received Canadian Folk
Music Award and Western Canadian Music Award Nominations, great reviews, and are
favourites of CBC Radio, including the theme song on "North by Northwest: Between
the Covers".
Zav has toured internationally playing fiddola and keys with Canadian folk legend
James Keelaghan and with her talented brother, Daniel Huscroft. She has shared the
stage with Liz Carrol, Martin Hayes, Alasdair Fraser, Oliver Schroer, Daniel Lapp, Pierre
Schryer, Colin Adjun, Catriona MacDonald, Jerry Holland, and Yves Lambert. Her
original writing is winning international composing accolades, and her music has been
featured on CBC's Vinyl Cafe and radio stations around the globe. Zavallennahh is
passionate and fun.
“Her own music is intensely personal and aims to weave the listener into the fabric of
life...while her music is infused with traditional folk elements, it's not confined by
standard conventions.” The Gulf Islands Driftwood
Miss Huscroft is not only a dynamic performer but also loves to share her musical
passion with kids, through teaching and school shows. She is often found trekking with
her fiddle, teaching in the Northwest Territories, or enthusiastically working her magic at
fiddle camps. She is the founder of Fiddleworks Community Development Society,
dedicated to sharing the joy of music, building life skills and developing community
through innovative fiddle education and music camps.
Zavallennahh holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano and Composition from the University
of Victoria, is a published author (Fiddleworks Series, Frederick Harris Music) and loves
to compose and perform music for classical ensembles as a violist. She is a mother
above all other callings in her life, and lives with a deep commitment to the earth and
community.
Ze Mauricio (percussion) www.zemauricio.com
Ze Mauricio grew up immersed in the percussive traditions of his homeland in Rio De
Janeiro, Brazil. He is an original member of the international touring group Matuto and
performs with an eclectic mix of NYC bands. He is a master of the Pandiero (Brazilian
Tamborine) and has performed with musical luminaries such as Yo Yo Ma, Paquito De
Rivera, and Trey Anastasio of Phish.
DON’T MISS THE CONCERT of the YEAR!
This year, Fiddleworks' Instructors Showcase Concert will again be co-presented by
the Salt Spring Folk Club July 20th at Fulford Hall, a festive evening of music featuring
the incredibly talented professional musicians on staff at our 15th Annual Salt Spring
Fiddle Camp. This year our feature performers are the fun & fabulous multiple Juno
nomineeʼs “The Bills”. Also on the program is Ontario fiddle sensation Pierre
Schryer, JUNO nominee, Canadian Folk Music nominee, Canadian Open Fiddle
Champion, Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Champion, Violoneux Championnat, and
North American Irish Fiddle Champion. Also back is his talented wife, trumpeter Merrie
Klazek. Other wonderful highlights of the evening will be Old Time fiddling from Erynn
Marshall, solo performances and collaborations from the ever talented New York based
guitarist & percussionist Clay Ross (Matuto, The April Verch Band) and his Matuto band
mate Brazilian percussionist Ze Mauricio, wild cellist Corbin Keep, former Salt
Springer Zavallennahh (a.k.a. Jaime RT) and fiddlers Olivia Budd and Karen Dignan. This promises to be an amazing show, and concert proceeds help fund bursaries for low
income families to attend fiddle camp. We warmly welcome you to join us for this very
magical evening, a virtual folk festival in one night.
Come early and enjoy dinner by Haidee Hart & company, doors open at 6:00, showtime
is 7:30. Tickets are $20/adults and $15/students available at Stuff & Nonsense, Salt
Spring Books and Acoustic Planet or through the ArtSpring Box Office, 1-866-537-2102
or online www.artspring.ca

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