CelticFest Performer Bios

The Edgewater Casino CelticFest will play host to an unusual collaboration. Canadian harper Alys Howe and American harper Seumas Gagne will present a collaborative performance of traditional Scottish Gaelic music. Both accomplished harpers, Alys and Seumas will perform lively Scottish and Irish dance music played on the clarsach (traditional Celtic harp) as well as Scottish Gaelic love songs, work songs, and vocal dance music (puirt-a-beul).

Seumas and Alys met at Mòd Vancouver in 1997, where Seumas was adjudicating the harp competitions, and awarded Alys the top prize. After several years out of contact, the two met up and began playing music together. “I was amazed at the depth of the education Alys had gotten for herself, and deeply moved by the nuanced performances she was producing seemingly effortlessly”, said Seumas, the older of the two. They began collaborating as a harp duo in 2006, enjoying their mutual love of making traditional Celtic music.

www.alyshowe.com

www.seumasgagne.com

Ballyhooley, the place, is a small Irish town in county Cork, and by all accounts it is a fine locale. It should be, with a name that means “party town” in Irish Gaelic.

Ballyhooley, the band, is a dynamic Vancouver-based group of musicians in love with the Irish musical tradition. Playing nine different instruments among them, the band members delight in creative arrangements representing the many moods of Irish music.

Ballyhooley is: Vanessa Kay – fiddle, mandolin and vocals; Tim Fanning – uilleann pipes, flute, whistles and vocals; Glenn Buholzer – guitar, mandolins and vocals.

www.ballyhooley.com

No strangers to the Vancouver music scene Paul Evenden, Jennie Bice and Ernie Higgins have blended their colourful talents and created a dynamic group..."Copper Sky”. Since 2002, this trio has been pleasing audiences with their lively style of music all around the Lower Mainland.

www.copperskymusic.com

Mad Tradition represents the coming together of two musicians with unique musical pedigrees – Roxanna Sabir has toured throughout North America with the acclaimed fiddling, singing and step-dancing group, the Sabir Sisters. Craig McGregor has also toured with the Sabir Sisters, as well as with Great Northern and the Tiller's Folly. It doesn't matter where you want to go, their music will take you there. From the hauntingly melodic whispers of traditional slow airs to the fiery passion of fast-paced jigs and reels, Mad Tradition will take you on a journey that navigates through the traditional and contemporary musical frontiers. Roxanna and Craig exhibit the rare ability to bank a musical fire until you can't help but be soothed by the warm glow of the embers they produce through the intertwining of melodic lines, gradually building that fire until it erupts in an explosion of thrumming guitar and feverous fiddle. Craig and Roxanna's original arrangements will both soothe and delight you! For this project, the inspired duo combine their respective musical influences and love of fiddle music to create original arrangements that celebrate traditional fiddle music, with influences from the Celtic, Old Time and Canadian Folk repertoires, combining medleys of tunes over four-hundred years old, with contemporary melodies.

www.myspace.com/craigmcgregorroxannasabir

The North Shore Celtic Ensemble is a culturally diverse group of young gifted musicians from the Greater Vancouver region of British Columbia. They perform lively original Celtic-based orchestral and folk music using string instruments, percussion and a selection of wind instruments.

The students work and perform directly with professional musicians and musically minded peers, providing them with a rich musical environment that is not available through the public school systems. NSCE is a Non-Profit Society and a Registered Charity. Artistic Director Claude Giguère has 20 years of experience as a professional violinist and teacher, and Artistic Director Jay Knutson has over 25 years of experience in performance and musical workshops. A founding member of Spirit of the West, he recorded several CDs with this group.

www.nscelticensemble.com

Pastiche artfully blends original material with traditional folk songs and tunes from France and Quebec. Much of the repertoire makes use of irregular rhythms, modern chording and complex arrangements. The result is a pastiche of influences, both contemporary and past, which can best be described as "folk-nouveau".

Boris Favre (piano, lead vocals) is originally from Lyon, France, Boris holds an A.R.C.T. Diploma (Toronto Conservatory), and a Bachelor of Music Degree from the University of British Columbia.

Boris has toured extensively throughout North America and Europe for a decade as bassist for the internationally acclaimed Celtic-funk band Mad Pudding. He currently plays bass for the Shona Le Mottée Band and is a member of children’s entertainer Music with Marnie. He also teaches music at the Sarah McLachlan Music Outreach.

Allan Dionne (accordion, vocals) grew up in Regina where he studied accordion and drum set. Once in Vancouver he obtained a music Diploma from Capilano College and a Bachelor of Music degree in orchestral percussion from the University of British Columbia. Allan has toured worldwide as the drummer for Mad Pudding and he currently plays with the Shona Le Mottée Band. He is also on faculty at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts where he teaches drum kit and percussion.

Pastiche will feature special guest Rich Sobel on fiddle for today’s performance.

www.pastiche.ca

Caitlan Read is a 20-year-old fiddler based in Vancouver, BC. She is inspired by traditional music of all kinds, and endeavours to create beautiful, expressive and enjoyable music through her craft. Caitlan thoroughly enjoys collaborative challenges, and is always eager to jam and create with anyone willing and able. Her greatest musical inspirations include Oliver Schroer, Claude Giguere and traditional music in all its forms. Classically trained, but with too much fiddle in her heart for Bach to completely satisfy her (amazing though his music is), Caitlan is happy for the diverse opportunities she’s had to perform in Vancouver. Recent projects include work with the Eire Born Irish Dancers and regular shows at Café Montmartre on Main. Her greatest and most challenging joy is playing original or improvised music. This is her second year performing with CelticFest Vancouver, and her first opportunity to collaborate with spoken word artists at the Battle of the Bards Finale Event, for which she is extremely excited!

www.myspace.com/caitlanread

Shannon Saunders and Cam Salay have been performing together since 1995. With Shannon on vocals, violin and guitar and Cam on vocals, guitar and banjo, this group perform a wide range of music in a variety of venues. Their repertoire spans everything from classical to Celtic, rock, pop, country, folk and bluegrass. They will be joined today by guest bassist Doug Muir and Graham MacLennan on Highland Pipes.

As professional musicians and recording artists, Cam and Shannon have toured extensively in North America and Europe. They have recorded their own projects and appeared as guest musicians on numerous other recordings. Cam and Shannon were long time members of The Paperboys, a Vancouver Celtic roots band, which won a Juno Award and two West Coast Music Awards.

The Splinters have appeared at the Juan de Fuca Festival of the Arts, Last Chance Bluegrass Festival, The Alaska State Fair and The Harrison Festival of the Arts among others.

Shannon Saunders & The Splinters have released two CD’s, the latest being Cold November in 2004. Building on the strength and innovation of their first CD, The Yellow Book, Cold November shows the depth and range of Shannon Saunders’ songwriting talent.

www.thesplinters.com

The West Coast Fiddlers were founded by Sarah and Roxanna Sabir, and first began performing together five years ago when they were invited to perform at the Orpheum Theatre with the Scottish Fiddle Orchestra of Edinburgh. Since then the group, made up entirely of school-age children, have become known as a lively and energetic group of fiddlers, delivering toe-tapping sets from swing to Celtic music.

“One hell of a good time”, this 5 piece is “notorious for being a bit cheeky, their shows have been met with growing enthusiasm from audiences.” Whether putting a fresh twist on an old favourite, playing intense fiddle tunes or stomping out classics and original Celtic tunes, the WhiskeyDicks are sure to please. The band is comprised of music students aged 20-27 from the Yukon and British Columbia. Collectively, they are possibly the most stylistically diverse group of performers ever put on a stage. All of their individual influences end up in the mix and somehow work incredibly well together with a mix of Celtic rock influences. They have filled dance floors and beer glasses in some of Canada’s most prestigious venues.

www.myspace.com/thewhiskeydicks

Celebrating his 13th birthday in February, Quinn Bachand is rapidly establishing himself as a gifted guitar player and sought after accompanist. Quinn considers it a great honour to have been personally chosen by Ashley MacIsaac to accompany the acclaimed fiddler at this event. Although Quinn plays a range of styles including gypsy-jazz, it is his talents in the world of celtic music that are drawing the most attention. Blessed with an acute ear and an innate sense of rhythm, Quinn is a very focused and intense musician. He continues to astonish fans with his diversity and skill, not just on guitar but also on fiddle and banjo. Quinn and his 18-year-old sister Qristina (on fiddle) have just released their cheekily named debut CD, "Relative Minors." Rave reviews have appeared in Penguin Eggs magazine,Monday Magazine, and Focus magazine. They have been featured in The Victoria Times Colonist many times. An invitation to play at Speyfest in Scotland, spawned a tour of Scotland, Ireland and Spain in 2008. Quinn and Qristina have also travelled across Canada, and now have many friends and fans in Cape Breton.

www.qbachand.com