Clear the decks for the Monsters of the Fiddle.
Canadian fiddling heavyweights are coming to the Big Yellow Merville Hall on Friday, Nov. 8.
Not since Irv “Snakeskin” Weisenheimer was on the entertainment promotional scene has there been so much excitement in local fiddling circles.
Virtuoso Canadian fiddler, Calvin Vollrath, has teamed up with a three-time Canadian Grand Masters fiddle champion, Mark Sullivan; and multi talented old time/jazz fiddler, Daniel Lapp, to play a show that will definitely frizzle your bow hair.
Vollrath has toured the world for three decades bringing Canadian old time fiddle music to enthusiastic audiences. In addition, he has composed over 300 fiddle tunes, many of which have become fiddling standards. It was Vollrath who wrote and arranged the electrifying music for the Canadiana fiddle extravaganza that was part of the 2010 Winter Olympic opening ceremonies.
He regularly plays at sell out concerts where he stuns audiences with his incredible expertise and total command of the instrument. Typically, fiddlers in the audience are reduced to a state of shock, while others often threaten to burn their beloved instruments, such is the impression he makes.
Mark Sullivan is an old time fiddle perfectionist who has won multiple fiddle championships and who can play a waltz so sweetly that you’ll think you’ve died and gone straight to heaven. And Daniel Lapp plays everything on every instrument as he leads fiddle orchestras on international tours to wide acclaim. He can play a rocking reel on his fiddle one moment and the next, he can wow you with a jumping jazz trumpet solo which jazz fans swoon over.
At this concert, you’ll hear a huge range of music, from beautifully haunting slow airs, to high speed novelty numbers like The Orange Blossom Special. Plus plenty of reels, jigs, swing tunes, jazz licks and dreamy Canadian waltzes.
To avoid disappointment, be sure to get your tickets early. The recent Big Yellow Merville Hall fiddle blowout with Everything Fitz, was a total sell out and many surprised people were turned away at the door, crestfallen.
Tickets for the Friday, Nov. 8 show at the Big Yellow Merville Hall are available at Long & McQuade, Courtenay; The Music Plant, Campbell River; and Blue Heron Books, Comox. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the concert starts at 7:30. Cost is $20/$10 youth.