Valerie G. Barnes Connell Jordan
Daily Herald
Music builds community whether it’s in your own backyard or across the seas.
A good example, a Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Competition (CGMFC) preview in the Elks Hall in Canwood, where fiddlers and their accompanists from across the province came to share their talent and skill.
The 4th annual Fiddling Show and Dry Dance was held to give CGMFC Representatives a chance to play before a different audience, give folks in the community a chance to tap their toes and dance to live music, and all leading up to the 35th annual, national CGMFC competition on Saturday, Aug. 23 in Kamloops, BC.
The evening began with music local singer, 17-year-old Erik Wieberg, performing some Hank Williams and Buck Owens familiar country songs.
Former CGMFC judge, 92-year-old John Kerchneryk, of Prince Albert, offered some lively tunes on the fiddle.
Musicians accompanying the fiddlers were, Magnus Braun, on base; Lucas Welch, on Guitar and Bruner, on piano.
Austin Castle, of Swift Current, one of the CGMFC representatives, chose to share some Bluegrass tunes.
Bruner played an original piano solo, And a Little Child Shall Lead Them, written for a special baby back in Norway.
Lucus Welch, of Swift Current, performed a short medley of tunes on guitar.
Emily Dubois, also a CGMFC representative, originally from Langbank, SK, performed a number of old-time fiddle tunes, along with some original tunes, she hopes to record later this fall.
Emily Dubois, CGMFC Representative, performs a variety of fiddle tunes, including some original music, which Dubois plans to record as early and this fall.
Closing the show – the 2013 CGMFC Fiddling Champion, James Steele, of Saskatoon, shared a number of old-time tunes. To date Steele is the only Saskatchewan representative to win the CGMFC Championship, Bruner said.
After a very short break, the all the musicians came together to provide the music for a Dry Dance, which was enjoyed by several couples on the dance floor.
The evening was hosted by members of the Canwood Library Board, who hosted the evening, with a variety of opportunities to support the musicians and their library.
The partnership proves the music can be an important part of building community.
Throughout the evening the audience heard about many of the opportunities the Library offers to their community as well, including providing summer activities for in the neighbourhood of 170 children this summer.
The takings at the door went to the fiddlers, while funds from other initiatives went to the Library to provide opportunities for youth in the community.
This was the second night of performing for the musicians, Sunday, Aug. 17, they also offered a Fiddling Show in Meadow Lake bringing music and community together.
The fiddle is an instrument, with accompanying music, that can be found in all areas of Canada, with many regions having their own distinctive rhythm and sound, many of which were heard throughout the Fiddle Show.
Trent Bruner, originally from Canwood, now makes his home in Valestrandsfossen Hordaland, Norway, has been an accompanist with the CGMFC for 26 of their 35 years. He has also been a board member since 2008 and looks after keeping the CGMFC history up to date.
Dealing with a nine-hour time difference can be challenging, but Bruner and the CFMFC have overcome the obstacles.
In Norway, Bruner is a church Organist/Musician and a professional musician with many threads in the music industry on both sides of the Atlantic.
The CGMFC gives him the opportunity to come home at least once a year.
Originally founded in Ottawa in 1990, really the Ottawa Valley, CGMFC competitions and youth fiddling camps were held annually in Ottawa until 2012, when a venue change led to an opening for expanding the competitions, Bruner said in an interview with the Price Albert Daily Herald.
Cathy Sproule, of Saskatoon, herself a former president of CGMFC, gathered a group together to organize and the 2013 competitions and hosted the event successfully in Saskatoon the next years.
In the intervening years, it has been held a couple of times in Ottawa and in different provinces across the country.
