About Me
I may very well be the world's shortest full grown fiddler. I also pretend to know how to play piano from time to time. I've been fortunate enough to be able to study with the great Oliver Schroer and perform with the Twisted String. I habitate in Gibsons, (Sunshine Coast) where I teach Suzuki violin, fiddle and Cape Breton stepdance to 60 pretty crazy kids (and adults) out of my music studio. I also teach for Strings Across the Sky (an organization that sends fiddle teachers up North to remote communities to teach kids how to play the violin) and the Coast String Fiddlers, touring with the kids and performing at festivals in Canada and the US. Lastly, but not at all in the least, I now run the Sunshine Coast and Vancouver squad of the Twisted String under Oliver Schroer and perform with them also. Guess it doesn't look like much when you write it down, but somehow it's never short of exciting and adds up to a lot!So unlike most of my friends/collegues, teaching comes first above recording- hense why there is no cd for sale on my site! But I absolutely love to perform when I can. I've played along side such greats at Bruce Cockburn, Jesse Cook, Don Ross, Spirit of the West, Oliver Schroer and his band, The Stewed Tomatoes (David Woodhead, David Travers-Smith, Ben Grossman, Rich Greenspoon, Rich Pell- who are all heroes to me in themselves but boy when you put em all together..............!) James Keelaghan, Ashley MacIssac, Ian and Alasdair Frasier and Natalie Hass, Brittany Haas, and I've taught on staff with Seamus Connelly, Troy MacGillivray,Catriona MacDonald, Ian Frasier, Anne Ledderman, Nuala Kennedy, Daniel Lapp, Christine Hansen, Gordon Gunn, Gordon Stobbe, Sharlene Wallace, Ian Fraser and Mhari Campbell.Contrary to most people my age, I love living on the Sunshine Coast- living here has made me appreciate sunshine and snow so much more! Tho I've never huged a tree....ok, once. But I recycle and compost EVERYTHING. I reuse ziplock bags. I pick up pennies. I tuck in other people's tags. I like to plant flowers. I like to pick flowers. I'm an art freak. I love photography. I don't drink; fresh squeezed orange juice is far superior to every alchoholic beverage I've ever had, with the added bonus that I can still walk straight after 3 glasses, and so, thus justifies me spending copious amounts of money on Tropicanna orange juice- with EXTRA pulp. I live small and spend all excess funds on good food, especially cheese (I LOVE cheese) music, traveling and live shows- theatre, music, comedy- everything and anything. I stay up rediculasy late and sleep in whenever possible. I love to be in high places- airplanes, mountain-tops, bridges. I'm hopelessly addicted to email, chai lattes, and 99% coco chocolate (the incredibly bitter black stuff that most people think is disgusting and inedible). I spend A LOT of time in my pjs. Russell Peters amuses the hell out of me- I was literally keeled over sick with laughter cramps at his last show in Vancouver. Hmmm..........I could write for days..........
