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November 8,
2011
Accomplished
musician Troy MacGillivray to appear at Skye, Unity
Sun Journal
CARTHAGE -- Troy MacGillivray will
bring his energetic, roots-centered fiddling and piano playing
to Skye Theatre Performing Arts Center and Unity College for the
Performing Arts on Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 16 and 17,
presented by New England Celtic Arts.
MacGillivray’s musical prowess can
be attributed to an especially rare combination of commitment
and bloodline. By the age of 6, he was already impressing
audiences with his step dancing skills. By 13 he was teaching
piano at the renowned Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts
in St. Anne’s, Cape Breton and he now holds a bachelor of arts
degree with a major in music from St. Francis Xavier University
in Antigonish, N.S.
He’s completed grade seven of the
Toronto Conservatory of Music for classical piano, spent four
years in a stringed orchestra and received an applied music
technology diploma for recording engineering.
Troy’s roots-centered approach to
his fiddling and piano playing has the power to inspire any
audience. With six releases to his credit, he has played across
Canada, the U.S. and United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany,
Japan and Australia. MacGillivray's CD "Live At The Music Room"
was honoured as the 2008 East Coast Music Association’s
Instrumental Recording of the Year and the 2008 Music Nova
Scotia Traditional /Roots Recording of the Year. His CD "When
Here Meets There" is a unique collaboration with Canadian and
U.S. National Fiddle Champion Shane Cook that clearly showcases
why both fiddlers are at the top of their game by winning the
2009 East Coast Music Award for Roots /Traditional Recording of
the Year.
Whether playing piano or fiddle, or
showcasing his step-dancing capabilities, MacGillivray displays
an intense commitment to the Celtic heritage he inherited from
his Highland ancestors.
Jake Charron is continuing to build
a reputation as one of Canada’s finest accompanists for fiddle
music. He has become a much sought-after musician for
traditional styles, playing piano and guitar with artists across
the country. Charron is currently a part of Stephanie Cadman's
"Celtic Blaze" production and will be joining The Step Crew for
a tour of China in December. He is the house pianist at several
fiddle competitions including the Canadian Open Fiddle
Championships and enjoys teaching at camps across Canada. He
recently graduated from the University of Western Ontario with
an honors degree in kinesiology.
Sabra MacGillivray is a champion
highland dancer, a spectacular step dancer and a talented
musician with an impressive list of dance awards. She has
choreographed award-winning dances and was invited to perform at
the Royal Military Edinburgh Tattoo in Scotland as a soloist.
Step dancing is one of her passions -- her quick and intricate
footwork are crowd-pleasers that combine movements that she
learned in Cape Breton step, Highland, Irish, and Flamenco
dancing. Sabra's desire to express her rhythm has led her to
becoming an accomplished bodhran player and has also tried her
hand in pipe band snare drumming. When not involved in music,
Sabra is a registered massage therapist in Port Hawkesbury, N.S.
Tickets are $15 at the door.
Curtain at Skye is 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. in Unity. Pre-show jam
sessions at Skye and Unity start one hour prior to curtain. For
reservations call Skye Theatre at 562-4445 or UCCPA at 948-7469.
Reservations are strongly suggested at both venues.
Skye Theater is located 3 miles
west of East Dixfield village at 2 Highland Drive off Winter
Hill Road and Route 2 in south Carthage. UCCPA is at 42 Depot
St.in Unity. For reservations call Skye Theatre at 562-4445 or
UCCPA at 948-7469. Reservations are strongly suggested at both
venues.
More information is available at:
www.necelticarts.com
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September 10,
2011
Music is all relative for fiddler Troy MacGillivray
by Julie Stricker, Fairbanks Daily News Miner
FAIRBANKS - For Canadian musician Troy MacGillivray, music and
movement are one and the same. The fiddler and pianist grew up
in Nova Scotia’s Cape Breton region surrounded by folk music,
which was brought overseas by Scottish settlers hundreds of
years ago.
“It’s music for movement,” he said. “I really like to talk (to
my students) about the love for the music and playing for
dancing and the reason why we play these tunes. It’s all kind of
dance shows, even in theaters where people can’t get up to
dance.”
MacGillivray, joined by guitarist Jake Charron and
percussionist/dancer Sabra MacGillivray (Troy’s sister) will be
in Fairbanks for two public performances and a series of fiddle
and dance workshops through mid-week. The trio features Celtic
fiddle, guitar, step dance and Bodhran.
Bringing the trio to Fairbanks was the idea of local oncologist
Andrew Cox, a fiddle player whose two children are students at
the Fairbanks Suzuki Institute. Cox had met MacGillivray at
fiddle workshops in the Lower 48 and learned he would be in
Whitehorse, Yukon, later this month, so the timing seemed good,
Cox said. He and and fellow Fairbanksan Kim Troxel have been
planning the visit, with help from Acoustic Adventures,
Fairbanks Concert Association and The Blue Loon, among others.
All proceeds will be split between the Fairbanks Suzuki
Institute and the Interior Alaska Cancer Association.
Cox was inspired by previous visits to Fairbanks by fiddler
Natalie MacMaster and violinist Midori. The two renowned
musicians put on a series of workshops and performed at sold-out
shows. Cox said MacGillivray, although lesser known, is of
similar musical caliber.
“First and foremost, he’s a great musician,” Cox said, “but
after that he’s a super nice guy and he’s super low key.”
MacGillivray is both a dancer and musician.
He was impressing audiences with his step-dancing at age 6,
began teaching piano at age 13 at the Gaelic College of Celtic
Arts and Crafts and started playing fiddle in his teens.
Music is part of MacGillivray’s bloodline. His grandfather,
Canadian fiddling pioneer Hugh A. MacDonald is a member of the
Nova Scotia Country Hall of Fame.
“My granddad was born in the 1800s,” said the soft-spoken
MacGillivray by phone from his Nova Scotia home as he was doing
laundry in preparation for his trip to Fairbanks. “He was one of
the first in Canada to put fiddle music on records, on 78s. It
was some of the first fiddle music out there in this country.”
His parents are accomplished musicians; his sister Kendra has
also won East Coast Music Awards (ECMA) for her fiddling; and
his sister Sabra is a percussionist and dancer.
He has released five albums and won a slew of awards. His fourth
CD, “Live at the Music Room,” won the 2008 ECMA for instrumental
recording of the year. In 2009, his 2009 recording “When Here
Meets There” won two more ECMA awards. He has also been
nominated multiple times for the Canadian Folk Music Awards. He
tours all over the world, performing and conducting workshops.
The trio, accompanied by Caitlin Warbelow of Fairbanks, will be
teaching workshops to local students and has performances
scheduled for Saturday at The Blue Loon and Tuesday at Pioneer
Park Theater.
Read more: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner - Music is all relative
for fiddler Troy MacGillivray
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June 11, 2011
Shop offers own brand of water music
East Coast music buff sets up kiosk on waterfront
By
JOANN ALBERSTAT Business Reporter

In the digital music age, there’s still a place for CD shops,
particularly ones that sells East Coast music, says the owner of
one such store that opened recently on the Halifax waterfront.
Atlantic Canada Sea-Dee’s began business June 1 on the boardwalk
between Bishop’s Landing and the new Nova Scotia Power building.
"In Atlantic Canada we’re well-known for our music," Troy
MacGillivray said in a recent interview.
"You can’t always get a lot of it digitally. A lot of people
aren’t on iTunes."
MacGillivray, a full-time musician from Antigonish, co-owns the
store with his business manager, Pam Wamback. She has worked in
the tourism industry for 15 years.
MacGillivray said he wanted to open the store because in recent
years he’s found it increasingly difficult to find stores
willing to carry his own recordings of Celtic piano and fiddle
music.
"We want to help out musicians and maybe get a little support
back," he said.
Sea-Dee’s, located in a kiosk between the Art Gallery of Nova
Scotia shop and Back in Time Photos, will be open until the end
of October. A co-op student from the Nova Scotia Community
College has been hired to man the store for the summer.
MacGillivray said the shop has just opened so he hasn’t had much
feedback yet from customers.
"Everyone is very supportive that we talk to. Other businesses
and also the musicians, the ones I’ve dealt with, seem really
happy about it."
Sea-Dee’s is still getting in stock from music distributors and
from the artists themselves on consignment.
The shop carries various types of East Coast music but most of
the 50 to 60 titles in stock now are traditional fiddle and
singer-songwriter recordings, MacGillivray said.
The store carries such internationally recognized artists as
Natalie MacMaster and Dave Carroll of United Breaks Guitars
fame, as well as local talent, including Cape Breton’s Carmen
Townsend and Angelo Spinazzola and John Chiasson of Dartmouth.
MacGillivray admits Sea-Dee’s likely wouldn’t do well in a mall
but he hopes the waterfront location will be successful at
showcasing East Coast talent.
"There’s a lot of stuff that perhaps people from away, the
tourists, will enjoy," he said. "The music is from here. It’s
definitely unique to the area. It’s not like you can go anywhere
else in the world and find the same thing."
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February 22, 2011
It's magically Irish:
Discover The Magic of
Ireland at The Playhouse on March 1
The Daily Gleaner
Experience traditional Irish culture
through music, song, dance and storytelling as The Magic of Ireland
comes to The Playhouse.

"It's an authentic performance bordering on a musical, but not quite,"
says Peter Jacobs, the producer of The Magic of Ireland and owner of
Independent Concert Productions.
"Basically it's Irish traditional music that is played by a bunch of
very talented musicians," he says.
The
newest musicians to join the cast are Nova Scotia's Troy MacGillivray
and Julie Fitzgerald from Ontario.
MacGillivray has been impressing
audiences with his fiddle, piano and step dancing skills from a young
age. Fitzgerald, an accomplished fiddle player and step dancer, is the
Canadian Grand Master Fiddle Champion of 2009/2010.
"The dancers are all championship dancers," says Jacobs. "And we have
two actors in the show that narrate and tell stories from Ireland and
about Ireland."
The
two actors are Jonathan Lynn and Kevin Kennedy. Lynn is a Thea
Award-winning actor and designer with Toronto Irish Players, and Kennedy
is an active member of Toronto Irish Players and is featured in the
Oscar-nominated docudrama, The First Winter.
What makes the production so wonderfully Irish is the combination of
creative arts.
"And it's all live. There is no technology between the audience and the
participants," says Jacobs. "The music is live, the dancing is live, the
singing is live and the actors are live. Nothing has been taped."
Many big performances include taped segments.
"I'm not knocking them or anything because they gave (the genre) such
popularity to the public, but these shows are predominantly dance shows,
and it's one dance after another," he says.
"The difference with us is we're performing with musicians, with
orchestrated arrangements, so when the dancers are off changing, the
musicians or the actors carry on performing. There is no break for tapes
or to change costumes."
Because every sound the audience hears is live, each performance is
difference from the next. This adds a sense of spontaneity to the show.
For centuries, the music of Ireland has captured the hearts and
imagination of not only Irish natives but countless people around the
globe.
Jacobs says he doesn't know what the appeal of Ireland is for so many,
but he expects it's different things to different people.
"Some people claim it's a heritage, that some part of them is Irish," he
says.
Even those who don't have Irish roots often have some Celtic connection.
"It's all related," he says, noting the music, the dance and the
instruments are similar from one country to the next.
This show brings to the stage traditional Irish and Celtic music in an
evening filled with fast and graceful dance steps, authentic music and
enchanting songs, enhanced with traditional Irish and Celtic
instruments. The production is comprised of young, talented groups of
dancers and musicians dedicated to recreating the ambiance, moods and
emotions associated with Irish and Celtic music.
The
troupe's enthusiasm and precision have drawn praise from audiences, who
can't help but get caught up in the energetic atmosphere.
Jacobs says he's not surprised that interest in this form of
entertainment continues.
"It's so sincere," he says. "What you see is what you get."
There is plenty to enjoy about this show as far as Jacobs is concerned.
"We
have some lovely costumes, we have a bit of a different show using the
actors. They're very knowledgeable people and stars in their own right,"
he says.
"There isn't another show like this out there."
He
wanted the show to be unique and that's exactly what it is.
"It's the magic of everything about Ireland. The dance, the singing, the
storytelling and the music."
He
encourages people to come out to the show.
"If
people come out to this, it will brighten the rest of their week or the
rest of the month for them," he says. "It would give them some sign that
spring is on the way."
The
Magic of Ireland is coming to The Playhouse on Tuesday, March 1, at 8
p.m. To purchase tickets, drop by the box office or visit
www.theplayhouse.nb.ca .
----
What: The Magic of Ireland
Information: The Magic of Ireland captures the romance and mysticism of
the Emerald Isle through an evening of traditional music, song, dance
and storytelling. It is coming to The Playhouse stage on Tuesday, March
1, at 8 p.m.
Contact: To purchase tickets, drop by The Playhouse box office or visit
www.theplayhouse.nb.ca.
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March 21,
2010
Sound choice: Folk trio in Woods Hole
By Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, Mass.
The
world's eyes were recently focused on the Canadian city of Vancouver
during the Olympics, but it's time that other areas of the northern
country got some attention. Get a glimpse of Nova Scotia and Cape
Breton, through their musical culture, during the Woods Hole Folk Music
Society's next concert at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, when Canadian musicians
Kimberley Fraser and Troy MacGillivray perform with David Surette.
They will
make their third appearance in Woods Hole, offering creative
interpretations of traditional music from back home. Fraser and
MacGillivray are fiddlers, but their performances offer much more. The
two musicians alternate between accompanying one another on their
instruments and swapping stories and performing on the dance floor
(they're both experts at step dancing, as well as other instruments).
When they do turn back to music, it flows from marches to jigs to
strathspeys.
Surette,
a well-known player of Celtic fingerstyle guitar who's based in New
Hampshire, is also at home on the mandolin and bouzouki, performing with
Fraser and MacGillivray as well as a host of other folk groups. His
repertoire includes traditional guitar compositions as well as original
roots, blues and ragtime pieces. Combined, the three have won five
awards for folk, roots and songwriting, and each continues to perform
with other groups across the world. Doors open at 7 p.m. for the
concert, part of the society's winter concert series.
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March 17, 2010
Cape Breton fiddlers bring Highland music to Great Hall
BY MARY LANCASTER INDEPENDENT WRITER
Combining lively fiddling, piano and step-dancing, Nova Scotians Troy
MacGillivray and Kimberley Fraser will fill the library’s Great Hall
with an uplifting free concert of Highland music on Saturday, March 20.
They will perform twice, with a 6:30 p.m. event for children and at 8
p.m. for teens and adults.
Cape Breton fiddling is a regional style of violin and is considered to
be in the Celtic music genre originating with Scottish immigrants.
This is MacGillivray’s second performance on the island, having given a
concert at the library last May. He said he and Fraser will trade off
playing piano and fiddle, and plan to entertain with such tunes as “Big
John McNeil,” King George IV medleys and a Celtic song called “Tullochgorum.”
“I
really liked it last time and it’s going to be great to do it [at the
Great Hall] again,” he said. “Kimberley hasn’t been there so she is
looking forward to her first time on the island. The venue is really
nice. It’ll be really cool.”
MacGillivray was raised in Lanark, Nova Scotia and began impressing
audiences with his step-dancing skill at the age of six. At the young
age of 13 he was already teaching piano at the Gaelic College of Celtic
Arts and Crafts, and went on to learn classical piano, spend four years
with a stringed orchestra and earn his bachelor’s degree as a music
major from St. Francis Xavier University.
His
fourth CD, “Live at the Music Room,” was named the East Coast Music
Award’s 2008 instrumental recording of the year. His 2009 recording,
“When Here Meets There,” earned two ECMA honors. MacGillivray’s talent
is a gift of his lineage. His grandfather Hugh A. MacDonald is a member
of the Nova Scotia Country Hall of Fame. His parents Tony and Janice are
acclaimed musicians and his sister Kendra has twice won the ECMA for her
fiddling. His sister Sabra is an accomplished dancer and percussionist.
Kimberley Fraser also comes from musical roots that span more than a
century in her family, and she takes pride in having her
great-great-grandfather’s fiddle. Born on Cape Breton Island, she drew
attention at the age of three with her step-dancing performances and
went on to learn piano and fiddle. Although still in her early 20s,
Fraser has played Cape Breton’s music in cities around the globe and has
shared the stage with some of the finest performers in her field.
In
2005 she graduated from Nova Scotia’s St. Francis Xavier University with
an honors degree in Celtic Studies and a jazz minor. Her second album,
“Falling on New Ground,” received the 2008 ECMA recognition as best
roots and traditional music album of the year.
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April 30, 2009
Aussie duo takes top songwriting prize
Canadian songwriters place well at International Songwriting Competition
CBC
News
Australian singer-songwriters Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttal took
the grand prize in the annual International Songwriting Competition on
Thursday for their song Caught in the Crowd from their latest CD,
Curiouser. Entered in the Pop/Top 40 Category, it tells the story of a
young girl who befriends an unpopular kid at school, then succumbs to
peer presssure and turns her back on him when he is hassled by bullies.
The
judges, who included Black Francis, frontman for the U.S. rock band the
Pixies, and Jerry Lee Lewis, praised it for its powerful lyrics and
strong pop sensibility. The Brisbane-based husband-wife team are the
first Australians to win
the competition's top prize.
Miller-Heidke,
who initially trained as an operatic singer, said they will use the
$25,000 US prize, the largest of any songwriting competition, to take
her band overseas. Canadian songwriters scored highly in the awards
competition, which provides an opportunity for both aspiring and
established songwriters to have their work heard in an international
arena.
Bill
Halliday and Gereth Jones (the Cansecos) of Toronto took top place in
the Dance/Electronica category for Raised by Wolves. Tea Petrovic of
Vancouver scored top place in the R&B/Hip-Hop category
for Fire & Flame.
And Cape
Breton singer-songwritier and hit producer Gordie Sampson and Michael
Logen of Nashville took the first place award in the
Folk/Singer-Songwriter category for Davey Jones.
First-place winners received cash prizes of $3,000 US.
Remi
Chasse and Tailor Made Fable of Terrebonne, Que., took second prize,
with a value of $2,000 US, in the Rock category for A Case of Mistaken
Identity.
Third-place prizes of $1,000 US were won by:
Kim Beggs,
Whitehorse, Americana category, Lips Stained with Wine.
Nic Gorissen (Bignic), Penetanguishene, Ont., Dance/Electronica
category, The End of Something Big.
Chris McKhool and Kevin Laliberte (Sultans of String), Toronto,
Instrumental category, Luna.
Christopher Pennington and Paul Johnston, Montreal, Children's Music
category, Banana Pie.
Canadians who received honourable mentions included:
Duane
Andrews, St. John's, DD's Blues.
Nathan Bishop, Toronto, Without You.
Matt Borck, Jeremy Friesen, Mike Newman, James Pendleton (Yuca),
Vancouver, It's About Something.
Dalannah Gail Bowen, Michael Creber, Vancouver, My Blues Keep Bringin'
Me Home.
Seven Bowers, Halifax, Bees in Jars.
Dale Boyle, Montreal, You Might Come Around.
James Bryan, Ferando Osorio, Toronto, Nuestra Amor.
Jackson Cook, Kelowna, B.C., Street Soldier.
Glenda Del Monte Escalante, Toronto, New Habana.
Geoff Fifield, Tim Fifield, Jordan Allen, Nathan Elliot (the Contact),
Halifax, My Divine.
Shiloh-Sheray Gagnon, St. Basile Le Grand, Que., The Way We Are.
Dave Gunning, George Canyon, Pictou, N.S., Cowboy's Dream.
Azeem Haq, Marcus Kane, Neetin Salwan, Mohsin Qureshi, Toronto, Keep
Clappin'.
Joshua Helgason, Tristan Norton, Tobias Jesso, Martin Kottmeier (the
Sessions), Vancouver, Say Goodbye
Kirsten Jones, Toronto, You Ain't Comin' By.
Yiannis Kapoulas, Hamilton, Sun in Your Eyes.
Troy MacGillivray, Lanark, N.S., New Tune Makers.
Chris McKhool, Kevin Lalaberte, Toronto, Scat in the Hat.
Tyravis Nesbitt, Ben Shillabeer, Morgan Gies, Logan Jacobs (Social
Code), Edmonton, He Said, She Said.
Martin Ouellette, Brian Paul (Tenth Planet), Toronto, Man in Full.
Paul Runalls, Christ Atkinson, Regina, Wish I Was a Fish.
Kallen Saczkowski, Robin Hooper, Oakville, Ont., Eye Can See Now.
Bob Tonnoch (Fathead), Toronto, Somebody Else's But Mine.
Kgomotso Tsatsi, Toronto, In Love.
Bryan Weirman, Toronto, Cause I Get to Love You.
Robert Wilson, Winnipeg, Crystal.
J. Wynne-Jones, Ottawa, Looking the World Straight in the Eye. BACK
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March 28, 2009
Nova Scotia fiddlers play rhythm of generations
Tampa
Bay Newspaper
ST. PETERSBURG – Andrea Beaton and Troy MacGillivray play music
with the power to make their audience move on Sunday, April 5,
downstairs at The Palladium Theater, 253 Fifth Ave. N., St.
Petersburg. Doors open at 7 p.m. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m.
Purchase tickets for $20 in advance, $25 at the door, from The
Palladium Box Office, 727-822-3590.
The room will be set up with chairs – no tables – to make room
for step-dancing – Nova Scotia style.
Andrea Beaton grew up to the rhythm of generations. Her father
is one of the leading fiddle players of his generation, her
mother, an accomplished pianist. So were her grandfather and
grandmother. In fact, her grandfather, Donald Angus Beaton, was
just awarded the 2009 Stompin' Tom Award by the East Coast Music
Association (ECMA) for significant contributions to the east
coast music industry. Her uncle, Buddy MacMaster, is revered in
Cape Breton. Andrea Beaton continues the rhythm in her own
dynamic style.
Troy MacGillivray's heritage is equally impressive. For
generations, the MacGillivrays and MacDonalds have been keeping
the Gaelic tradition alive in Lanark, Nova Scotia. His parents
are talented musicians, his sister Kendra is a two-time East
Coast Music Association award-winning fiddler, and his sister
Sabra is a skilled dancer and percussionist. His grandfather,
Hugh A. MacDonald, is a member of the Nova Scotia Country Hall
of Fame.
Nova Scotia is steeped in musical and dance tradition, and
Andrea Beaton and Troy MacGillivray uphold that tradition.
Andrea's debut CD, "License to Drive 'Er," was nominated for
Roots Traditional Solo Artist of the Year at the East Coast
Music Awards. Troy MacGillivray is an accomplished pianist,
fiddler, and stepdancer. His fourth CD, "Live at the Music
Room," was the 2008 Instrumental Recording of the year, and his
CD "When Here Meets There," a collaboration with Canadian and
U.S. National Fiddle Champion Shane Cook, won the 2009 ECMA
Award for "Roots/Traditional Group Recording of the Year."
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March 26, 2009
Maritime Fiddle Festival turns 60
Halifax Herald
An
East Coast tradition turns 60 this year when the Maritime Fiddle
Festival celebrates its sixth decade in July in Dartmouth. From
Canada Day, Wednesday, July 1 to Monday, July 6, fiddle
champions and competitors will converge on the City of Lakes for
the event?s biggest year yet.
This year, Canada?s longest running old-time fiddle festival and
competition welcomes a prime lineup of performers, including
ECMA winner Troy MacGillivray and the Ottawa Valley?s
U.S. Grand National Champion Shane Cook, three-time
Canadian Grand Master Mark Sullivan, ECMA nominees Chuck and
Albert, and world-renowned champion Métis fiddler Calvin
Vollrath.
Other performers include Ian Mardon, Geoff Horrocks, Sheryl
Fitzpatrick, Brian Hebert, Pam Hebert, Ivan and Vivian Hicks,
Kim Holmes, Skip Holmes and Anthony Rissesco and the Gig Dogs.
Key venues for the Maritime Fiddle Festival include Alderney
Landing Theatre and Prince Andrew High School auditorium, with
various Dartmouth bars and restaurants also taking part.
Tickets, competition entries and workshop registrations, as well
as the complete festival lineup, are available
online. Tickets can also be purchased at
Maritime
Ticketpro outlets.
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March 1, 2009
Troy MacGillivray receives 2nd ECMA award
Troy's latest album "When Here Meets There" (Troy MacGillivray &
Shane Cook) wins the 2009 East Coast Music Award for
"Roots/Traditional Group Recording of the Year" presented by
Marble Mountain.
This is Troy's second ECMA. His album "Live At The Music Room"
won the 2008 ECMA for
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February 10,
2009
Media Release: For Immediate Release
HOSTS AND PERFORMERS ANNOUNCED FOR 2009 EAST COAST MUSIC
AWARDS
CBC Broadcasts Awards Show & Festival Stages on multiple
platforms - TV, Radio and Web
(Corner Brook, NL) - The East Coast Music Association announced
today that Newfoundland songstress Damhnait Doyle will pair up
with Jian Ghomeshi of CBC Radio One's 'Q' to host the 2009 East
Coast Music Awards live from Corner Brook, Newfoundland on
Sunday, March 1st.
The East Coast Music Awards return to CBC. Fans of East Coast
Music can catch the star-studded spectacular live at 8:30pm
NT/8pm AT/7pm ET on CBC's digital channel bold or on the
internet at cbc.ca/eastcoastmusic. The main CBC Television
network will broadcast the East Coast Music Awards at 11pm in
all time zones/11:30 NT.
The stellar line-up of artists for this year's East Coast Music
Awards showcases Atlantic Canada's emerging talent to the
country, including Hey Rosetta!, Jill Barber, Tara Oram,
Christina Martin, Meaghan Blanchard, RADIO-RADIO, MIR, David
Myles, Ryan LeBlanc, and
Troy MacGillivray.
The ECMA Awards Show also features the reunion of quintessential
East Coast Celtic-rockers, Rawlins Cross.
"The East Coast Music Association heard loud and clear from
artists, members and fans that a broadcast of the 21st annual
awards show from Corner Brook was important to promote our
artists and East Coast Music," said Steve Horne, Executive
Director of the East Coast Music Association. "We're excited to
again partner with CBC to offer many opportunities for fans to
get their fix of East Coast Music."
"This year again, east coast artists have produced an
extraordinary amount of spectacular music," said Jac Gautreau,
ECMA Awards Show producer. "We've put together a jam-packed
music filled show with east coast stars sharing the stage with
exciting new performers."
Riding the waves of their critically acclaimed latest album -
which won the XM Satellite Radio Verge Award for Best Album -
four-time ECMA 2009 nominees Hey Rosetta! return home from
touring Australia to rock ECMA weekend.
With four nominations this year, past ECMA winner Jill Barber
returns to the East Coast, with her sultry, distinctive voice,
after touring across Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia
during the past year.
Country singer-songwriter Tara Oram is excited about returning
to her home province with three ECMA 2009 nominations after her
success on Canadian Idol, her own reality TV show on CMT, and
JUNO and Canadian Radio Music Award nominations.
This year's East Coast Music Awards features some rising
songwriters from across Atlantic Canada including Halifax-based
Christina Martin, a multiple Music Nova Scotia award winner
originally from New Brunswick; and Meaghan Blanchard, who won
four Music PEI awards last month.
Three guys. Seven years. Six awards. Twenty-six nominations.
Four studio albums. Seven music videos. Five charting radio
singles. Toured four continents in last 2 years. With worldwide
internet following and critical acclaim, multiple ECMA nominees
and winners MIR will perform.
Multiple ECMA nominee David Myles brings his creativity, vocal
versatility and musical dexterity to ECMA 2009 in Corner Brook.
Ryan LeBlanc is a progressive, innovative solo instrumentalist
from New Brunswick who interlaces guitar, djembe, harmonica and
banjo to produce a wide variety of upbeat and passionate musical
pieces.
Winner of the 2008 Instrumental Recording of the Year,
multi-instrumentalist and virtuoso,
Troy MacGillivray,
is nominated in 2009 for a unique collaboration with Canadian
and U.S. National Fiddle Champion Shane Cooke.
The reunion of quintessential East Coast Celtic-rockers, Rawlins
Cross will ignite memories of the East Coast Celtic music wave
of the 1990's. Performing together for almost twenty years, they
are back and have just released their seventh album Anthology.
Artists from Newfoundland's traditional and country music scenes
will perform in a special tribute to Dick Nolan, the 2009
recipient of the Dr. Helen Creighton Lifetime Achievement Award.
Nolan, originally from Corner Brook, NL, was a pioneer of
Newfoundland's music industry, sharing the music of his province
with the rest of Canada.
CO-HOSTS
Radio Broadcaster, television host, musician, singer, manager,
writer and producer - Jian Ghomeshi does it all. As host of CBC
Radio One's 'Q', Jian introduces Canadians daily to new and
innovative artists including many from the East Coast.
Damhnait Doyle is a songwriter, vocal powerhouse, budding
director and multi-award winner who is excited and ready to
co-host this year's East Coast Music Awards.
The 2009 East Coast Music Awards is produced by the East Coast
Music Association. The creative team is led by Gemini-award
winning producer Jac Gautreau, with Gemini-winning Mario Rouleau
directing. The 2009 East Coast Music Awards broadcast is
sponsored by the province of Newfoundland & Labrador (National
Presenting Sponsor) and the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova
Scotia, and Prince Edward Island (National Signature Sponsors).
The 2009 East Coast Music Awards, Festival & Conference will
take place in Corner Brook from February 26-March 1 and is an
annual event organized by the East Coast Music Association. The
ECMA is a not-for-profit organization whose mandate it is to
foster, promote and celebrate East Coast music locally and
globally.
The 2009 East Coast Music Awards, Festival & Conference has
received financial support from the Government of Canada through
ACOA and Service Canada, Province of Newfoundland and Labrador
through the Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, and
the City of Corner Brook. The East Coast Music Association would
also like to acknowledge the financial support of FACTOR and the
Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage
(Canada Music Fund) and of Canada's private radio broadcasters.
Media Contacts:
For ECMA:
B.J. Grechuk, The Joseph Scott Entertainment Agency
bj@josephscott.ca
For CBC:
Debbie Hynes, CBC Communications St. John's
debbie.hynes@cbc.ca
709-576-5150
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January, 2009
Troy
receives two East Coast Music Award (ECMA) nominations
"When
Here Meets There" nominated for:
- Group Recording of the Year
- Traditional / Roots Recording of the Year
The 2009 East Coast Music Awards,
Festival & Conference will take place in Corner Brook,
Newfoundland from February 26th to March 1st, 2009.
Visit www.ecma.com
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January 2, 2009
East
Coast’s best of jigs, jazz, rock
Local artists produce bumper-crop of music in 2008
By STEPHEN COOKE, Halifax Herald
Despite whatever perils the music industry might be facing, they
haven’t stopped East Coast musicians from continuing to create
recordings that delight, astonish and move us.
But trying to assemble a year-end list of favourite CDs from
this region feels like an even more substantial task in 2008
than in years past, and as I gaze at a pair of two-foot high
stacks of releases in every conceivable style, the best approach
appears to be micromanaging and breaking things down into
genres, awards show style. The best part is, there won’t be any
lame monologues, rambling acceptance speeches or commercial
breaks; just my completely biased opinion.
Favourite traditional recording of 2008
Another tough call, and this time I’m stuck between South Shore
siblings Drumlin and their reinterpretation of songs from the
Helen Creighton collection on Mackerel Skies and Lanark virtuoso
Troy MacGillivray, who joined forces with Ontario old-time
fiddle champ Shane Cook on When Here Meets There.
Ultimately I have to go with the MacGillivray/Cook combination.
Just when I think I’ve heard every possible variation on the
Celtic fiddle sound, along come two world-class musicians from
two similar, but disparate styles to challenge each other and
raise the bar even higher.
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Thursday, December
11, 2008
Media Release
For Immediate Release
Gordie Sampson
and Matt Mays & El Torpedo Lead the Pack with Five East Coast
Music Award Nominations. Hey Rosetta! and Jill Barber Receive
Four Nominations Each.
(Corner Brook, NL) - The East Coast
Music Association announced the 2009 Music Award nominees today
at the Pepsi Centre in Corner Brook. Leading the list with five
ECMA nominations each is Gordie Sampson and Matt Mays & El
Torpedo. Following closely with four nominations each is Hey
Rosetta! and Jill Barber while Christina Martin, David Myles,
Tara Oram and The Tom Fun Orchestra each pick upthree
nominations.
An amazing 16 artists received two
nomination nods apiece: Age of Daze, Bette & Wallet, Chad
Hatcher, Damhnait Doyle, Dave Carroll, Duane Andrews, Hot Toddy,
JD Clarke, Joel Plaskett Emergency, Matt Andersen, Max
MacDonald, Meaghan Blanchard, MIR, Paul Hébert, Troy
MacGillivray, and Vishtčn. For a complete list of nominees,
see www.ecma.com
"The 2009 East Coast Music Award
nominees truly reflect the vibrant musical diversityamong East
Coast artists, from well-established and popular bands and
musicians to fresh new faces and sounds." said Wade Pinhorn,
chair of the East Coast Music Association. The East Coast Music
Awards continue to be a celebration of the region's immense
wealth of talent, once again bringing East Coast music into a
national and international spotlight."
Award nominees are chosen by juries
of industry professionals from all five regions of the East
Coast Music Association: Newfoundland & Labrador, Prince Edward
Island, New Brunswick, mainland Nova Scotia and Cape Breton
Island.
Voting ballots will be sent to all
eligible members of the East Coast Music Association, who will
vote on the award winners. Tickets for all Molson Canadian
ECMAFest Shows, and the Music Awards Gala on Sunday
March 1, are now on sale via Ticketpro, 1-888-311-9090 or
www.ticketpro.ca
and at various on-site locations in Corner Brook including
Colemans Food Center (Caribou Rd.), the Pepsi Centre Box Office
and the Arts & Culture Centre Box Office.
The 2009 East Coast Music Awards,
Festival & Conference will take place in Corner Brook from
February 26th to March 1st. It is an annual festival and music
industry conference organized by the East Coast Music Association
whose mandate is to foster, promote and celebrate East Coast
music locally and globally. The 2009 East Coast Music Awards,
Festival & Conference has received financial support from the
Government of Canada through ACOA and Service Canada, Province
of Newfoundland and Labrador through the Department of Tourism,
Culture and Recreation, and the City of Corner Brook. The East
Coast Music Association would
also like to acknowledge the financial support of FACTOR and the
Government of Canada through
the Department of Canadian Heritage (Canada Music Fund) and of
Canada's private radio broadcasters.
Media Contact:
BJ Grechuk, The Joseph Scott Entertainment Agency
bj@josephscott.ca |
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November 18, 2008
Premier picks up fiddle to help preemie kids
By
Patricia Brooks Arenburg ,Halifax Herald
Charlie Livingstone was "about the size of a cellphone" when he
entered the world four months early on Jan. 2, 2004. His eyelids
were fused together, he had a punctured lung and he was "pretty
well see-through," his father, Chuck Livingstone, said.
Charlie was on life-support for two months at the IWK Health
Centre before he took his first breath on his own. He remained
at the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit for another two
monthsbefore his father and mother, Nicki, could bring him home.
Premier Rodney MacDonald met Mr. Livingstone at the hospital
Monday, where Mr. MacDonald announced he will pick up his fiddle
for Ceilidhs for Kids, a concert series in support of the
neonatal intensive care
unit.
"If I can use my position and my musical background to give back
a little bit, then hopefully we can raise a few dollars that may
provide an opportunity for some additional equipment or to make
life a little bit easier on family members who could be here for
months at a time. . . that's my goal," Mr. MacDonald said.
The premier, who is a well-known fiddle player, will play
alongside musicians like Raylene and Jimmy Rankin, John Gracie,
Dave MacIsaac, Troy MacGillivray and a number of others,
at four concerts in Halifax,
New Glasgow, Wolfville and Liverpool from Nov. 26 to Dec. 5.
Just how much the premier and friends hope to raise for the
children's hospital hasn't been discussed.
But Jocelyn Vine, the hospital's vice-president of patient care,
said "the neonatal (intensive care) unit has a very high need
for excellent staff with great education, lots of technology
that's changing and evolving all the time, so . . . the
fundraising will be put to very good use."
Mr. Gracie watched as the premier played his fiddle in a
hospital playroom for a small group of young patients and their
families, including a baby girl who wiggled happily to the tune
and a boy in a
wheelchair who tapped his toes on the floor.
The friend of the premier said audiences will get "more than
their money's worth" at the concerts, which will include
individual performances and jam sessions, and possibly a few of
the premier's original compositions.
With two children of his own that have "been here (at the
hospital) more than once or twice," Mr. Gracie was more than
happy to offer his support for the cause.
Mr. Livingstone, whose voice shook as he addressed the premier
and the small crowd, said there is a 20 per cent survival rate
for children like Charlie. And of those who live, there is an 80
per cent chance of
a severe disability, he said.
Charlie's now four and a half, and "I'm very happy to say he's
100 per cent completely normal, no problems, nothing's slowed
him down," Mr. Livingstone said.
"He plays hockey, soccer, skating, basketball, the whole works."
Charlie couldn't attend Monday's announcement, he was home sick
with a cold, but his father wanted to thank the premier for his
efforts.
The neonatal intensive care unit, he said, is "a pretty special
place for myself and my family."
Mr. MacDonald said he recognized how important the children's
hospital is to the people of Nova Scotia and the entire Atlantic
region. But he also has a very personal reason for hitting the
stage.
His wife, Lori-Ann, had a difficult pregnancy and spent three
months in the Halifax hospital before the birth of their son,
Ryan, now 10.
"I can appreciate what many of these families are going through
and it's my way of trying to give back," he said.
THE TOUR:
Premier Rodney MacDonald will host the Ceilidhs for Kids concert
series, starting Nov. 26 at the Bella Rose Arts Centre in
Halifax.
The remaining concerts are:
Nov. 28: North Nova Education Centre in New Glasgow
Nov. 30: Festival Theatre in Wolfville
Dec. 5: Astor Theatre in Liverpool
Tickets are $15 a person and will be available at the above
venues.
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October
30, 2008
MacGillivray siblings issue pair of new CDs
By DAN MACDONALD, Cape Breton Post
I recently received a pair of
recordings that come from Antigonish Countys MacGillivray
family. Kendra and Troy are very talented siblings, both
primarily fiddlers and both East Coast Music Award winners. In
the past few months they have both released new CDs, Kendras
solo effort Love O The Isles and Troys duet
recording with Shane Cook When Here Meets There.
Kendra has lived in Prince Edward
Island for the past few years, continuing to play while raising
her young family. Love O The Isles gives us a dozen cuts that
range from tranquil slow airs to traditional Antigonish polkas,
to boisterous and rollicking hornpipes and reels. Recorded at
Lakewind Sound Studios in Point Aconi, Kendra doesnt have to
stray far to gather up some excellent backup.
The piano chores are shared between
her brother Troy and Tracey Dares, Elmer Deagle plays guitar and
a bit of banjo, Cheryl Smith handles the percussion and Troy
adds bass on a few cuts, a nice compact combo of very talented
people.
Kendra has selected the music well.
She leans heavily on traditional tunes and some of the Scottish
masters such as Skinner, Mackintosh and Grant, but she has also
included local and regional composers as
diverse as Wilfred Gillis and Ned Landry, even including one of
her own tunes.
As expected, Kendras playing is
spot-on, and she has laid out some great arrangements.
My personal favourite is the second
cut that starts with a jig and moves on to a pair of lively
reels, including Mark Anthony Rainnie, a reel composed for her
son.
Meanwhile, When Here Meets There
gives us a different slant on traditional music with a pair of
young players who are among the best in their individual fields.
Troy is well known around here as an incredible fiddler and
pianist, a favourite for dances and concerts and this years
winner of the ECMA for Instrumental Recording.
Shane Cook has garnered a sack full
of awards for his playing, including being a Canadian Open,
Canadian Grand Masters and U.S. Grand National champion.
Individually, they are terrific.
Together they are better than the sum of the two parts, a
powerful combination that is eclectic in tastes and astounding
in virtuosity. Their music blends together seamlessly, the
different styles weaving in and out, bubbling to the surface
only to be overtaken by something newer, greater and even more
pleasing.
Produced by Ray Legere, who also
plays mandolin on the recording, the CD was mainly recorded at
Troys home in Lanark with additional bits and pieces added in at
studios as far away as Scotland. The backup musicians are just
as diverse, with the most familiar names being Skip Holmes and
Scott Macmillan.
This is a powerful CD with some
amazing playing with a wonderful variety of music. It would be
hard to pick out a favourite, but I lean towards Bovaglies Plaid
that features Troy on piano, backed up by several layers of
strings on violin and viola.
I am also quite taken by the final
cut The Reprobate which mixes jigs, strathspeys and
reels with incredible ease, showcasing fiddles and piano weaving
in and out and around throughout the piece.
I suggest that you look for these
CDs and dont be shy about adding both to your collection. Or put
them on your Christmas list. Its not that far away.
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October 24, 2008
Troy featured on CBC 'Island Echoes' This Saturday
This
Saturday evening (October 25th) at 8:06 pm Atlantic Time, CBC
Radio's "Island Echoes" will feature Troy MacGillivray with
Allan Dewar (piano) and Cheryl Smith (snare). Recorded live at
the Knox Presbyterian Church in Baddeck during the Celtic
Colours International Festival. Hosted by Wendy Bergfeldt.
Listen to Island Echoes on CBC Radio 1 in Cape Breton (1140 am)
or online at:
www.cbc.ca/islandechoes/ |
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October 9, 2008
N.S. musicians up for national awards
Halifax Herald
Nova
Scotia fiddler Troy MacGillivray is up for three trophies at the
Canadian Folk Music Awards.
Antigonish native MacGillivray is up for instrumental solo
artist of the year for Live at the Music Room and is nominated
with Ontario old-time fiddler Shane Cook for traditional album
of the year and instrumental group of the year for When Here
Meets There.
Margaree fiddler Chrissy Crowley competes against family
Celtic/folk/pop band Drumlin for young performer of the year.
Their CDs are Demo and Mackerel Skies respectively. And Dave
Carroll, who with his brother Don makes up Sons of Maxwell, is
nominated in the contemporary singer of the year category for
Perfect Blue.
The late fiddler Oliver Schroer, who died in July of leukemia,
leads the field of nominees after being nominated for
contemporary album of the year, solo instrumentalist of the
year, producer of the year and a category called pushing
the boundaries. The awards ceremony takes place Sunday, Nov. 23
at the Arts and Cultural Centre in St. Johns.
Vancouver roots singer-songwriter Wyckham Porteous is tied with
MacGillivray with three nominations.
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October 4,
2008
Strathspey Place 'When Here Meets There' CD Release
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September 29,
2008
Celtic meets old-time flair. Antigonish’s MacGillivray
collaborates with Ottawa’s Cook
By STEPHEN COOKE, Halifax Herald
ANTIGONISH’S Troy MacGillivray is a peerless Celtic musician, as
proficient on fiddle as he is on piano, but he’s also a gifted
collaborator.
Whether it’s with fellow Nova Scotian players (including sisters
Kendra and Sabra), Scottish musicians like guitarist Anna Massey
and flutist Nuala Kennedy, or even a one-off ECMA performance
with jazz musicians like bassist Adam Fine and sax player Dani
Oore, MacGillivray likes to spread his talent around.
"I hope that’s OK," he says with a self-effacing laugh. "I’ve
never really thought about it, as in "Who will I work with this
time’ Anything I do just sort of happens.
"I get an idea, and usually it involves the people I’m hanging
out with at the time, and usually it works out nicely. At least
I hope it does."
MacGillivray’s latest project is When Here Meets There, a
collaboration with Ottawa fiddle champion Shane Cook, who has
several titles under his belt, including being the only Canadian
to win the U.S. Grand National Fiddle Championship.
The two had often crossed paths, at Jerry Holland’s fiddle camp
and on the road in Ontario, and eventually a friendship and
appreciation for each other’s gifts developed.
"We’d be playing in the same concert with some other acts, and
at some point we’d do a couple of songs together, and that led
to doing our own shows together, and that’s where we got the
idea to do a record together," explains MacGillivray.
This week a Maritime tour featuring the pair plus guitarist Skip
Holmes and Ray Legere on mandolin — who also perform on the CD —
kicks off today at Mabou’s Strathspey Place at 7:30 p.m., with
guest pianist Betty Lou Beaton. That’s followed by a Sunday
matinee at Sackville, N.B.’s Music Barn at 2 p.m.
The road trip continues on Wednesday at the Courthouse Theatre
in Sherbrooke at 7:30 p.m. and the Al Whittle Theatre in
Wolfville on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The dates wrap up with shows
at the deCoste Centre in Pictou on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 8 p.m.
and the Bicentennial Theatre in Middle Musquodoboit on Sunday,
Oct. 5 at 7 p.m.
What’s remarkable about When Here Meets There, as implied by the
title, is the way it combines MacGillivray’s Celtic playing with
Cook’s old-time sound, with the two players weaving in and out
of stylistic sync as they play solo and unison parts. There’s
definitely a unique harmony taking place on the album, bridging
what MacGillivray sees as a split between the Celtic and
old-time traditions.
"I guess there’s a divide there, I don’t know why that would
be," he muses. "I just like good music; if it sounds good to me
then I’ll probably want to try and play it.
"And it’s not even a geographical divide. Even in our own
province the Scottish musicians don’t really know the old-time
players and vice versa. They could be in the same community and
not even know each other. Ottawa is a good example; you have
Maxville, which is really Scottish, on one side, and then on the
other side of town you have the old-time scene, and they have no
idea about each other, even though they’re only a half-hour or
45 minutes apart. It’s odd"
What caught MacGillivray’s ear about Cook’s playing was his
remarkable ability to absorb styles, mimic them and then perfect
them.
"Shane definitely comes from the old-time school, and he does a
great job of it, but he grew up with a lot of Irish music too,
so he’s no stranger to Celtic styles.
"And being from Antigonish, I play the strathspeys and reels,
but I’ve also picked up polkas and hornpipes which a lot of
Celtic fiddlers wouldn’t necessarily play. So we’re both kind of
stuck in the middle of a few different styles. It worked out
kinda nice when it came to this project."
For ticket information go to troymacgillivray.com
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September 21,
2008
Press Release: When Here Meets There Maritime Tour
(download
PDF)
What
do you get when you pair an ECMA Award Winner with a Canadian
Grand Master Fiddle Champion You get a dynamic live performance
featuring two of the most highly acclaimed fiddlers around!
"When There Meets Here" is a new CD that is a must-have for
fiddle aficionados… it is the coming together of Troy
MacGillivray’s driving Nova Scotian fiddle and piano with Shane
Cook’s swinging Ontario-oldtime fiddle. And fiddle fans in the
Maritimes will be able to hear this dynamic team live in concert
as they travel around NS, NB and PEI September 26th - October
5th.
When Here Meets There is an exciting new collaboration between
these two young Canadian fiddlers at the top of their game.
"Shane and I have been talking about doing a project together
for a while... Shane started to make a new CD that turned into
both of us working on it, sharing the duties and ideas and
bringing together a sound that is definitely a new feel and
twist in century old tunes", says MacGillivray.
"It’s a mix of East Coast and Ontario, of bluegrass, country and
Scottish tradition".
In concert, Troy and Shane together provide an astonishing
breadth of styles, tunes, and arrangements individually but
together there is an obvious excitement and spark between the
two players and their ensemble that is infectious. The ensemble
includes New Brunswick mandolin player Ray Legere, Nova Scotia
guitarist Skip Holmes and Troy’s sister, Sabra MacGillivray who
dances during the show.
"Ray Leger is a great friend of Shane's and a man that I have
heard of for many years and have great respect for", says
MacGillivray. Adds Cook, "He is one of the best musicians that
exists who is definitely proud of his East Coast roots and it
shows in his personality and his music. Skip Holmes was a
regular face on "Up Home Tonight" for a number of years and has
played with hundreds of fiddlers from around the world".
And MacGillivray is used to playing with his sister Sabra … they
have been a powerful musical team for over 20 years! "Sabra is a
highly acclaimed highland and stepdancer, not to mention plays a
mean bodhran!" says MacGillivray. "Its great to have her along
on this tour—it brings a whole other dimension to the live
performance." For more information on tickets and concert times,
or to purchase When There Meets Here online, please visit
www.troymacgillivray.com and
www.shanecook.com . To listen to tracks from the new CD,
please visit
www.sonicbids.com/whenheremeetsthere
In
August, Troy had the honour of being a judge for the first time
at the
Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Championships in Ottawa. The
Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Championship was conceived by a
group of people interested in preserving Canadian Traditional
Fiddling, and giving recognition to the excellent fiddlers
found across Canada.
"I had a great time being on the other side of the table this
year", says Troy. "It’s a totally different perspective and not
as easy as it looks with so many great fiddlers in Canada."
Quebec’s Andre Brunet was selected as the 2008 Canadian Grand
Masters Champion.
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|
August 2008 - News Articles
Musician
Proud To Represent Canada, The Casket Newspaper -
READ ARTICLE
(JPG)
Entertaining
The Soldiers in Afghanistan, Celtic Life Magazine -
READ ARTICLE (PDF)
'Live
At The Music Room' CD Review, Celtic Life Magazine -
READ
ARTICLE (PDF) |
| ............................................................................................................................................................ |
June 11, 2008
Local Traditional Artist Performs for Troops in Afghanistan
Ramp
Marketing Press Release
ANTIGONISH,
NS — Troy MacGillivray is halfway through 2008 and has already had a
year filled with many firsts: his first ECMA Award win in February, his
first time touring with a new band in Germany, the CD release of his
first joint project in April (with Ontario fiddler Shane Cook) and in
May, his first military tour to perform for the troops in the Middle
East.
Troy
MacGillivray was one of 14 Canadian entertainers from across the country
who traveled to Afghanistan to entertain our troops in May for the Task
Force Afghanistan Show Tour. The diverse cast put on four performances
for troops over a two week period from May 16-28 around the Persian Gulf
including Kandahar and Kabul.
"It was
an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that was also very
humbling, one I’m not soon to forget",
says MacGillivray. "The hospitality and giving from the troops from all
the NATO forces was overwhelming.
It was great watching them enjoy and appreciate the music and
entertainment. It’s an entirely different world over there … it is a
place of strife where every day is more difficult than the day before.
Every day it gets hotter - we arrived to a temperature of 56 degrees
Celsius yet they still welcomed us with smiling faces and great
happiness".
The tour
was organized by the Canadian Forces Personnel and Family Support
Services (CFPFSS),
the morale and welfare arm of the Canadian Forces (CF). The CFPFSS has a
long tradition of providing
show tours to CF members serving overseas and in isolated locations.
Over the course of any six-month
major mission, a CF Show Tour is usually held at the mid-point.
"These
are great people representing Canada and I am very proud to have met
some of them and to have had the honour to play for them", says
MacGillivray. "They are amazing people who are risking their lives daily
for the greater good of the world. It was incredibly humbling experience
yet at the same time an incredible honour to bring a little piece of
Nova Scotia, and Canada, to them half a world away".
"A CF
Show Tour contributes immensely to the morale of deployed members," says
Manager Deployment
Policies and Resources Mark Larose, "especially when topnotch Canadian
talent takes centre
stage to perform for our servicemen and servicewomen half way around the
world in a very harsh environment".
The show
was directed and co-hosted by musical comedian Kenny Shaw. Also
co-hosting was comedian
Pete Zedlacher who previously visited Afghanistan with a CF Show Tour in
2002. The remainder of
the show was filled with a variety of rock, pop, country and Celtic
artists. Proving the Nova Scotia flair to
the tour were Troy MacGillivray along with fellow fiddler Kimberly
Fraser and well-know local singer
Matt Minglewood. Additional performers included Duane Steele, Diane
Chase, Ginette Genereux and
Toronto-based rock band Suckerfactory.
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June
9, 2008
Afghan boneyard imprints on Cape Breton entertainer
ERIN POTTIE, The Cape Breton Post
SYDNEY
- They call it the boneyard and it might be one of the most powerful
images to grip Cape Breton fiddler Kimberley Fraser during a visit to
Afghanistan, where she performed in front of thousands of Canadian
troops. Consisting of mangled machine wreckage, it's the place where
tanks go after they've been hit by a roadside bomb and it's one memory,
among many, Fraser will hold for a lifetime.
'Some of
them were in really bad shape and some of the guys didn't make it out of
there,' the 25-year-old Sydney Mines native said. 'There's that side of
it, and then there's the story about the kids that they're helping go to
school. They're helping to rebuild the country there. We got to see a
lot of that stuff first hand.'
A
first-time visitor to Afghanistan, Fraser joined Horizon Talent out of
Calgary for a mid-May performance at the Canadian Forces base in
Kandahar. Fraser travelled along with fiddler Troy MacGillivray of
Antigonish County and Cape Breton rocker Matt Minglewood, who has
performed in front of the troops before.
Fraser
returned to Boston from Afghanistan, Thursday, where the ECMA winner is
a student at the Berkeley College of Music. She said while she didn't
feel unsafe during her tour, she also wasn't permitted to leave the base
for safety reasons.
Fraser
and the other performers did experience two rocket attacks, which sent
them back to the bunkers, but said it isn't as dangerous as it sounds.
'We had a
rocket attack during one of our shows in Kandahar, but it was kinda
blown up a bit in the news. They actually happen probably three to four
times if not more per week. It's old Soviet weapons that are shot down
on the base, but they're not explosive,' Fraser said. 'No one's ever
been hurt by them.'
Joining
the Nova Scotia trio were four singers, two country acts, a bilingual
singer, a house band and two comedians. The group performed four night
shows, and slept in rooms and ate food similar to the soldiers.
'One of
the things that struck me is it's so hot there. It can be 48-50ş C there
and we can wear whatever we want ' they have to wear their uniforms and
their helmets and their weapons... I can't imagine doing that.
They're real heroes; they really, really are.'
After
performances, the entertainment crew spoke with soldiers about their
lives and duties in the desert and obtained autographs. Fraser said for
her, a soldier's life is not always portrayed clearly in the media.
'They
don't get a lot of live entertainment there, so when it comes along
they're very appreciative of that. It was a huge honour, just to be
asked to go on something like that. Just to ease their minds a bit about
what they're doing,' she said.
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May 23, 2008
Taliban rocket attack interrupts Canadian entertainment show in
Kandahar.
Canadian Press
KANDAHAR,
Afghanistan — Hundreds of NATO soldiers got a dash of Canadian music and
humour Friday night before a Taliban rocket attack forced a troupe of
entertainers to temporarily douse the lights at Kandahar Airfield.
The music
and jokes had been flying for about an hour when the first explosion and
siren forced everyone to scurry for nearby bunkers. No one was hurt.
Kandahar
Airfield, the main base for Canadian and alliance troops in southern
Afghanistan, has been hit routinely over the last few weeks with wildly
erratic 107 mm rocket fire intended to harass NATO forces.
The show
was interrupted for about an hour before performers retook the stage and
carried on. One of the headline acts was East Coast blues rocker Matt
Minglewood, who has spent the last couple of days mixing and chatting
with the troops.
It is the
guitarist's second trip to entertain soldiers in the war-torn country,
and he said earlier Friday that a lot has changed in almost four years.
Reading about the dangers and the casualties wasn't enough to prepare
him for a "chilling" trip to what soldiers call "the bone yard" - a
storage area at the base for armoured vehicles wrecked by roadside
bombs.
"It's
just brutal to see it," said Minglewood, who traded in his signature
cowboy hat for a ball cap and a desert neck scarf.
"People
at home, they would never understand until you look in a vehicle where
people lost their lives in. It brings the reality smack dab in front of
your face."
Country
singer Diane Chase, on her third concert tour in Afghanistan, said she
looks up to soldiers and believes most Canadians feel the same way, even
if they can't be here.
"People
talk about having baseball players as heroes, you know, break world
record. That's not a hero, these are heroes."
Musical
comedian Kenny Shaw hosted the show, performed in front of troops from
Canada, the United States, Britain, Australia, Portugal, France and
Romania. Chase said she was excited to bring a little bit of Canada to
troops, not only from back home but from other countries as well.
"They're
just so grateful of us giving up our time to come over and perform for
them," said Chase prior to the show.
"What we
get back is far greater than what we bring them. It's hard to go home
and perform for a regular audience after being here."
The
musicians held an impromptu jam with soldiers, some of them just
returned from forward operating bases for rest and relaxation, outside
of the main Canadian recreation hall on Thursday night. One soldier
broke out his own guitar and started playing, much to the delight of
singer Ginette Genereux.
"He was
really good, doing the guitar riffs and everything," said Genereux, who
was the opening act.
The other
performers included Celtic musicians Troy MacGillivray and
Kimberley Fraser, the Toronto-based rock band Suckerfactory and Alberta
country singer Duane Steele.
The tour
was organized by Canadian Forces Personnel and Family Support Services.
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May 14, 2008
Afghanistan Show Tour Delivers Entertainment From Home
OTTAWA,
ONTARIO -- A group of ten Canadian entertainers from across the country
will combine their talents and travel to Afghanistan to entertain our
troops in May for the Task Force Afghanistan Show Tour. The diverse cast
will put on five performances for troops over a two week period starting
May 18.
These
show tours are organized for each Afghanistan six-month rotation by the
Canadian Forces Personnel and Family Support Services (CFPFSS), the
morale and welfare arm of the Canadian Forces (CF). The CFPFSS has a
long tradition of providing show tours to CF members serving overseas
and in isolated locations. Over the course of any six-month major
mission, a CF Show Tour is usually held at the mid-point.
"A CF
Show Tour contributes immensely to the morale of deployed members," says
Manager Deployment Policies and Resources Mark Larose, "especially when
topnotch Canadian talent takes centre stage to perform for our
servicemen and servicewomen half way around the world in a very harsh
environment".
The show
will be directed and co-hosted by musical comedian Kenny Shaw. Also
co-hosting is comedian Pete Zedlacher who previously visited Afghanistan
with a CF Show Tour in 2002. The remainder of the show will be filled
with a variety of rock, pop, country and Celtic artists. Singers Matt
Minglewood, Duane Steele, Diane Chase, Ginette Genereux and
Toronto-based rock band Suckerfactory will no doubt have the troops
singing along. Adding some east coast flair to the show are Celtic
fiddlers Troy MacGillivray and Kimberly Fraser.
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April 7, 2008
DYNAMIC PERFORMANCE
Shane Cook
(right), of Dorchester, Ontario and Troy MacGillivray, of Antigonish,
Nova Scotia have just completed their new CD and they played one of
their promotional concerts right here in Tillsonburg. The concert, which
was a sellout, was also a fundraiser for Victorian Order of Nurses
Oxford’s Sakura House hospice. Cook is one of Canada’s most highly
awarded old-time fiddlers, a 3-time Canadian Open Fiddle champion,
3-time Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Champion, Grand North American
Fiddle Champion and the only Canadian to win the US Grand National
Fiddle Championship. Troy MacGillivray, is an accomplished fiddler,
pianist and step dancer and most recently won the 2008 East Coast Music
Award for Instrumental Album of the Year.
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April
2008
Review of Shane Cook & Troy MacGillivray's New Recording: When Here
Meets There
Dr.
Sherry Johnson - York University, Toronto
When Here
Meets There is an exciting new collaboration between two young Canadian
fiddlers at the top of their game. Shane Cook of Dorchester, Ontario is
one of Canada's most highly awarded old-time
fiddlers: 3-time Canadian Open Fiddle champion, 3-time Canadian Grand
Masters Fiddle Champion, Grand North American Fiddle Champion, and the
only Canadian to win the US Grand National Fiddle Championship. Troy
MacGillivray of Antigonish, Nova Scotia, is an accomplished fiddler,
pianist and step dancer; he most recently won the 2008 East Coast Music
Award for Instrumental Album of the Year. Individually, these
two fiddlers are virtuosic musicians and dynamic performers; together,
stimulating and feeding off of each other and their top-tier back-up
musicians, they are inspirational.
The album
provides an astonishing breadth of styles, tunes, and arrangements.
While each fiddler has several opportunities to shine on solo sets that
emphasize his particular strengths, my favourite sets on the album are
those that Shane and Troy play together. There's an obvious excitement
and spark between the two players and their ensemble that is infectious.
Their combined lift and rhythmic drive propel the music forward.
While
each fiddler brings to the album a flavour of his own, the contrast
between their playing is nothing but complementary. Perhaps my favourite
tune on the album is "Archie Menzie's". After playing the tune through
in unison, well-matched in style, tone, variations, and ornaments, and
yet not erasing the unique sound of either, each fiddler plays the tune
through by himself, each version excellent, and each version very
different. There can be no mistake that Troy, gritty and strongly
rhythmic, plays the tune through first and Shane, slightly smoother,
with unique melodic variations, plays second. This is a wonderful
opportunity to hear how two of the top players in their respective
traditions shape the tune to make it their own. Shane has
a considerable reputation amongst fiddlers for his individual, unique
style that is not always predictable, but almost always recognizable for
its daring, yet ever tasteful, melodic and rhythmic adventures. Troy
demonstrates a similar inclination to flirt with stylistic boundaries,
most notably in a number of original tunes included on the album. Some
will challenge the listener; all will please.
Although
the tunes are obviously very carefully arranged, they still manage to
sound fresh and inspired, with a spark and energy that is easiest to
capture before they have been endlessly rehearsed. Several of the
transitions between tunes, in particular, are quite unusual and grab the
listener's attention. The play with textures, both between the two
fiddlers and with the ensemble, is also especially effective. Techniques
such as soloing, doubling of the melody by back-up musicians,
harmonizing both whole tunes and short phrases here and there, and
playing in different octaves all serve to highlight the talents of the
individual musicians, as well as create an remarkable listening
experience.
In short,
this album provides something for everyone; for those who like the old
standards and those who like the cutting edge. For those who are
familiar with the playing of Shane Cook and Troy MacGillivray
as individuals, their collaboration will surprise and delight. When Here
Meets There, when Ontario meets Nova Scotia, when Canadian old-time,
Cape Breton, French-Canadian, Shetland, Texas and other styles and tunes
from a variety of traditions meet on this album, the result is truly
magical.
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February
12, 2008
Troy MacGillivray Wins ECMA Award
Troy
MacGillivray played over 250 performances in 2007 … and still managed to
record and release a new CD! Live At The Music Room is Troy’s most
invigorating and toe-tapping release yet and features the best of the
traditional Celtic music world all wrapped up in a single package. And
last night, Live At The Music Room garnered Troy his first ECMA Award
for Instrumental Recording of the Year!
The
ECMA’s are a four-day music industry conference and ceremony which took
place in Fredericton this year. The event culminated in a gala on Sunday
night at the Aitken Centre in Fredericton in which over 20 awards were
distributed honouring the best in East Coast music over the past year.
Live At The Music Room is MacGillivray’s 4th solo release. Despite the
fact that all of his previous recordings have received ECMA nominations,
this release marks the first time MacGillivray has received the award.
"People have been asking me for the past three or four years to make a
live CD. Last year, the timing was finally right. The Music Room is a
great facility to play in and the whole idea just came together in a
matter of days. We had a fun night and the tracks sounded so good, that
I just decided ‘why not’ " says MacGillivray from Fredericton Sunday
night, where he was reveling in the recognition from his peers.
The
Music Room on Lady Hammond Road in Halifax did indeed provide for a
proper concert presentation of Troy’s gifts on both fiddle and keyboard.
On the CD, MacGillivray delivers a toe-tapping, invigorating musical
journey that is both a concert and ceilidh wrapped up in an incredible
listening experience! The unique acoustics of The Music Room are paired
with the intimate rapport of Troy and the audience to provide 70 minutes
of pure entertainment that flies by so quick, you feel as if you are at
the concert instead of actually listening to a CD. Accompanying Troy on
the CD are ECMA Award winner Dave MacIsaac on guitar and fellow
Antigonish-native Allan Dewar on piano. Special guest appearances by
guitarist Brad Davidge and step-dancer Sabra MacGillivray (Troy’s
sister) round out the tracks on the CD that Juno Award winning engineer
Chad Irshick put the finishing touches to at his studio, Inception Sound
in Toronto, to create one of the most dynamic traditional CD’s to come
out of Atlantic Canada in recent years.
Troy MacGillivray is also the 2005 winner of the Danny Kyle Stage from
the Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow, Scotland and the 2004 Auleen
Theriault Young Tradition Award winner from the Goderich Celtic Roots
Festival in Goderich, Ontario - an award given to an artist that
shows outstanding talent and love for traditional and roots-based music.
Troy MacGillivray's career has kicked into high gear in recent years and
is moving into overdrive with this latest recognition - the ECMA Award -
and the release of Live At The Music Room, which is now available online
at www.troymacgillivray.com
-30-
Contact: Troy MacGillivray or Pam Wamback
(902)863-1067 / (902)499-1657
info@troymacgillivray.com
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January 19, 2008
'Natalie MacMaster & Friends' on Bravo! TV Tonight
A repeat broadcast of the Cape Breton Live concert
filmed at The Rose Theatre in Brampton, Ontario in November 2006 will
air tonight on Bravo! TV.
Featuring Troy
MacGillivray,
Natalie MacMaster,
Andrea Beaton, Glenn Graham, Howie MacDonald, Cheryl Smith,
Buddy MacDonald, Kate Quinn and Bob Quinn.
Bravo! TV Canada, 7:00pm ET
| Bravo Website
Portions of this concert can be heard on
Cape Breton Live
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January
18, 2008
MacGillivray Launches
by Wendy Elliott/The Advertiser
Troy
MacGillivray played over 250 performances in 2007 and still managed to
record and release a new CD. Live At The Music Room is his most
toe-tapping release yet and features the best of the traditional Celtic
music world all wrapped up in a single package. He will launch it in
Wolfville, NS. next week.
The
Music Room in Halifax is one of the finest acoustic spaces in Canada and
houses a New York-built Steinway grand piano, which showcased the
musical talents of MacGillivray for this live recording. Accompanying
him on the CD are ECMA Award winner Dave MacIsaac on guitar and fellow
Antigonish native Allan Dewar on piano. Special guest appearances by
guitarist Brad Davidge and step-dancer and sister Sabra MacGillivray
round out the tracks on the CD.
Juno Award-winning engineer Chad Irchick put the finishing touches to at
his studio, Inception Sound in Toronto. Live At The Music Room is
MacGillivray’s fourth solo release.
MacGillivray was the 2005 winner of the Danny Kyle Stage from the Celtic
Connections Festival in Glasgow, Scotland and the 2004 Auleen Theriault
Young Tradition Award winner from the Goderich Celtic Roots Festival, an
award given to an artist that shows outstanding talent and love for
traditional and roots-based music.
The
new CD will be featured in a release concert at Al Whittle Theatre
Friday, Feb. 1 starting at 8 p.m. Accompanying him at the concert will
be Allan Dewar and Brent Chaisson with a special guest appearance by
local favourites, the Fiddlestickers. Tickets are $10 in advance or $12
at the door.
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December
13, 2007
MacGillivray Live at the Music Room (and on CD)
By STEPHEN COOKE, Halifax Herald
Troy
MacGillivray’s Live at the Music Room CD is ready for release with a
special show in the very same Lady Hammond Road venue on Friday night.
He also plays St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Whycocomagh on
Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Port Hawkesbury at the Grand Slam of Curling on
Dec. 20 and the Celtic Touch Highland Dance Christmas Concert at the
SAERC on Dec. 21.
JUST A
MONTH shy of a year after recording it, Antigonish Celtic maestro Troy
MacGillivray’s Live at the Music Room CD is ready for release with a
special show in the very same Lady Hammond Road venue on Friday night.
Part of
the same group of musical siblings that gives us fiddling sister Kendra
and stepdancer Sabra, Troy MacGillivray has shown both great skill and
feeling for the music on his studio CDs Musical Ties, Boomerang and
Eleven. But if you’ve heard him perform live, you’ve seen him work up a
sweat with that extra jolt of Gaelic fire that only a live audience and
without-a-net atmosphere can kindle.
MacGillivray has some live clips available on his website (www.troymacgillivray.com)
but Live at the Music Room gives us the listening pleasure of a
studio-quality recording in the famed hall’s acoustically perfect
environment as well as the extra energy of a concert setting, with
pianist Allan Dewar and guitarists Dave MacIsaac and Brad Davidge drivin’
’er right along.
As a
bonus, you get to hear Sabra stepdance, which doesn’t really compare to
seeing her kick up her heels in person, but may serve as an added
incentive to get to the show on Friday.
It’s been
a busy fall for MacGillivray; since October he’s played Celtic Colours,
the Celtic Nations Heritage Festival of Louisiana, the Clear Lake Celtic
Music Festival in Texas, plus concerts in New England, including the
Boston Tree Lighting Event.
At the
moment he’s recording a project with New Brunswick fiddler Ray Legere,
guitarist Skip Holmes and 1999 U.S. Grand National Fiddle Champion Shane
Cook, a versatile Ontario player who’s mastered a variety of styles,
which should make for an intriguing meeting of musical minds.
And
MacGillivray’s still got a few shows to go until Christmas, including
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Whycocomagh on Saturday at 7:30
p.m., and appearances in Port Hawkesbury at the Grand Slam of Curling on
Dec. 20 and the Celtic Touch Highland Dance Christmas Concert at the
SAERC on Dec. 21. Then it’s over to Glasgow for the huge Celtic
Connections festival in January, where he’ll likely reconnect with many
of the Scottish musicians who grace the cross-Atlantic tracks on Eleven.
The Music
Room concert starts at 8 p.m., tickets are $15 and can be reserved by
calling 429-9467 or e-mailing
tyler@scotiafestival.ns.ca.
Seating is limited, so it’s best to ensure you have tickets ahead of
time.
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October 9, 2007
Celtic Colours project strikes a chord with group of musicians
LAURA JEAN GRANT, The Cape Breton Post
BADDECK
— Take 10 talented musicians, a picture-perfect setting, and Flo
Sampson’s home cooking and you have all the ingredients needed to make
musical magic. For the past four days some of the best Canadian and
Scottish roots/traditional artists have been holed up in a Beinn Bhreagh
home sharing their own songs and collaborating on new material and tunes
which will be performed publicly for the first time tonight at
Strathspey Place in Mabou, beginning at 7:30 p.m.
The New
Tunemakers is a special project of this year’s Celtic Colours
International Festival and features well-known local musicians Troy MacGillivray,
Glenn
Graham, Andrea Beaton, Ryan J. MacNeil, Colin
Grant, Prince Edward Island’s Patricia Murray, Metis fiddler Sierra
Noble and the three members of Scotland band, Lau, - Aidan O’Rourke,
Martin Green and Kris Drever.
O’Rourke
said the project was devised by Celtic Colours co-director Joella Foulds
and inspired by Scotland’s Burnsong project where a dozen artists spent
a week together collaborating on new material.
With just four days to prepare for tonight’s show, O’Rourke said Sunday
was the icebreaker day where everyone got to know each other and one
another’s music during a jam session, and Monday and Tuesday were full
days of writing and practising new tunes. The group will hold a final
day of rehearsal today at Strathspey Place.
"It’s quite interesting for us as a band to work under this kind of
pressure," he said, noting he, Green and Drever typically spend a lot of
time fine-tuning new songs before performing them.
With a wall of windows overlooking the Bras d’Or Lakes as their
backdrop, a fireplace keeping things toasty and lots of good food and
snacks to keep the creative juices flowing, Green said the past few days
have been a unique experience.
"It’s been
fantastic," he said. "We’re in a beautiful spot and that never hurts."
O’Rourke said working with other musicians and creating new traditional
tunes makes the time and effort required worth it.
"It’s really
rewarding to know these quality new tunes are being written," he said,
adding, "The atmosphere is good, morale is high."
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September 25, 2007
Review of September 8 House Concert in Lebanon, NH
By Victor Maurice Faubert
(originally written for the Cape Breton Music Mailing List) View
photos from this concert
Dan Crook and Carla Sandstrom, whom I had met at the Tommy
Peoples and Jerry Holland concert in Montpelier, are avid
anglers who greatly enjoy fishing in the Margaree area; while
there over the years, they have developed a taste for Cape
Breton music, which they have recently started sharing with
their friends and colleagues in a series of house concerts,
providing another venue to visiting Maritime musicians in the
New England area.
I
heard about the Saturday house concert from a posting on this
list. Since I was planning on attending the Jerry Holland
benefit concert in Boston on Sunday, and since Lebanon, New
Hampshire, is not too far out of the way, I e-mailed Dan to see
if he still had room for another attendee; he did, so I decided
to treat myself to an evening of Troy MacGillivray’s fine music
on the way to Boston.
Dan and Carla’s house parties begin with a social hour with
appetizers and BYOB from 18h-19h. They are followed by music
until the musicians want a break, at which point dessert is
served. More music then follows until the musicians decide to
quit for the evening. When I arrived, the happy hour was in full
swing and I got to meet several of the attendees. I also got a
chance to chat with Janine Randall, who was Troy’s accompanist
on this mini-tour, which also included appearances at the Skye
Theatre in South Carthage, Maine, at a house party at Clint and
Beth Telford’s home in Braintree, Vermont, and at the Jerry
Holland benefit concert in Boston.
Troy and Janine started playing around 19h20 and provided a
couple of fine Cape Breton sets which were very well received by
the attentive audience. The acoustics were excellent and Troy
played without amplification, so one was able to hear the music
au naturel, so to speak. After the second set, Troy provided
introductions to some of the tunes in the sets he played; in
each case, there was a tidbit or more of information of which I
was previously unaware. The third set began with Space Available
March, composed by the fiddler, comedian, and actor Marcel
Doucet (1948-1992) [locally pronounced as if written "Doucette"],
who was heavily involved in the musical productions The Rise and
Follies of Cape Breton Island and Cape Breton Summertime Review,
and in whose honour the state-of-the-art sound and recording
studio, Studio Marcel Doucet, from which CKJM broadcasts in
Chéticamp, was named. The fourth set started with Elmer Briand’s
slow air Beautiful Lake Ainslie (which appears in a version by
Jerry Holland in his The Fiddlesticks Collection CD), for which
Janine Randall’s accompaniment was superb; I don’t know how she
did it, but she brought to my mind the rippling waters of Lake
Ainslie under a clear blue sky, shimmering in the summer sun,
whilst Troy’s beautiful rendering of the fiddle melody floated
above the rhythmic pianistic waves. After another set (or
possibly two—my notes are not clear), Troy took over the piano
bench and played solo a fine set of tunes, none of whose names I
have, starting with a slow air and ending with a virtuosic piece
in which his fingers were flying through the descending cascades
of notes with which it ends so fast that they were simply a blur
to my eyes (I was seated not more than ten feet away), though
not to my ears! The stunned audience, most of whom had never
heard Troy play before, burst into applause at the end of this
bravura performance!
It was time for a brief break. Troy had his latest CD, Eleven
for sale; I noticed beside them a 7 × 8.5 inch booklet entitled
Troy MacGillivray Fiddle Tunes. Published this year and designed
by Troy and Pam Wamback, it contains fifteen of Troy’s
compositions, four of which appear on his CD’s and one of which
appears on his sister Kendra’s CD, in addition to some brief
geographical, cultural, and biographical notes. I had a chance
to chat briefly with Pam, who works in Nova Scotia’s Ministry of
Tourism in Halifax; she was there overseeing the CD and booklet
sales.
Once everyone was refreshed, Troy and Janine resumed playing.
After a fiddle set beginning with the Carnival March, composed
by Shetland composer and fiddler Gideon Stove (a version appears
on Natalie MacMaster’s CD Fit as a Fiddle), Troy switched his
fiddle tuning to high bass and gave us a Christy Campbell set
(in introducing it, he misnamed it as Krispy Kreme, to the
amusement of all, including Troy’s). Next, he explained that
Antigonish square sets consist of five figures, with two of the
five being danced to hornpipes and polkas; this led into a
wonderful medley of hornpipes and polkas, many of which Troy got
from his grandfather, Hugh Angus MacDonald, the celebrated
Antigonish fiddler (1889-1976). A request from the audience led
to a set with Gordon MacLean’s popular reel Mortgage Burn (which
appears on Troy’s CD Eleven) and which Troy said had also been
requested at the previous evening’s house party in Braintree.
The next set began with the blind Scottish piper Archie
MacNeill’s (1879-1962) pipe march Donald MacLean’s Farewell to
Oban. This was followed by a long set containing Tulloch Gorm,
ending in Troy step-dancing while he continued to play the
fiddle at breakneck speed. A standing ovation ensued for this
incredible performance! The encore featured a Jerry Holland tune
(whose name I didn’t get) along with several other tunes.
Janine’s piano accompaniment throughout was first class, never
obtrusive and never pedestrian, but always solidly imaginative,
complementary, and interesting; it sounded as if they had been
playing together for years rather than three days. Indeed, she
remarked how easy it was to accompany Troy as his playing was so
true to the fiddlers she had heard and accompanied when she was
first getting into the music, though she did admit, at the end
of the evening, that her fingers were tired from keeping up with
his hectic pace over the past three days.
The concert finished near 22h. I had an opportunity to speak
with Troy afterwards and thank him for his fine music. His next
CD, recorded live in Halifax, is currently in production; he
hopes to have it available for Celtic Colours.
My thanks go to Troy and Janine for an evening of memorable
music beautifully and energetically played with passion, and to
Dan and Carla for their fine hospitality and for their kindness
in fitting me in at the last moment. Their efforts to pass on to
others the incredible richness and beauty of Cape Breton music
through the quality of the performers they invite to play there
are certainly off to a fine start and I wish them all possible
success in this endeavour
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August 28, 2007
Fiddler from Nova Scotia will play at Skye
Sun Journal
CARTHAGE - Troy MacGillivray, one
of Canada's best young fiddlers, will take the stage Thursday,
Sept. 6, at Skye Theatre Performing Arts Center.
MacGillivray's musical prowess can
be attributed to a combination of commitment and bloodline. By
age 6, he was already impressing audiences with his step dancing
skills. By 13, he was teaching piano at the renowned Gaelic
College of Celtic Arts and Crafts in St. Anne's, Cape Breton. He
has completed grade seven of the Toronto Conservatory of Music
for classical piano, has spent four years in a stringed
orchestra and has earned a bachelor of arts degree with a major
in music from St. Francis Xavier University.
Although engaged in a busy touring
schedule, MacGillivray is on his way to Boston to participate in
a benefit concert for mentor and friend Jerry Holland. Joining
him on stage will be pianist Janine Randall founder of The
Ceilidh Trail School of Celtic Music. Together, they will offer
an evening of Celtic styles including Cape Breton, Scottish, and
Irish fiddle tunes and step dancing.
Recent performance highlights
include Celtic Connections 2004 in Glasgow, the 2004 East Coast
Music Awards, Celtic Colours International Festival in Cape
Breton, the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, the
Barbados Celtic Festival and the Edinburgh Fiddle Festival.
He also recorded a television
program for the Bravo Television Network and provided music for
a CBS made-for-TV movie starring Jane Seymour.
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April 18, 2007
Gifted performers Bringin' It Home
The
Cape Breton Post
SYDNEY - Bringin' It Home, Music Nova Scotia's annual musical
tour of the province, comes to Cape Breton this weekend with two
inspired pairings. Troy MacGillivray and Brad Davidge will
appear Friday night at Royal Canadian Legion Branch 124, Iona,
and Saturday night at the Octagon Arts Centre, Dingwall, and
Sons of Maxwell and Scott Macmillan with Brian Doyle perform
Saturday night at the Big Pond fire hall.
MacGillivray is a talented fiddler and piano player who has
performed all over North America and from Switzerland to
Australia. He was featured recently at Celtic Connections in
Glasgow, Scotland, the East
Coast Music Awards in Halifax, Folk Alliance in Memphis, Tenn.,
and the
University of Wyoming.
Davidge is an exciting, versatile guitar player, full of energy
and soul. His songwriting abilities are of a true craftsman,
both mature yet current and his vocal abilities are endless,
possessing a four-octave range. He regularly performs and
records with Natalie MacMaster and has appeared on Good Morning
America, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, CBS Morning Show, and
ABC's New Year's Eve Special with Peter Jennings. His debut
album, Unfolded, received coast to coast acclaim, including two
Music Nova Scotia nominations, (album of the year, new artist of
the year), and an ECMA for pop artist of the year.
Sons of Maxwell are a big hit with audiences of all ages. Don
and Dave Carroll began singing together while attending
university and started full-time music careers soon after
graduation. Their pop-folk sound combines strong harmonies and
thought-provoking lyrics with an interesting blend of musical
styles that
has made them popular with a broad spectrum of people.
Macmillan is recognized as one of Canada's leading musicians and
for playing an integral role in widening the audience for the
music of Atlantic Canada both nationally and internationally. An
exceptional guitarist, Macmillan has been nominated seven times
for East Coast Music Awards, receiving the instrumental
artist of the year award in 1998, best classical recording for
MacKinnon's Brook Suite in 2002 and Bach Meets Cape Breton with
Puirt a Baroque in 1995.
Guitarist Doyle grew up in Margaree Forks. He was born into the
Celtic music scene of pianos, fiddles, bagpipes and step dancers
that were a part of his everyday life, performing with countless
Cape Breton greats including Natalie MacMaster, Ashley MacIsaac,
Buddy MacMaster, Howie MacDonald, Cameron Chisholm and Maybelle
Chisholm to list just a few.
For the complete lineup and information about artists, venues
and where to buy tickets,
visit
www.musicnovascotia.ca.
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March 16, 2007
Celtic Artist Troy MacGillivray and Guests to Perform March 22
University of Wyoming online
March 15, 2007 -- Troy MacGillivray, Ellen MacPhee and Jason
Murdock will perform a free concert of traditional and
contemporary Celtic music from Nova Scotia Thursday, March 22,
at 7:30 p.m. in the University of Wyoming College of Education
auditorium.
Whether playing piano or fiddle or showcasing his step dancing
capabilities, MacGillivray displays commitment to the Celtic
heritage he inherited from his Highland ancestors. By age six,
he impressed audiences with his step dancing skills. At age 13,
he taught piano at the renowned Gaelic College of Celtic Arts
and Crafts in St. Anne's, Cape Breton. MacGillivray completed
grade seven of the Toronto Conservatory of Music for classical
piano, spent four years in a stringed orchestra, and earned a
Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Francis Xavier University.
Guest Ellen MacPhee is a Scottish small-piper, highly sought as
a performer and a teacher. Guitar accompanist is UW student
Jason Murdock, who has accompanied many of the top names in the
Cape Breton tradition.
Other performers include Rod Garnett, professor in the UW
Department of Music, Carrick Eggleston, professor in the UW
Department of Geology and Geophysics, and UW students Amy Lenell
of Cheyenne and Ingrid Thorstensen of Vikhammer, Norway.
The concert is sponsored by the UW Department of Music, UW
Cultural Outreach, and the Associated Students of UW Student
Activities Council. For more information call the Campus
Activities Center at (307) 766-6340 or visit
www.uwyo.edu/sac.
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January 18, 2007
Right time, place, people for
MacGillivray live CD
By Stephen Cooke, Halifax Herald
THE GREAT THING about Celtic music,
especially here in Nova Scotia, is the ease with which it can
transfer from the kitchen to the concert hall. Sure, you can
dress it up with light show and splashy production if you want -
Natalie MacMaster knocks 'em dead around the world doing just
that - but often the sprit and the drive are plenty when it
comes to entertaining crowds from a dozen or a few hundred.
Antigonish pianist and fiddler Troy
MacGillivray is just the kind of artist who can do it; I've seen
him play everywhere from someone's house to the Red Shoe Pub and
a curling rink, and many different venues in between. But on
Friday at 8 p.m. he's opting for one of the best venues for
acoustic music you could hope
for, The Music Room on Lady Hammond Road for a proper concert
presentation of his gifts on both fiddle and keyboard as well as
making a live recording for future release.
"People have been asking me for the
past three or four years to make a live CD, and I've always said
no," says MacGillivray from his home in Lanark. "It's not that I
wasn't interested, I just wasn't thinking about it.
"But over Christmas I was trying to
figure out what direction I should go in next, and I'd been
thinking about a Music Room concert for a while. Then I
remembered they had a recording suite there, and the whole idea
really just came together over a few days over the holidays."
Coming from a dynasty of musicians
going back to grandfather Hugh A. MacDonald and including his
sisters Kendra and Sabra, MacGillivray turned to a pianist with
a similar lineage, Antigonish-area player Allan Dewar (son of
noted pianist Marion Dewar), and also recruited the ne plus
ultra of Celtic guitarists, Dave MacIsaac.
"I played with Dave when I was 16,
when Kendra made her first CD, Clear the Track," recalls
MacGillivray. "We played together a lot more after that,
especially after he got off the road with Natalie.
"The great thing about Dave is he's
so easy to play with. When I was a really young kid, I knew his
music really well because he played on so many people's records.
A lot of the time I'd end up listening to him more than the
others."
As an added bonus, the evening will
also include a set by special guest, guitarist/singer-songwriter
Brad Davidge, known for his work with MacMaster as well as his
own compositions on the CD Unfolded.
As for his CD, MacGillivray doesn't
have a release date in mind yet for Friday night's recording,
but he'd like to have it in hand before the summer music
festival circuit gets under way. In the meantime, he's got a
full slate with a trip to Scotland for the Celtic Connections
festival and conference next week, plus trips to Wisconsin,
Chicago, Folk Alliance in Memphis as well as some appearances at
the ECMAs in Halifax in February, so listeners should catch him
at home while they can.
Tickets for Troy MacGillivray and
friends are $15 at the Music Room (429-9467 or 499-1657).
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