Performers

Dermot Byrne

accordion

Floriane Blancke

Irish harp

Órla Keane

Irish dance

Dáithí Sproule

voice, guitar

Pierre Schryer

Fiddle

Pierre is one of Canada's leading traditional fiddlers. JUNO nominee, Canadian Folk Music nominee, and celebrated performer and producer, Pierre has established himself as a gem on the music scene among fans and fellow musicians. He was immersed from an early age in the Franco-Ontarian traditions of his heritage, through multiple fiddle competitions along with his triplet brothers. The Schryer Triplets recorded 2 albums and appeared several times on the "Tommy Hunter Show."

As a solo performer Pierre has received numerous titles and awards including Canadian Open Fiddle Champion, Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Champion, Violoneux Championnat, and North American Irish Fiddle Champion. Over the last decade, Pierre has released six solo recordings on his own label, New Canadian Records, of which "Blue Drag" was honoured with a nomination at the 2004 JUNO Awards for best Roots and Traditional Album of the Year, and "Mélange" was nominated at the 2008 Canadian Folk Music Awards for Instrumental Solo Album of the Year.

Pierre has shared the stage with many colleagues in the traditional music scene including Natalie McMaster, members of Leahy, Jane Bunnet, the Barra MacNeils, Ashley MacIssac, Liz Carroll, John Doyle, Matapat, Club Carrefour, La Bottine Souriante, Altan, Old Blind Dogs and others. He has performed with numerous symphony orchestras across Canada with his acclaimed Symphony Pops show.

Pierre is the creator and artistic director of the "Canadian Celtic Celebration", a three-day festival presented in Thunder Bay, Ontario each June. A native of Northern Ontarian, Pierre is proud to continue planting roots in the north with his wife, TBSO's prized trumpeter Merrie Klazek, and their lovely children, Kyran and Tamsyn.

www.pierreschryer.com

Merrie Klazek

Trumpet, Flugelhorn

Merrie is active as a performer and recording artist in orchestral, solo, folk and pop music. She holds a BMus from the University of Calgary in her hometown, and a MMus from Northwestern University where she studied with the late Vincent Cichowicz. Her musical travels have taken her around the world with performance highlights including the Spoleto Italy Festival, Musik Contemporaire in Strasbourg France, Tokyo's Bunka Kaikan hall, Brandenburg #2 with the TBSO, performances at the International Trumpet Guild Conference 2008 & 2011, as well as the 2010 International Women's Brass Conference.

Merrie has been principal trumpet with the Thunder Bay Symphony since 1999 and has previously held the same position with the Victoria Symphony (2005) and Orchestra London Canada (1996-99). She has been a sessional instructor at Lakehead University since 2001, recently taking on the post of director of the LU Wind Ensemble.

Her solo recording entitled "Songs to the Moon" has been featured on TVO's Studio 2 and CBC. She appears on three JUNO nominated recordings and performs regularly with her husband, renowned Celtic fiddler, Pierre Schryer. Merrie's commitment to her community of Thunder Bay is a great source of joy and she is rewarded to collaborate with Pierre on the presentation of the Canadian Celtic Celebration.

http://www.tbso.ca/guests/KM0001.htm

Jake Charron

Piano, Guitar

Jake 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.

Jake has performed with fiddle champions Shane Cook, Mark Sullivan, Pierre Schryer, Louis Schryer and many others including his brother Kyle Charron. Jake has recently enjoyed working with Stephanie Cadman's Celtic Blaze and also with fiddler/stepdancer Dan Stacey. He has been the house pianist at the Canadian Open Fiddle Championships in Shelburne for the past five years and has enjoyed success as a teacher at various camps including AlgomaTrad on St. Joseph Island. Jake has worked with Cape Breton tenor Tom Leadbeater, renowned tune writer Brian Pickell, and recently toured with ECMA winner Troy MacGillivray.

Jake graduated from the University of Western Ontario with an Honours degree in Kinesiology in 2009.

www.myspace.com/charronbrothers

Sarah Robinson

Ottawa Valley Stepdance

Sarah, of Alton Ontario, has been stepdancing since the age of eight. She grew up performing and competing around Ontario and Quebec and has received numerous titles along the way.

By the age of 16, Sarah started instructing at Chanda Gibson’s School of Dance in Orangeville. She has taught at numerous workshops and camps, including Orangeville Fiddle and Stepdance Camp and Leahy Music Camp.

Sarah has performed on numerous large-scale productions with some of Canada’s leading musicians. She is the 2008 Ontario Open Stepdance Champion, a Pembroke Open Stepdance Champion and is a three time Canadian Open Stepdance Champion.

www.fiddle.on.ca/contestdates.htm

Ryan Moore

Highland Bagpipe

Ryan Moore is currently the Pipe Major for The Pipes & Drums of Thunder Bay. The group has gone by this name since 1970, but has been in operation in our city since 1912 as the Fort William Pipe Band. Active with performing at festivals, camps and special events all over Canada and the US, The Pipes & Drums of Thunder Bay offers free instruction to interested participants on highland Pipes, snare drum, tenor drum and bass drum.

Ryan brings a strong and successful background to his position, always stretching the boundaries in pursuit of excellence on the Highland Pipes. Ryan has performed as a soloist in Canada and and the US extensively, and has appeared with symphony orchestras.

In 2011 Ryan performed the Northern Ontario premiere of "An Orkney Wedding with Sunrise" by renowned British composer, Peter Maxwell Davies, with the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra and Music Director, Arthur Post.

www.thepipesanddrumsofthunderbay.com

Quinn Bachand

guitar, tenor banjo

Pierre Chartrand

caller, French Canadian stepdance

Olivia Korkola

Fiddle

Thunder Bay's Olivia Korkola has been entertaining listeners since curiosity caused her to pick up a fiddle at the age of five. Intrigued by the instrument, her love affair with the violin began. An accomplished classical player as well, Olivia developed a passion for fiddling through her many years with the Kam Valley Fiddlers. She has since studied with many influential players, such as Pierre Schryer, Jerry Holland Liz Carroll and Darol Anger, and has attended Master Classes with Glenn Dexterow and Itzhak Perlman at the Juilliard School of Music in New York City.

At 15, Olivia was named Minnesota State Old Time Fiddle Champion, and in 2011 was nominated at the Canadian Folk Music Awards as "Young Performer of the Year" for her debut album "Playing in Traffic." This stunning recording continues to delight listeners and features Olivia with special guests including Ashley MacIsaac and Pierre Schryer, who also produced the album.

Olivia was the youngest musician to take the stage at the 2011 Thunder Bay Blues Festival, and was a featured performer at Red Rock's 'LIVE from the Rock' Folk Festival 2011 where she will perform again this August as part of the 10th Anniversary line-up.

Olivia is in her second year at Berklee College of Music in Boston, pursuing a degree in Music Performance.

www.oliviakorkola.com

Alina Walters

Highland dance