COMPETITION PROGRAM LISTING OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS Our thanks go out to the 2015 - 16 Executive and Board of Directors of the Canadian Grand Masters and all of the volunteers who have worked very hard for the past year to make this event possible: Ron Bourque: President Chair of CGM Fiddle Camp Graham Crate: Treasurer Chair of Finance, Corporations and Bylaws Randy Foster: Director Graham Sheppard : Vice President Mary Lynn Wood: Secretary Lois Siegel: Director Chair of Promotions Patti Kusturok: Director Chair of Contestants and Jr. Showcase Calvin Vollrath: Director Chair of Steering Committee Catherine Sproule: Director Rep Saskatoon Committee Stacey Read: Director Chair 2015 CGM Moncton Committee Trent Bruner: Director Troy MacGillivray: Director Denise MacCaull: Director Loretta Fitzpatrick: Director Additional thanks is extended to the CGM MONCTON Committee which included the following people ,as well as numerous un-named volunteers who stepped forward in many capacities. Stacey Read : Chair - Coordinator CGM Moncton Committee Vivian Hsu : Barn Dance Coordinator Samantha Wood-Hicks :Transportation Shelley Chase : Sponsorship Christine Melanson : Barn Dance Music Coordinator Ivan and Vivian Hicks Thank you to everyone who took an interest in bringing the Canadian Grand Masters to Moncton. Your enthusiasm, willingness to help and your attendance at this event is something to be proud of. 2 Welcome : From the CGM Moncton Committee The CGM Moncton Committee welcomes you “downhome” to The Maritimes! We are humbled to host this legendary event on the East Coast, birthplace of Don Messer and home to the fiddlehead capitol of Canada! Because of you...we are making history this weekend. In 2013, Cathy Sproule and a team of amazing fiddle enthusiasts decided to host the first-ever “Out of Ottawa” CGM contest in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She challenged other provinces to step forward and host in future years to come, so here we are today. This is the first time our event has been held in Atlantic Canada and we are thrilled right down to our lighthouses. Over the last year and a half, we have received encouragement from local fiddle clubs and organizations, fiddlers, fans, government and corporate New Brunswick. We are confident the spirit of your East Coast weekend will create excitement among fiddle folks, not only here but throughout Canada. The preservation of Canadian Fiddle Stylings lives on in every province and territory across Canada. Our challenge is to connect us coast to coast “bow over bow”, as one community. This competition brings a nation of styles together as one living tradition for one country. You have made this happen. We hope that you enjoyed the BBQ and Barn Dance in Sackville on Friday night, and strongly suggest you see the sights while you are here. Travel safe, support fiddling and please eat lots of lobster. (It’s a curse. We can’t get rid of the stuff.) We could not have done this without such a strong fiddle community,...thank you! We look forward to seeing each and every one of you next year in Morinville, Alberta as they host the 27th annual Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Championship! Bienvenue! De la part du comité CGM Moncton Le comité CGM Moncton vous souhaite la bienvenue chez nous aux Maritimes! Nous sommes heureux de vous accueillir pour cet événement légendaire sur la côte est, lieu de naissance de Don Messer et capitale canadienne des têtes de violon! Grâce à vous, nous écrivons une page d’histoire en fin de semaine. En 2013, Cathy Sproule et une équipe incroyable de passionnés du violon ont décidé d’organiser le premier championnat CGM hors d’Ottawa, à Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Elle a lancé le défi aux autres provinces de s’avancer et d’organiser d’autres championnats CGM dans les années à venir, donc nous voilà! C’est la première fois que cet événement se produit dans le Canada atlantique et nous sommes ravis jusque dans nos phares. Depuis un an et demi, nous avons reçu de l’encouragement de clubs et organisations de violon locaux, de violoneux, de fans, du gouvernement et d’entreprises au Nouveau-Brunswick. Nous avons confiance que l’esprit de cette fin de semaine dans notre côte est va générer de l’enthousiasme chez les amateurs de violon non seulement d’ici mais aussi d’ailleurs au pays. La conservation des styles de violon canadiens vit en chaque province et territoire à travers le Canada. Notre défi est de nous reconnecter d’un océan à l’autre et d’un archet à l’autre, en tant qu’une seule communauté. Cette compétition rassemble une nation de styles ensemble en tant qu’une seule tradition vivante pour un pays entier. Vous avez rendu cela possible. Nous espérons que vous avez apprécié le BBQ et la danse à Sackville vendredi soir, et nous suggérons fortement que vous partiez à la découverte tant que vous êtes ici. Voyagez prudemment, soutenez le violon, et s’il vous plait, mangez plein de homard. (C’est une malédiction, on ne peut pas s’en débarrasser.) Après tout, on n’aurait pu organiser un tel événement sans une communauté de violon aussi forte... Merci! On a bien hâte de voir chacun d’entre vous à Morinville, Alberta à l’occasion du 27e Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Championship! 3 2015 President’s Message A very warm welcome to the 26th Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Competition! What a joy and an honor it is for me, formerly from Dieppe (St-Anselme), to present Canada’s most prestigious national fiddle competition in Moncton New-Brunswick. For the second time only in twenty-six years, the Canadian Grand Masters Competition is being held outside of Ottawa and I am proud to say that it received an overwhelming response from the people of the greater Moncton area and from all over the Maritimes. We have a great show for you to enjoy with some of the best fiddlers from across Canada competing for the title of Canadian Grand Master. Our guest artists this year are none other than Moncton’s own Ivan and Vivian Hicks, ambassadors of fiddle music in New- Brunswick and all across Canada, and Marc Boudreau, a fellow Acadian from Cape Breton who will get you tapping your feet. In addition, during the evening program, you will certainly enjoy the three Junior Showcase Performers from Alberta, Québec and Prince Edward Island who will demonstrate, along with our competitors, that the future of fiddle music in Canada is in good hands. This year also marks an important milestone for the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Association (CGMFA), a registered charitable organization devoted to the preservation and promotion of Canadian fiddle music. In March of 2015, the House of Commons of the Government of Canada, unanimously voted to declare the third Saturday of May as “Canadian National Fiddling Day”. I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Senator Honorable Elizabeth Hubley from Prince Edward Island for first introducing the bill and for her continuous support and leadership throughout the process. I also want to thank the Member of Parliament, Tilly O’Neil Gordon from Miramichi N.B. for introducing the bill in the House of Commons and Senator Carolyn Stewart Olsen from Fredericton N.B for her unrelenting support of the National Fiddling Day Bill in the Senate. Fiddle music is an important part of our Canadian history and will now be formerly recognized and celebrated. We are pleased that Senator Hubley accepted to be the 2015 Honorary Patron and is able to be with us for this weekend of fiddling competition and fiddle music. We have had another successful year fulfilling our mandate and I would like to thank the members of the board of directors of the CGMFA for volunteering their time and expertise, for sharing their passion for fiddle music and for all their hard work throughout this past year. And also a special thank you to Stacey Read who has worked tirelessly along with her team of volunteers for making this great national event happen for the first time in Moncton. On behalf of the CGMFA, I thank you for being here today and I hope that you enjoy this weekend filled with fiddle music! Sincerely, Ronald J. Bourque, President Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Association 4 Message du Président pour l’année 2015 Je vous souhaite une très chaleureuse bienvenue à la 26e compétition de l’Association canadienne des Grands Maîtres violoneux (ACGMV)! Quel plaisir et quel honneur pour moi, anciennement de Dieppe (St-Anselme), de présenter la plus prestigieuse compétition nationale de violon à Moncton au Nouveau-Brunswick. Pour seulement la deuxième fois en vingt-six ans, la Compétition nationale des Grands Maîtres canadiens du violon se tient ailleurs qu’à Ottawa et je suis fier de dire que nous avons obtenu une réponse impressionnante de la part des gens du grand Moncton et d’ailleurs dans les provinces maritimes. Nous avons un très bon spectacle à vous offrir qui vous permettra de passer une très belle journée avec les meilleurs violoneux de partout au Canada qui compétitionneront pour le titre de Grand Maître canadien du violon. Nos artistes invités cette année ne sont nuls autres que deux résidents de Moncton, Ivan et Vivian Hicks, ambassadeurs de la musique du violon au Nouveau Brunswick et au Canada, ainsi que Marc Boudreau, un concitoyen acadien du Cape Breton qui saura indéniablement vous faire taper du pied. De plus, au cours du programme de la soirée, vous pourrez certainement apprécier les trois Champions de la représentation des débutants qui proviennent de l’Alberta, du Québec et de l’Île- du-Prince-Édouard et qui sauront démontrer, avec nos candidats à la compétition, que l’avenir de la musique du violon au Canada est entre bonnes mains.