This is the first in a series of articles profiling Coast musicians,
teachers, and performing arts instructors by Gibsons
guitarist/ songwriter/music teacher Bonar. As the backup man for The
Howling Cats (Emily and Ginny Cardinall and Rose Cardinall-Redfern) he
realized that these young musicians were enriched by a spectrum of
teachers – and access to this kind of talented mentorship is a special
part of the Coast lifestyle.
A unique synergy is at work among the network of performing arts
teachers on Canada’s Sunshine Coast. The result: a hothouse capable of
nurturing the amazingly talented young people who live here. Our next
generation of young musicians, dancers and actors are reaping the
benefits of accessing the cooperative network of outstanding educators –
and their parents are discovering that the Sunshine Coast is a great
place to raise kids if you value a performing arts education.
Recently, I visited with a cross-section of the Coast’s performing arts
teachers in a variety of disciplines to capture their thoughts on our
“learning community.” The re(My apologies to all the wonderful teachers
not included in this round-up, for there are many more with whom I would
have loved to visit; unfortunately there are limits to my time and also
limits to the column inches I have to fill.)
Home grown in BC, Steve K (a.k.a. Steve Karagianis) has been playing
guitar professionally since the ripe old age of 18 using his ‘chops’ to
pay his way through University. Steve graduated with distinction as a
classical guitar performance major from the UVic School of Music in 1995
where “[he] set a new standard in guitar excellence.”
Steve Karagianis
Since then Steve has toured and performed internationally. Steve's
sound has evolved into the intricate acoustic music heard on his first
full length album ‘Headspace’ (2003) and he recently celebrated the
launch of his sophomore release ‘Down To Earth’ with a performance at
the Heritage Playhouse along with collaborator, violinist Serena Eades.
The new CD is available at local stores here on the Coast and from the
“music” link on his web site: www.stevekmusic.com
With his teaching schedule fully-booked during the school year, Steve
notes that “I do have lots of students with their fingers on other
instruments – in particular a number of Coast String Fiddlers - who
also study guitar with me and so there is something of a connection to
other disciplines through my students.” He agrees that “there is a
remarkable abundance of professional musicians working and teaching on
the Sunshine Coast,” but adds that “as a teacher, I feel I am mostly
working in isolation – although to some extent I am connected somewhat
through Serena (Eades).” Steve envisions the antidote to that
isolation: “I think we would all benefit from the establishment of a
community performing arts centre or ‘Place des Arts’.”
Reach Steve at www.stevekmusic.com to enquire about openings for
lessons.
Serena Eades
Born and raised in Roberts Creek, Serena Eades began playing the violin
very early, studying the Suzuki Method with Katie Angermeyer. “It was
very different back then,” Serena says. “There were only a dozen or so
fiddle students on the Coast and at first Katie Angermeyer was the only
teacher. Really that changed when Michelle (Bruce) started up the Coast
String Fiddlers (www.coaststringfiddlers.com) in the 1990’s. And
today there is certainly a broad community of good teachers. Students
have the opportunity to study in almost any style – classical, folk,
Celtic, bluegrass.” Serena notes “a few gaps in music instruction”
includes a lack of a local cello teacher, now that instructor Nicholas
Simons is serving as MLA. The gaps are filled by commuting teachers
from Vancouver. “There are lots of professional non-classical
musicians,” Serena notes, “but not so many professional classical
musicians.”
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Serena is performing on May 4 at a local house concert along with Erynn
Marshall (violin) and guitarists Fabrizio Alberico and Eric Norman (see
Calendar of Events – Langdale to Lund for details).
Serena dons her ‘impresario’ hat, organizing a classical performance
featuring Janna Sailor, violin and pianist Sergei Saratovsky, both
postgraduate students of music at UBC, at the Arts Centre, Sechelt, on
May 12. This performance is sponsored by the Sunshine Coast Jazz and
Entertainment Society (www.coastjazz.com).
Erynn Marshall
Serena is taking new students and can be reached at www.serenaeades.ca.
“I was living in Toronto when I received this letter from Michelle
Bruce,” reports Erynn Marshall, noting that her friend Michelle wrote
that as she was moving to Quesnel, it would be a great time for Erynn to
move to the Coast to teach. “And so I packed up my fiddles and here I
am! Now, how about that for a story. Here is Michelle who reaches out
to someone halfway across the country to try to convince them to come
out here and teach so that her students will be well looked after. That
is dedication.”
“I understand that commitment,”Erynn says, “There was a time when I was
studying fiddle in Victoria as a kid and my parents didn’t have the
money for lessons so my teacher taught me for a whole year without being
paid. And that is just one incident – there have been many others where
I have received so much generosity in so many ways. I am just so
grateful for all of the support I have had and I really relate to that.
Now that I am a teacher I feel just the same way: I would do anything
for my students.”
Originally from Victoria, Erynn moved to Toronto for graduate studies
and received an MA in ethno-musicology from York University in 2003. Her
book Music in the Air Somewhere: The Shifting Borders of West Virginia’s
Fiddle and Song Traditions was published in 2006 - the culmination of
years of fieldwork with West Virginia singers and fiddlers from 75 to 95
years old. Erynn was able to learn elements of traditional Appalachian
fiddling directly from Melvin Wine, Lester McCumbers, Leland Hall, Art
Stamper and others.
“My field work since 1998 was mainly spent studying this music from
teachers in the oral tradition. For example, someone like Melvin Wine
learned a particular traditional song because it was taught to him in
the oral tradition many years ago. He in turn taught that same piece to
me, as he was taught. And that process connects me in a very important
way to him and to the entire lineage of teachers before him. I, in
turn, am trying to teach my students here on the Coast some of those
songs in the exact same way they were taught to me because in that way I
am extending that tradition. So now I have students who are at one
remove from someone like Melvin Wine or Leland Hall – a lineage of
traditional music that goes back hundreds of years. I think that is
pretty cool,” Erynn explains.
Although only on the Coast since summer 2006, Erynn says, “I feel very
connected to the performing arts community here. Maybe because of
Michelle and The Coast String Fiddlers, I feel very much a part of the
lineage of teachers who have built a performing arts community here –
although I am also aware that those are some mighty big boots to fill!”
Erryn’s new CD Meet Me In The Music is “dropping” (as we say in the
music biz) on May 13 and Erynn will launch her CD release tour in
Toronto, following with dates in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky,
Virginia, Tennessee, Maryland and New York.
When she is not out there thrilling her adoring fans, Erynn is all ours,
right here on the Coast and you or your kids can study with her. Reach
her through her web site at: www.hickoryjack.com
About the author: Bonar is a guitarist, songwriter and music teacher
who has made Gibsons his home for the past five years. He has performed
in numerous settings with a wide variety of acts across Canada since the
mid 1970’s and is currently working on production of a DVD of his
original method for learning music called ‘The Six Rings.’ Bonar teaches
guitar and bass. Find out more at www.myspace.com/bonar_songs or give
him a call at 604-886-4893.
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