RSO Celtic Special

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PERFORMERS

Daniel Gervais, fiddle

 

2016 and 2011 Canadian Grand Master Fiddle Champion

Daniel has been playing the violin since the age of five. He plays a variety of fiddle styles and classical violin. Daniel completed a Master of Music degree in classical violin at the University of Alberta studying with Dr. Guillaume Tardif. During his studies, Daniel was awarded a prestigious research grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).

Daniel had the opportunity to perform at the 2012 London Olympics as a cultural ambassador of Alberta. In the spring, he performed for a reception at the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York City. Daniel has toured with Zéphyr, a French-Canadian dance group, performing at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C., Mondial des cultures in Drummondville, PQ, the Folkmoot USA Festival in North Carolina, and Festival Interfolk in France. Daniel has also had several television and radio appearances. In 2010, he was a guest artist with The Lost Fingers, performing at the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto, ON.

Daniel is the first and only Albertan to win the Canadian Grand Master Fiddle Competition. Daniel first competed in the Canadian Grand Masters in 2003 and returned to this competition in 2004 and again in 2008, finishing in the top eleven both times.

In 2014, Daniel received the Eugène-C. Trottier award from the French-Canadian Association of Alberta (ACFA) for community involvement. Daniel was also awarded the Prix Sylvie Van Brabant-Excellence en création artistique (2010) by the Regroupement artistique francophone de l'Alberta and the City of Edmonton Arts and Culture Award (2007).

Daniel currently teaches as sessional faculty at MacEwan University in the jazz and popular music program. Daniel has had experience teaching a variety of students of different ages and abilities in collaboration with other music organizations such as the National Arts Centre MusicAlive! program, Calvin Vollrath Fiddle Camp and the North Eastern Music Association in St. Paul, AB, the John Arcand Fiddle Fest, Kenosee Lake Kitchen Party and the Pelletier Guitar and Music Camp in Saskatchewan, The Hills are Alive Music and Dance Cultural Fest in Elkwater, AB, Frontier Fiddlers in Manitoba, and the Suzuki Strings and Fiddleheads in Whitehorse, YT. In 2010, Trad'badour in collaboration with Canadian Parents for French completed a school show tour of over 90 presentations in Western Canada.

Daniel has six albums to his credit, including three solo albums, Flying Fiddle (2003) and Endless Possibilities (2005) and Old Red Barn (2013). In 2006, he was nominated for “Young Performer of the Year” at the Canadian Folk Music Awards. Daniel is a founding member of Trad’badour, a French-Canadian duo, with Roger Dallaire and Hot Club Edmonton with guitarist Clinton Pelletier. Hot Club Edmonton was awarded "Instrumental Album of the Year" at the Western Canadian Music Awards in 2010.

April 2023

 

Gordon Gerrard, conductor

Conductor Gordon Gerrard is among the exciting new generation of music directors demonstrating new visions for orchestral leadership in Canada. Currently in his sixth season leading the Regina Symphony Orchestra, Gordon has distinguished himself as a leader in innovative and inclusionary programming. Trained first as a pianist and subsequently as a specialist in operatic repertoire, he brings a fresh perspective to the podium that endears him to audiences and musicians alike. After an international search, Gordon was appointed Music Director of the Regina Symphony Orchestra where he has taken bold steps reimagining the orchestra’s programming, including its Forward Currents Festival dedicated to social change and community engagement.

He has held the posts of Associate Conductor of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and Resident Conductor of Calgary Opera. He has returned to Calgary Opera to lead productions of La Bohème, Roméo et Juliette, Die Fledermaus, Lakmé and the Canadian premiere of Mark Adamo’s Little Women, which was recorded for national broadcast on CBC’s Saturday Afternoon at the Opera. Gordon made his debut with Edmonton Opera leading the western Canadian premiere of Rossini’s Le Comte Ory.

Gordon has made appearances with many of Canada’s leading orchestras, including Toronto, Québec, Kitchener-Waterloo and Victoria. He has worked regularly with the National Ballet of Canada, and in 2016, he made his European debut at Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsburg in Germany.