By Nigel Maxwell

Winter festival

Local fiddlers help launch winter festival

Feb 11, 2019 | 8:26 AM

Music has long been a part of the tradition of the Prince Albert Winter Festival so it was no surprise that this year’s festival was officially launched with the help of some talented fiddle players from across the region.

The fiddle show, which was held Sunday night at the E.A Rawlinson Centre, featured performers ranging in age from five to 86 years old. Sadie Schutte, 10, comes from a musical family and said she instantly fell in love with the mandolin when she started playing only a year ago.

“Once you start hearing the music you know what you are going to play. And then you can speed it or slow it down or add things to it,” she said.

Kerri English helped produce the show Sunday night but has also helped instruct many of the young musicians who appeared on stage. She said the goal of having such a diverse group of performers on stage was to show the progression of fiddle music, adding many of her young students still enjoy playing the old time fiddle music.

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“It’s pretty amazing how it evolves and some of the younger generation like to rock it up a bit,” she said.

John Kushneryk, 86, was given his first fiddle when he was seven years old. He recalled when he was growing up, there were no special programs or schools for aspiring fiddle players. Anyone who wanted to learn how to play, had to seek it out and could stay after school with the teacher, who in most cases had some sort of musical background.

“They didn’t get paid for that, they wanted it to pass [their knowledge] on to the kids,”

After playing with a number of bands in his young adult years, Kushneryk tried his hand at competing in the 1980’s and would travel all over western Canada and Ontario. He said the skill takes years of dedication.

“It’s practice, practice and to me it’s very important that you get your intonation proper. Your notes have to come out clean and they’ve got to be accurate,” he said.

Kushneryk, this year’s festival honorary chair, was picking up a fiddle this weekend for nearly the first time in two decades, said the style of music has changed a lot. He said he could still recall his days as a young boy listening to and imitating his idol Don Messer.

“Don Messer music nowadays is kind of simple but it is still very good music compared to today where they get so much progression into their ad libbing so it’s changed a lot ,” he said.

Kushneryk said he is always willing to make time for a young fiddler who has questions or seeks advice, adding even though he took a long break from playing, he never lost interest or his love for music.

nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell