Jackie Dunn - Articles

Jackie Dunn, a Nova Scotian step-dancer, pianist, and fiddler, has put out a fine CD of East Coast tunes. From the upbeat opening set of "Dan Hughie MacEachern's/Down The River/Jackie I Hardly Knew" to the "Grand Finale" set, her enthusiasm is catching and talent is obvious. A student of Gaelic music, Dunn comes from a musical family. Her mother is a famous step-dancer and her grandfather was a noted fiddler. She easily captures the feel of the music, from the reels and jigs to the slow airs.

The production, as on so many recordings from Nova Scotia, is excellent. Back up by Hilda Chiasson-Cormier on piano, Dave MacIsaac on guitar and Jeannie Henman-Beks, vocals on "Màiri Bhan Og (Mary Young And Fair)", gives Jackie wonderful support. One has the feeling that Jackie, Dave and Hilda spent a lot of time researching, rehearsing and polishing this project. The effort shows.

I'm sure we'll be hearing more of Jackie in the future.

The Celtic Knot of Language and Music

1997 - Gaelic Council of Nova Scotia

By Jackie Dunn

During Gaelic Cultural Awareness Month it is most fitting to look at the relationship between the Gaelic language and our Celtic music. The Scottish Gaelic language and music had been brought to North America centuries ago via the Scottish settlers and has been fostered and sustained to this day. It is difficult to discuss this ancient music without reference to language and the overall culture and lifestyle of the Gaelic people. Musicologists believe there exists a profound bond between language and music - and what other culture could be more strongly oral in its traditions than the Gaelic culture?

The music we enjoy today has been passed down orally through the generations by Gaelic speakers and Gaelic musicians. If such a strong primitive bond does exist between language and music, than our Scottish Gaelic instrumental music is descendent from a great storehouse of Gaelic traditions. The older generations of Gaelic speakers have kept our instrumental music alive through the practice puirt-a-beul or 'mouth music', which may be generally described as dance music tunes sung with nonsese syllables or words. There is a wealth of fiddle tunes which we refer to as 'standards' of tradition, which are actually either Gaelic songs in themselves which became instrumental pieces or melodies which are sung as puirt-a-beul. Glancing through some of the older music collections such as "The Skye Collection" or "The Athole Collection" one can notice the obvious relationship between Gaelic and the printer music. So many of these old tunes, (slow airs, marches, strathspeys, reels and jigs) which had been brought here, from Scotland, are printed with their original Gaelic titles. Thus, many of these tunes may have originally been Gaelic songs and have evolved into instrumental pieces. There is also the case of an endless number of tunes which have never been notated but have been passed on orally as songs or mouth music. Many of these have been adopted by instrumentalists and are now played as mere melodies.

Could our Scottish instrumental tradition be but a simulation of the driving rhythm, the lilt, the stresses and accents, the phrasing, and the mood of the Gaelic language? Instrumentalist, Gaelic speakers or not, may carry over influences from the Gaelic language into their music consciously or unconsciously. Some musicians know both the puirt-a-beul versions of tunes and carry over accents and gracings from the text to their melodies. Or, in the case of the present generation of musicians, inwhich the number of fluent Gaelic speakers would be diminished, these musiciansmay unconsciously play their music with a 'Gaelic flavor' if they have developed their musical repertoire from, or have patterned their musical style on, Gaelic speaking musicians and/or singers from generations before.

One could easily conclude that it is very difficult to separate the Gaelic language from its music since both form a strand in the Celtic 'knot' or culture. Each one depends on the other. If the language did not possess such power, much of our instrumental music would have been lost over time. With such a vast storehouse of Scottish Gaelic music already preserved, the Gaelic 'flavor' of our music should last but the oral component of the culture will be all important for future non-Gaelic speaking musicians. The designation of the month of May as Gaelic Cultural Awareness Month should encourage us all to preserve and promote our Gaelic language, music and culture so that it may flourish for generations to come.

Jackie Dunn is a local Cape Breton fiddler and former student of music at Saint Francis Xavier University. She has recently released an album of fiddle tunes entitled "Dunn to a 'T'"

Ceilidh at the 'stache

February 19, 1998 - Halifax Herald

A ceilidh featuring Wendy Mac-Isaac, Jackie Dunn, Lisa MacIsaac, and Buddy and Mary Elizabeth MacMaster will be held at Your Father's Moustache on Saturday, 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Cape Breton dance features MacIsaac, Dunn

April 25, 1998 - Halifax Herald

The Cape Breton Charitable Association will present its monthly round and square dance tonight at 9 p.m. at the St. Lawrence Parish Hall, Dutch Village Road, Halifax.

Wendy MacIsaac and Jackie Dunn are the guest fiddlers.

Marianne Rissesco and Marg Lauzon will lead the round dancing.

Tickets are $7 at the door.

Charles MacIsaac, the association's spokesman, says the event will be the second last dance of the year.

"It will be an appreciation night," MacIsaac said. "There'll be a cake to make the event even more festive."

The dance continues to 1 a.m.

1998 Scottish Fiddle Rally Review

May 9, 1998 - Celtic Beat

Scottish Fiddle Rally
Boston Scottish Fiddle Club
Saturday, May 9, 1998
Somerville Theater, Davis Square
Somerville, MA

The words for this Scottish Fiddle Rally were excellence and enthusiasm. Iain MacFarlane highlighted the first part, particularly in combination with Ingrid Henderson. I thoroughly enjoyed the fiddle and harp combination here. Iain performed tunes learned from his father, such as "Sitting in the Stern of a Boat." Then to the massed fiddles, with solos by director Ed Pearlman. On Daniel Dow's "Sandy M'Gaff" with "Lady Douglas of Bothwell" and "The Way to Judique" he was colorful and upbeat. This was succeeded by Wendy MacIsaac and Jackie Dunn. These two fiddlers put forth a superb presentation of their downeast tradition, switching off between fiddling, dancing and keyboards -- pure Cape Breton, clearly wonderful in their presentation. Music from the Scots musical compilation, The 90's Collection including Celtic works by contemporary Scots musician-composers such as Alasdair Fraser's "Compliments to Lorna Mitchell," was diligently performed by the Boston Scottish Fiddle Club -- a magnificent presentation of this new Celtic music.

And demonstrating that in the Celtic Realm innovation and tradition go well hand in hand, was the outstanding dance sequence in "The Lady Doune Set" wherein the Scots Highland dancers were counterpointed by the Cape Breton step dancers -- most impressive -- a tribute both to the tradition and demonstration of Ed's abilities as director/musician and Laura Scott's choreography.

The second half of the concert was no less dynamic. Ed and crew began with tunes such as "Where Gadie Rings" and included a series of marches and strathspeys as they progressed. Wendy MacIsaac and Jackie Dunn came back on with a tune by Wendy's cousin, Ashley and there followed a couple of tunes by Jackie who thanked Mary Lamey for her part in this production. Tony Cuffe of Ossian fame who had been part of the Club's band up to this point added his guitar to the next set with "Kindness Forever Mair," "Boatman of Pitnacree," "An Honorable Peace" and "Tail Toddle" (Broad Scots mouth music sung by Tony accompanying Laura Scott's dancing.) Laura Scott also danced as Iain MacFarlane and Ingrid Henderson performed "Donald Mor of Keppoch" and more tunes beloved by Iain's father. Laura also danced an excellent hornpipe to Iain's playing.

The final set brought it all together with tunes like "The Banks of Spey" by William Marshall vibrantly danced to by Laura Scott and then once more the two dance groups combined, dancing to Wendy MacIsaac's fiddling.

It was a most magical evening brought forth by love of the art, skill, and excellent teaching, helped along with some comic relief by Ed Pearlman, who deserves tremendous thanks for his work here. And thanks also to Iain MacFarlane, Wendy MacIsaac, Tony Cuffe, Jackie Dunn, Laura Scott, Ingrid Henderson, and the young dancers and fiddlers of the Boston Scottish Fiddle Club.

- Arthur Ketchen

Cape Breton's soul music

October 31, 1998 - Halifax Herald

Commentary By Silver Donald Cameron

Isle Madame - 'Ladies and gentlemen, Fiddler Number Two Hundred and Two!!" cried Burton MacIntyre into the microphone, holding up the hand of a sheepish-looking boy of 10 or 12. "What's your name? Where you from?"

The boy was named Kyle MacDonald, and he came from Strathlorne, Cape Breton. His presence meant there were 202 fiddlers playing together on the stage at the Nova Scotia Gaelic College on that late-August afternoon, ranging in age from six to 83, and that fact symbolized a great cultural triumph. No wonder Burton's voice almost quivered with happiness.

The Cape Breton Fiddlers Association was founded in 1972, amid dire predictions that fiddling would vanish from Cape Breton within a generation. Established fiddlers were aging, and fiddling was considered a rustic anachronism which would be left behind as Cape Breton moved irreversibly into the modern world.

The Fiddlers Association was formed to reverse this trend, and it began by holding a concert in Glendale in 1973. The Glendale concert was a broadside of defiance: the fiddle would not die in Cape Breton.

The association encouraged concerts, workshops, kitchen parties and networking, and it lured the young into fiddle lessons; the Gaelic College event marked its 25th anniversary, and one of the performers was Stan Chapman, a celebrated teacher. His students included Ashley MacIsaac and Natalie MacMaster, who were themselves only part of a whole cadre of fine young musicians - Jackie Dunn, Tracy Dares, Wendy MacIsaac, the late Tara Lynne Touesnard, and others.

Today's Cape Breton fiddlers appear in touring revues, TV specials, and billboard advertising - and not just in Canada. Natalie MacMaster played at St. Ann's at the beginning of the first concert in the four-day festival, but she left early for a flight to her next European tour.

A couple of days later a ripple of excitement passed through the crowd when the audience noticed the young man with the ruddy beard, pork-pie hat and dark glasses: Ashley MacIsaac, home to provide piano accompaniment for his cousin Wendy's fiddling as well as fiddle accompaniment for some of the young step-dancers before performing a set on his own.

Today a youngster like Kyle MacDonald can dream of becoming not just a rock star, but a brilliantly successful fiddler or vocalist like Natalie or Ashley, as they are universally called in Cape Breton, or the brothers and sisters who make up The Rankins and The Barra MacNeils.

As a result, the most striking feature of this festival may be the wealth of superb young fiddlers, most demonstrating the same showmanship which Natalie and Ashley have brought to Cape Breton fiddle music.

Jennifer Roland is just 20, and she has electrified the Maritimes this summer playing with the Cape Breton Summertime Revue. Kendra MacGillivray is 25, and Wendy MacIsaac slightly older, and they already do national broadcasts and recordings. I had never heard of Kimberley Fraser, 16, before I went to St. Ann's, but she played superbly - as did Dara Smith, a 17-year-old from Antigonish. I also heard Dwayne Cote for the first time, a classically-trained fiddler who played with astonishing virtuosity, an established master at 31.

The Gaelic College itself has benefited from the cresting wave of interest in Celtic music, and the widespread need to feel rooted in a society which grows more rootless by the day. This summer, its courses drew students from 28 American states and seven other foreign countries, and almost half of them studied fiddling. (The college, the only one on the continent, also offers instruction in Gaelic language, piping, dancing, weaving and other arts and crafts.) Nor is the fiddling a narrowly Scottish thing; the fiddlers include Mi'kmaqs, Acadians, Irish, Ukrainians - people from all the Cape Breton communities. Fiddling, says one observer, is Cape Breton's soul music.

- This column originally appeared in The Globe & Mail in September. Silver Donald Cameron also writes a weekly column in The Sunday Herald.

Feis to celebrate Gaelic culture

April 13, 1999 - Halifax Herald

The Feis Nan Oran society celebrates Gaelic Cultural Awareness Month at their 4th annual Feis or festival of Gaelic songs May 1 at the Grandona Legion Branch 124 on Route 223 in Iona, Cape Breton.

The day-long program runs from 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. and includes workshops on traditional milling songs, traditional songs found in the repertoire of local singers and a selection of songs composed by local bards reflecting the history and culture of the community.

Group tutorial sessions will further study the music of the area. Gaelic scholar and folklorist Dr. Ken Nilsen will be the guest speaker.

The community Saturday evening Mass at St. Columba Church in Iona will feature Gaelic readings and hymn singing. The day's events end in the evening with a square dance featuring the music of Jackie Dunn and Stephanie Wills.

The complete Feis program of workshops, materials, lunch, dinner and evening events is included in the $25 ticket price. Individual workshops may be attended for $5 each and evening events for $15.

For further information, contact Brian McCormack by phone or fax at (902) 725-2013.

Celtic storm hits Normaway Inn with barn dance ceilidh tonight

October 8, 1999 - Halifax Herald

There's a celtic storm about to hit the Normaway Inn Barn in Cape Breton's Margaree Valley.

Tonight at 8 p.m. fiddler Howie MacDonald will take to the stage, with Brenda Stubbert and pianist Tracey Dares.

MacDonald released his latest album Why2Keilidh in the summer. He will be on hand to autograph his latest effort.

Stubbert returns to the barn playing "Some Tasty Tunes" from her latest recording, which she launched in August.

Young fiddlers Kenneth and Callum MacKenzie of Mabou will also join in the fun.

The doors to the barn swing open at 7 p.m. The concert at

8 p.m. will be followed by a dance at 10 p.m.

Admission is $6 adults and $3 for children.

On Thursday, Cyril MacPhee of Brakin' Tradition, will give a solo performance at the barn.

Admission to the concert will be $7.

Next Friday, Oct. 15, in the midst of the celtic frenzy, another barn dance will be held.

On the lineup so far are Buddy MacMaster, Wendy MacIsaac, Jackie Dunn, and young musician Gabrielle MacLellan of Port Hood.

The Normaway Inn is located in the Margaree Valley off the Egypt Road.

Ceilidh tonight at the Moustache

January 22, 2000 - Halifax Herald

Cape Breton fiddler Glenn Graham will be joined on stage by fellow fiddler Jackie Dunn tonight at Your Father's Moustache on Spring Garden Road.

Musicians Patrick Gillis and Matthew Foulds are also on the bill.

The ceilidh begins at 9:30 p.m.

Admission is $5.

Savoy Theatre dishes up Celtic Jam

March 31, 2000 - Halifax Herald

Some of Cape Breton's best traditional talent will gather onstage at Glace Bay's Savoy Theatre on Saturday for the Celtic Jam concert at 8 p.m.

The show's line-up of artists includes fiddle music from Kinnon Beaton (with Betty Lou Beaton on piano), Jackie Dunn and Jennifer Roland; stepdancing from Blair MacDonald; and downhome tunes from singer/songwriter Cyril MacPhee.

There will also be a few interesting surprises.

Admission is $10.

Judique Flyer steams ahead:
Cape Breton's master fiddler Buddy MacMaster rolls along with new release

July 27, 2000 - Halifax Herald

By Stephen Pedersen - Arts Reporter

The last train left the station long ago. But The Judique Flyer, better known today as master Cape Breton fiddler Buddy MacMaster, is still making regular stops.

At the age of 76 MacMaster, who was recently named a member of the Order of Canada, continues to fly (though not by train these days), down a track that takes him from his home just by the church in Judique as you head to Inverness on Route 19, all the way to Scotland, the Yukon, Montana, Halifax and stops between.

Yet, when home, he has a reputation for not being able to turn down a request to play at a party or wedding. He still plays weekly dances in Cape Breton, and when he does, according to guitarist, friend and musical collaborator Dave MacIsaac, the fiddlers in town take all the front row seats.

"He's got it all - tone, timing, phrasing, expression, dynamics, choice of tunes. He's almost the perfect fiddler. And he's had it all for a long time. My father, who was also a fiddler, heard him at 18. Buddy was Buddy at 18 years old," MacIsaac says.

MacIsaac accompanies MacMaster on two tracks on MacMaster's new CD, The Judique Flyer, which, incredibly, given his stature in the world, is only his second recording, following 1989's Judique on the Floor, (although amateur tapes made at dances do show up from time to time).

The CD, officially released last Sunday afternoon in the Judique Community Centre, features MacMaster playing 14 of his choicest medleys with 14 different accompanists, all, with the exception of MacIsaac, pianists.

"It was (executive producer) Stephen MacDonald's idea," MacMaster said over the phone from Judique earlier this week where I caught him between his mid-morning tea and getting in the car for a trip to Port Hawkesbury.

"I thought it would be a pretty good idea. All are accomplished players. A good accompanist has to have good timing - to be right with you - and a good touch. They all have different touches - I can hear the difference."

"When you have good accompaniment, it's easier to play - it puts you in the mood."

The list of pianists on the CD is a roll-call of some of Cape Breton's best known players: Joey Beaton, Betty Lou Beaton, Tracey Dares, Marie MacLellan, Maybelle Chisholm MacQueen, Dave MacIsaac, Joel Chiasson, Jackie Dunn, Mac Morin, Hilda Chaisson, Mary Jessie MacDonald, Howie MacDonald, Doug MacPhee and Mary Elizabeth MacInnis.

Listening closely to The Judique Flyer is a rich experience. Each accompanist throws a subtly different light on MacMaster's playing, making you even more aware of the inspiring lilt of his phrasing, his rock-solid "timing", and the wealth of subtly-integrated graces that make his sound and rhythm sparkle.

His combination of tunes in the 14 medleys is typically superb. "He's got great taste in putting medleys of tunes together," MacIsaac says. "Some tunes are good to come out of a strathspey, others not. A lot of Buddy's medleys have become standard medleys."

As with all great players, the origin of their excellence is a mystery. MacMaster learned to play from listening to his mother lilt Gaelic tunes and hearing Gaelic in his house as he was growing up.

"I don't speak Gaelic, but I have a Gaelic accent from listening to Gaelic speakers," MacMaster says. "There is a debate about the effect (of the Gaelic) on fiddling. I think it does have an effect. Some people in Cape Breton say the word 'community' with a drawl on the 'u'. That's the Gaelic influence."

Perhaps that drawl finds its way into the way MacMaster plays certain melody notes in a tune, dwelling ever so slightly on the note before lifting off it.

It's a style he developed playing for community dances and through years of practice. As railway telegrapher, station agent and a variety of other positions for 45 years working for Canadian National Railways, MacMaster would often find himself alone in a station with time on his hands. He used it to play the violin.

He sometimes played for waiting passengers, and occasionally when the tracks were clear, according to Paul MacDonald's excellent liner notes on The Judique Flyer CD, other station agents would phone in their good-nights and sometimes ask Buddy to play a tune. Still more agents would patch in. "Buddy's nightly serenades were eagerly anticipated at depots throughout the Maritimes," MacDonald writes.

"I did some playing in country stations," MacMaster, who retired in 1988, recalls. "Sometimes after midnight, when the line was clear. I used to hear the telegraph wire going, and I would pick up a bit of news from the dispatchers. I'd hear what was going on all the time."

MacMaster didn't learn to read music till he was 23, a good eight years after he began playing for dances. He was working in Antigonish at the time and picked up an instruction book in a bookstore.

While many of the vast number of tunes in his repertoire (it covers three centuries of music according to Paul MacDonald), were learned through listening to other players, he applied his new reading skill to learning tunes from books.

MacIsaac says that when Buddy learns a tune from a book he pretty well plays it as it was written, a quality that shows up in the exquisite correctness of his playing, which is strongly projected by the attention he gives to every note.

Though retired, MacMaster says he's not bored. At home he gets up, has his breakfast, says a few prayers, reads the paper. "Sometimes I go to the violin - go through a few tunes."

This summer has been extremely busy. He's been to Utah for a week of workshops, Halifax for Scotia Festival of Music, Edmonton, Montana, the Yukon, and Scotland for three weeks.

"The next morning (after Scotland)," he says, "I was teaching at the Ceilidh Trail School of Music (in Broad Cove, Inverness County). Sunday afternoon there was the CD release. Right now I have to go to Port Hawkesbury to get some grub. This afternoon there's a party in Inverness. I'm playing for the rest of the week."

"I got a lot of miles on me," he adds. "Like an old car."

The CD release party last Sunday was crowded. MacIsaac went along to accompany MacMaster on some tunes. When not accompanying, he says, "I just sat back and watched Buddy's bow - those little grace notes he puts in - very tasty."

"He just has the magic touch. You take a tune like Miss MacLeod's Reel, which has been played to death. He just puts the Buddy to it."

A Musical Marriage:
Dares, MacNeil combine Celtic pipes and piano

August 3, 2000 - Halifax Herald

By Stephen Cooke - Entertainment Reporter

By teaming up for the first time on CD, Cape Breton pianist Tracey Dares and piper Paul K. MacNeil prove their marriage is a match made in musical heaven, even if the first time sparks flew isn't exactly etched in stone.

"Neither one of us can actually remember where we met," says Dares from her East Bay home, "but it was around 1991 or '92. I'm thinking it was during a pipe band concert, Paul used to be in the Halifax Police Pipe Band, and the odd time they'd play concerts at the Cohn and bring in guest artists like Dave MacIsaac or John Morris Rankin.

"One time I got the call to do it, and that's probably where we crossed paths for the first time. But I can't remember, isn't that pathetic? I guess it wasn't love at first sight," she laughs.

Love at first sound, perhaps, with ample evidence available on their new album Castlebaymusic.com. The couple officially launch the disc tonight at the Iona Branch Legion at 9:30 p.m. with a host of musical friends, including guitarist Gordie Sampson, drummer Matt Foulds and bassist Ed Woodsworth. Fiddler Howie MacDonald and pianist Jackie Dunn will be on hand to play a set so Dares and MacNeil actually get a chance to celebrate.

In a clever bit of self-promotion, the title of the CD is also the address for the couple's website, which not only tells you everything you need to know about them and their music, but provides an online retail outlet for artists like themselves, Howie MacDonald, Buddy MacDonald and Dave MacIsaac.

"We've had orders from all over; New Zealand, Colorado, Oklahoma, Sydney Mines. . .It's part of our goal to make our living from home and be able to work at home without being on the road for months at a time."

Dares will be playing off the island when she rejoins Howie MacDonald's Celtic Brew, which starts again at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium on Aug. 17, but it's no wonder she'd rather stay home; the gorgeous view of the Bras d'Or Lakes that greets you on the Web site and the CD jacket is from their back porch, overlooking Castle Bay.

In fact, most of Castlebaymusic.com was recorded at home, including the remarkable Gaelic track Nighrean Donn written by the late Domhnall MacPharlian from Margaree.

"That was a special night, a lot of Paul's family was involved," Dares recalls. "His father is Roddie C. MacNeil from Barra Glen and he's quite a respected man across Cape Breton and Nova Scotia - and I dare to say the Atlantic Provinces - recognized for his Gaelic speaking.

"He'll travel anywhere with his songs, and teach to anyone that he can, so he was the one in charge that night. We had all the nieces and nephews involved, the youngest that sang that night was three, singing the chorus of this Gaelic song their mother had taught them."

Like many records involving Dares - she also appears on master fiddler Buddy MacMaster's new CD The Judique Flyer - Castlebaymusic.com is about preserving a part of Cape Breton culture. In this case it's MacNeil's Island style of bagpipe playing that's surfaced recently on CDs like this and Barry Shears' A Cape Breton Piper.

"There are fewer pipers than fiddlers up here, and Cape Breton style pipers are even fewer," says Dares. "There's only a handful that can do the meat and potatoes of playing strathspeys and reels with a dance feel.

"It's not something you hear a lot on the pipes, which is why there aren't as many recordings out there. But it's darn good."

Ceilidh aims to kick up Scotland travel funds

October 31, 2000 - Halifax Herald

A traditional Cape Breton ceilidh at the Bloomfield Centre, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish on Nov. 4 at 8 p.m. will benefit the Scottish Travel Bursary Endowment Fund.

The bursary fund is trying to raise $250,000 to establish an endowment fund to provide free airplane passage annually for 10 to 12 Nova Scotians aged 18 to 29 to go to Scotland to explore, study and experience their Scottish heritage. The fund is now approaching the $50,000 mark and organizers hope it will be operational by next summer.

The ceilidh is held in memory of the late Maureen MacKenzie of Mabou who died this past summer. MacKenzie was a fluent Gaelic speaker who founded the Gaelic Choral Group, Cosir Nan Eilean, the Mabou Feis and was a director of the Federation of the Clans of Nova Scotia.

The entertainment includes traditional favourites like Jackie Dunn, Glenn Graham and Cosir Nan Eilan, as well as a new wave of young artists.

Margaret Chisholm of Antigonish is campaign chairperson and St. F.X. is administering the fund.

For further information call Alice Freeman of Inverness, 258-2538 or Father Vernon Cameron Boutilier, 863-4846.

Fiddling Over The Waves
MacGillivray to officially launch third CD

November 9, 2000 - Halifax Herald

By Andrea Nemetz - Entertainment Reporter

ANTIGONISH FIDDLER Kendra MacGillivray doesn't have any vivid memories of her grandfather - he died when she was four.

But Hugh A. MacDonald, a pioneer in recording Scottish fiddle music in the 1930s, definitely had an impact.

"My mother says as a baby I'd sit there on the floor and just listen and watch him play," says the 28-year-old performer with the cascading curls flashing a trademark brilliant smile.

When she played her first solo - at a concert at the Antigonish Legion when she was 10 years old, just a year after taking up the fiddle - she chose one of her grandfather's polkas.

"Polkas were his specialty," explains MacGillivray, sitting in the recital hall of the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts in Halifax where she has been teaching Scottish fiddling for the past two years.

"In the Antigonish square set there are five figures based on polkas and they are very, very popular. My grandfather was known as the polka king, every time he played a dance, he'd play a new polka.

"I put polkas in my shows that he popularized - Honeymoon Polka and Polka No. 3, for example - and everyone loves them. They're just a different type of tune."

On her first two albums Antigonish's Own, released in 1990 when she was just 17, and Clear The Tracks released in 1996, MacGillivray played homage to her grandfather.

"On the first one, I played some of my grandfather's music and some traditional tunes I was playing at the time.

"On Clear the Track, I played some tunes my grandfather recorded and tunes my grandfather played a lot but may not have recorded. It was very traditional and very unique, I was playing polkas that hadn't been heard since my grandfather played."

Her new CD takes the vivacious fiddler in new directions.

In stores now, Over the Waves will be officially released at a party 6:30-9:30 p.m. Tuesday at The Old Triangle Alehouse, Evans and Doherty's new bar on Prince Street.

"I wrote two tunes and (brother) Troy wrote a tune. There are lots of traditional tunes and a lot of contemporary tunes by people like Jerry Holland, Brenda Stubbert, John Morris Rankin and Sandy MacIntyre."

In fact, MacIntyre's contribution is the Kendra MacGillivray Jig. It's one of two pieces named for MacGillivray on the 13-track disc, that also features a banjo set with J.P. Cormier and a pipe set with champion piper Ann Gray.

"The other is the Kendra MacGillivray hornpipe," she says. "Last spring I was in Edmonton playing at Calvin Vollrath's CD release and John Arcand told me he had written a Scottish-type tune that had no name and when he heard me play, he thought it sounded like me. It is such an honour."

The title track is by Mexican composer Juventino Ross.

"My grandfather used to play it all the time and then it had many parts. Now it just has two," MacGillivray explains. "So I went out to get as many parts as I could and found five or six and Chris Church did the arrangement and members from Symphony Nova Scotia performed back-up and it's beautiful."

Produced by Scott Ferguson, the new disc is being distributed by Tidemark. Her first album was placed in stores by her mother, Janice, who was also her accompanist.

Troy, 20 and a music student at St. Francis Xavier University, plays piano on her other two releases, and has accompanied his sister on gigs 'round the world.

MacGillivray's 24-year-old sister Sabra, makes her first CD appearance on Over the Waves - Sabra's flying feet can be heard on Fergus Rag.

"It's so percussive. It's just like having drums," notes MacGillivray, whose own 20-year highland dancing career began when she was six. "With this CD we played a lot of music that is very danceable. We arranged numbers so dancers can use them.

"Whistlin' Rufus is a tune we used to do a dance called the cakewalk to. It was in my head for years and I tried playing it and it came out really nice."

MacGillivray, who also stepdances as does Troy, was playing the piano and dancing before she took up the fiddle.

"It really helped me with fiddling. Dancing gave me a sense of rhythm and timing and I got experience performing in highland dance competitions and piano recitals for the Sisters of Saint Martha.

"When I was nine, my mother and grandmother were taking fiddle lessons and I heard them practice and I had this tune in my head and picked up a fiddle and I could play a jig that first day, so my mother thought I should get some lessons.

"I went to Stan Chapman, who taught a group class with quite a few recognizable names - Natalie MacMaster, Ashley MacIsaac, Wendy MacIsaac, Jackie Dunn, Dougie MacDonald, Neil Beaton and John Pellerine were all in the class. In 1984 we all played for the Pope when he came to Halifax.

"Eventually I took some classical lessons with Robert "Bob" Murray. I thought it would help me with my technique when I was playing the harder Scottish tunes and it has helped with my technique and intonation."

MacGillivray says she always loved playing the fiddle, loved learning new tunes, loved getting up on stage and meeting people, but didn't think she could make a career of it.

So she took a degree in business administration at St. F.X., which has enabled her to manage her own career, by treating her fiddle performances like a business instead of "just playing."

When she graduated and got jobs at corporate events and national conventions which took her to Japan, Germany, Scotland, Iceland, Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Barbados, Australia and Canada and the United States, a musical career was too good an opportunity to pass up.

MacGillivray has played with international performers like Alasdair Fraser and Skyedance, Canada's Michael Burgess, and Nova Scotia favourites John Allan Cameron, Evans & Doherty, Natalie MacMaster, Ashley MacIsaac, and Richard Wood among others and has opened for The Rankins, Great Big Sea and Crash Test Dummies to name just a few.

Among her most memorable appearances was a "magical" show in Bristol, England in 1997, on a huge stage shaped like the mouth of a whale with a full back-up band for an audience of more than 50,000. Another was her ECMA Showcase in 1998 at Your Father's Moustache.

MacGillivray not only makes music, but feels a responsibility to pass it on, as her grandfather did before her in his Lanark home where dozens of fiddlers would drop by "to play some tunes and dance, but only after the work was done - he was a farmer".

MacGillivray has been teaching for 12 years, including seven summers at the Gaelic College in Cape Breton, and has passed on her knowledge to hundreds of students.

She draws on her own experiences in Chapman's class.

"We'd start slow and have it almost up to full speed by the end of the class and Stan always had a piano player. It helped you hear what the finished product was supposed to sound like, so I always play the piano while I'm teaching.

"I try to get them to memorize the tunes so they can hear what they're playing. Ear playing is a big part of traditional music, that's how it was always done."

A Celtic Touch: Scholarship benefit at St. F.X.

March 28, 2001 - Inverness Oran

It is truly remarkable to see how a community can come together to support a common initiative. For the past six years the Celtic Studies Department of St. F.X. University has been able to offer a scholarship for students who wish to further their study of the Gaelic language abroad because of the generosity of its community. Deserving students have been given the opportunity to travel to the Isle of Skye in Scotland and spend a number of weeks studying the language and exploring the area because of this support. It looks as though this year will be no different.

The St. F.X. Celtic Society, which has been a major financial backer of the fund since its inception, has organized a concert for Saturday, March 31st at 7pm in the Bauer Theatre in Antigonish. The performance, entitled "A Celtic Touch" will showcase some of the finest talent this region has to offer. Hosted by Bob MacEachern of 101.5 The Hawk, the show will include performances by Buddy MacMaster, Rodney MacDonald, Jackie Dunn, the Antigonish Gaelic Choir, Gordon MacKeeman and various members of the Celtic Society. All those involved have given generously of their time and energy in order to maintain the scholarship for another year, and the show promises to be a great success.

Highland dancers, step-dancers, pipers and fiddlers galore have been practicing for weeks already, honing their respective craft in anticipation of the big night and the chance to work with some of the finest musicians around. Audience members will be in for a treat when as many as thirty separate musicians and dancers congregate on stage for the grand finale.

Concert organizers have been overwhelmed by the generosity of both the student and professional talent of this area and have worked hard to ensure the show lives up to the talent it will feature. The Hon. Rodney MacDonald, who has been in Scotland recently studying the incorporation of Gaelic in the school system there, will be traveling from Halifax in order to play in the concert and treat listeners to some of his favorite tunes. Buddy MacMaster, who was recently honored as he received the Order of Canada, will be traveling from the opposite end of the province to delete audience members with his own esteemed selections. Both these musicians will be accompanied by the well-known and talented Jackie Dunn. This support, not to mention the encouragement from the campus community, the Bauer Theatre and the general public ensures this concert will be a great success and the scholarship fund replenished. Indeed, March 31st Antigonish is in for a treat! Tickets are available now at the Bauer Theatre and Needs on James Street or by phoning (902) 867-2100.

Glendale Parish Hall Honours Father Rankin

June 10, 2001 - Halifax Herald

All lovers of Cape Breton Fiddle music are invited to a concert in celebration of the special musical relationship of the late Bill Lamey and the late Father John Angus Rankin. This unique event will be held at 3:00 pm on Saturday, July 21, 2001 at the Parish Hall in Glendale, Cape Breton Island where both men had a strong connection and made valuable and enduring contributions to the culture of Cape Breton Island and its musical heritage.

Father Rankin once said, "The Music comes from the fiddler's heart, through his strings and strait into your heart." The fiddle playing of Bill Lamey (1914 to 1991) rang in Father Rankin's heart and the hearts of many others from the 1930s to the 1980s. Bill Lamey truly was one of the most highly respected fiddlers of the "Golden Age" of Cape Breton fiddle music.

Bill Lamey was especially loved for his playing of the bagpipe-influenced fiddle tunes composed by the great Gaelic-speaking fiddler-composers of the "Golden Age" of the arts in Scotland such as Neil Gow, William Marshall, the MacIntoshs, Simon Fraser and James Scott Skinner as well as the tunes of such respected Cape Breton composers as Dan R. MacDonald, Dan Hughie MacEachern and Donald MacLellan. A celebration of Bill Lamey's music in Glendale is also fitting because of his admiration for the playing style of "Big" Ronald MacLellan and the knowledge of the music possessed by composer/fiddler Gordon F. MacQuarrie.

The close friendship of Father Rankin and Bill Lamey is something to celebrate. Father Rankin's first parish was in Boisdale and he often remembered fondly the legendary night-long ceilidh's at Findlay Cameron's home along with Bill and his talented friends, Joe MacLean, Dan R. MacDonald and Donald MacLellan. Father Rankin also provided piano accompaniment for Bill on several of his 78 rpm recordings.

In 1966, Bill Lamey and Father Rankin traveled to Scotland for the first time and were invited to play at the prestigious Gaelic Mod Concert in Inverness before a live audience of 3,000 people and the television and radio audience of BBC. They received a standing ovation and audience members marveled afterwards at how faithfully Cape Breton fiddlers had kept the traditional "cutting of the bow" and syncopation in their playing while those techniques had been lost in Scotland.

The only known original composition by Bill Lamey is a march he wrote for Father Rankin called, "Rev. John Angus Rankin March". There is a voice introduction by Father Rankin before that tune on the new recording of Bill Lamey's music released in 2000, "Bill Lamey: Full Circle - From Cape Breton to Boston and Back: Classic House Sessions of Traditional Cape Breton Music - 1956-1977". That introduction by Father Rankin was recorded by Bill Lamey at the opening the Glendale Hall in 1962.

Almost 40 years later, the friendship of Father John Angus Rankin and Bill Lamey will be celebrated with at the same Glendale Parish Hall with performances by admirers of both men, Jerry Holland, Alex Francis MacKay, Buddy MacMaster, Jackie Dunn, Dougie MacPhee, Joey Beaton, John MacLean, Peggy Lamey, Douglas Lamey, and others. Paul M. MacDonald will act as Master of Ceremonies.

The concert is being organized by the Glendale and Area Community Co-operative (Co-chomunn Bhraig na h-Aibhneadh) and all profits are donated to the Father John Angus Cultural Center at Glendale. Tickets are priced $12.00 . Tickets may be purchased at the Cultural Centre, by calling (902) 625-3441 or by emailing culturalcentre@yahoo.com.

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings to release "The Heart of Cape Breton: Fiddle Music Recorded Live Along The Ceilidh Trail" on February 26

January 7, 2002 - Smithsonian Folkways Recordings Press Release

On February 26, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings will release ‘The Heart of Cape Breton: Fiddle Music Recorded Live Along the Ceilidh Trail.’ With a culture deeply influenced by 19th-century Scottish immigration, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, is widely celebrated for its fiddle music. Rooted in old Scottish tradition, the music is increasingly moving to center stage in the contemporary Celtic revival, as seen in the popularity of Cape Breton fiddlers Natalie MacMaster and Ashley MacIsaac. ‘The Heart of Cape Breton: Fiddle Music Recorded Live Along the Ceilidh Trail’ features some of Cape Breton’s most acclaimed fiddlers - such as Buddy MacMaster, Kinnon Beaton, Brenda Stubbert, Jackie Dunn MacIsaac, Jerry Holland, and Wendy MacIsaac - with piano and guitar accompaniment in the island’s distinctive style.

If you travel along Route 19 in the short season that is summer on Cape Breton, fiddle music seems to be everywhere. Running through Inverness County on the western side of the island, Route 19 is known as the "Ceilidh Trail." "Ceilidh" is a Gaelic word, originally signifying a neighborly gathering. These days, a ceilidh is likely to be a musical event. Just as Highway 61 is integral to blues music in America, Route 19 is the backbone of Gaelic music and culture in Cape Breton.

The Ceilidh Trail is a beautiful place; settlements dot a landscape defined by the sea, hills, forests, fields, and meadows. The sound of the island is alive in the exciting performances on this cd, recorded live at dances and concerts in Cape Breton during the summer of 2000. This is the real thing - master fiddlers playing in the heart of the tradition, along the Ceilidh Trail.

Produced and annotated by Burt Feintuch, folklorist at the Center for the Humanities, University of New Hampshire. Recorded by Grammy-winning Smithsonian Folkways Recordings sound production supervisor Pete Reiniger. Extensive notes and photos. 12 tracks, 72 minutes.

List of Artists and tracks:

1. Brenda Stubbert, fiddle; Richard Wood, piano; Brian Doyle, guitar. Ceilidh Trail School concert. My Great Friend John Morris Rankin/The Flax in Bloom/A Northside Reel

2. Jackie Dunn MacIsaac, fiddle; Wendy MacIsaac, piano. Port Hood Arena dance. Traditional Strathspey/Stumpy/Primrose Lass/A Bright May Morning

3. Kinnon Beaton, fiddle; Betty Beaton, piano; Owen D. Gillis, prompting. Mabou Hall dance. New Haven Reel/Mrs. Norman MacKeigan’s Reel/Glenquey Reel/The High Drive Reel/The Snappy Reel/Miss Jane McInnes-Dandaleith (more)

4. Jerry Holland, fiddle; Allan Dewar, piano. Broad Cove Scottish Concert. In Memory of Herbie MacLeod/Christy Campbell/Anthony Murray’s/Bridge of Bamore/Arrochar Bridge

5. Buddy MacMaster, fiddle; Joey Beaton, piano. Glencoe Mills dance. The Way to Judique/Compliments to the Boys of the Lough/The Canadian Club Jig/The Hills of Glenorchy/Walking the Floor

6. Wendy MacIsaac, fiddle; Jackie Dunn MacIsaac, piano. Port Hood Arena dance. Pipe Major George Ross’s Welcome to the Black Watch March/Duke of Athole Strathspey/Tibby Fowler of the Glen/Traditional Strathspey/Creignish Hills/Sandy Cameron/The Straw Man

7. Kinnon Beaton, fiddle; Betty Beaton, piano. Mabou hall dance. Kitty of Oulart/Traditional/Inverness Jig/Memories of Mac/Little House Round the Corner/Money in Both Pockets/The Jumpy Jig

8. Buddy MacMaster, fiddle; Joey Beaton, piano. Mabou hall ceilidh. The Rosebud of Allenvale/Tom Dey/Miss Dale/Maggie Cameron/The Devil in the Kitchen/Margaree/St. Kilda Wedding/Elizabeth’s Big Coat/Bridge of Bamore

9. Kinnon Beaton, fiddle; Betty Beaton, piano. Brook Village hall. Thomas MacDonnell’s Strathspey/Traditional/Mrs. Norman MacKeigan’s Reel/New Haven Reel

10. Wendy MacIsaac, fiddle; Jackie Dunn MacIsaac, piano. Port Hood Arena dance. The Short Grass Jig/The Braes of Elchies Jig/Traditional Jig/Gallagher’s Jig/The Pibroch of O’Donal Dubh

11. Kinnon Beaton, piano: Betty Beaton, piano. Brook Village hall dance. Michael Rankin’s Reel/Pretty Marion/Wesley Gillis Reel/The Marquis of Tullybardine/The Black Cock’s Will/Colonel Thornton/Over the Isles to America/Johnny Muise’s Reel/Tom Rae/Brenda Stubbert’s Reel/The Weasel

12. Brenda Stubbert, fiddle; Richard Wood, piano; Brian Doyle, guitar. Ceilidh Trail School concert. Traditional Strathspey/The Devil in the Kitchen/Calum Crubach/Donnacha’s Favourite/The Mortgage Burn/Morgan 6:07

Top of class salutes teacher Chapman
MacMaster, MacIsaac, MacGillivray, Rankin, Dunn among students honouring musician

October 14, 2003 - Halifax Herald
By Stephen Cooke

Old adages die hard. But if there's one thing that the Celtic Colours tribute to fiddle teacher Stan Chapman proves, it's that whoever wrote "those who can, do; those who can't, teach" was an idiot.

One of the hottest tickets at this year's annual Cape Breton music festival, Teacher's Pets: A Tribute to Stan Chapman, brought out the big guns to salute the Antigonish-based instructor at the Judique Community Centre on Monday night.

To call the lineup "all-star" would be something of an understatement, with Jackie Dunn, Stephanie Wills, Wendy MacIsaac, Kendra MacGillivray, Mairi Rankin and Natalie MacMaster all turning out for the class reunion, while pianist Troy MacGillivray and guitarist Dave MacIsaac added their own unique rhythm. A school desk piled high with textbooks and polished apples graced the stage as a bit of tongue-in-cheek decoration.

"Stan Chapman, this is your life!" joked Dave MacIsaac, a longtime friend who's been trading tapes with the educator since the mid-'70s, when they met at a Gaelic gathering in Glendale. MacIsaac co-hosted with Dunn; perhaps ringleading is a more appropriate verb, considering the bit of clowning that opened the show, with the assembled ex-students tuning up torturously and mocking their earliest days with an assault of off-key sawing. MacIsaac poked fun at his co-host, whose married name is also MacIsaac, asking "Which MacIsaac did you Dunn?" while Dunn remarked that she was the oldest of Chapman's students there, but not the oldest musician, thanks to the presence of a certain grey-haired guitarist ...

But the assembled multitude were in all seriousness when it came to sharing their experiences with Chapman and playing sets which demonstrated how he shaped their talents without constricting individual styles. You didn't have to be a fiddle expert to notice that no two musicians sounded the same, each bringing their own sense of heritage and identity to their playing.

Dunn kicked things off with the help of guitarist MacIsaac and Wills on keyboards, with a set that included strathspeys by John Morris Rankin and her great uncle Dan Hughie MacEachern. Kendra MacGillivray popped out from backstage for a spirited bit of stepdancing, while Dunn tore through the tunes like a sports car hugging the twisty curves of the Cabot Trail.

"Where was the fire at?" Dunn quizzed herself afterwards, practically pulling herself over for speeding, but no one seemed to mind the headlong rush.

Creignish native Wills took her turn next, shy about speaking but visibly moved by Chapman's contribution to her life. "He brought music alive in my life, he's more than a teacher," she said. "Thank you for believing in me," she said to Chapman, beaming in the front row with his wife Gert. As for Wills's playing, her seasoned skills deliver a high sweet tone, but with a tough edge that mirrors life in a hillside village on Cape Breton's windswept western shore.

"How about a round of applause for girl power?" roared Wendy MacIsaac, noting the bill's feminine bent. (Although to be fair, Chapman's students also included MacIsaac's cousin Ashley, Glenn Graham and Rodney MacDonald.)

"Maybe we should have called the show 36C or something."

"Then some of us would have to leave," laughed Dunn.

Wendy MacIsaac recalled driving to lessons in Antigonish with Ashley in the back of uncle Angus's truck - "like the Clampetts" - before playing a mixed set that displayed her poetic approach to slow airs and sharp attack on strathspeys and reels. This time it was MacMaster's turn to dance, in a black cocktail dress with an artfully shredded hemline, no less.

Lt. Governor Myra Freeman handled the door prize draw at intermission - or recess, as Chapman called it - noting that as an educator herself, there is no greater satisfaction than seeing your students become successful at what you've taught them.

Case in point, Antigonish's Kendra MacGillivray, both a player and a teacher, whose buoyant sound has lit up rooms from Tokyo to Barbados. She remarked that Chapman encouraged her to discover the music of her own grandfather, noted fiddler Hugh A. MacDonald, while playing with a touch that's genteel, but lacking nothing in momentum.

Mabou's Mairi Rankin played a mix of Scottish and Cape Breton tunes with a keen, yearning sound marked by sly sliding notes and a gentle vibrato. Achingly dirty on a slow air learned from Cameron Chisholm or down and dirty on a John Campbell Strathspey, Rankin showed how her time spent touring with Beolach has honed her crowd-pleasing style.

The closing slot belonged to Troy fiddler MacMaster, arguably the brightest light among Chapman's angels, starting with a dramatic air that spoke of folk music traditions beyond Cape Breton island, then morphing into a strathspey that was pure Ceilidh Trail with no two passages alike. Building in speed and intensity over Dave MacIsaac's arpeggios, MacMaster's notes began flying even more freely off the neck of her violin, until she felt the need to stand up and make it a full-body experience. So lost in the music was she, she forgot to mention that one of the reels she'd played was one she'd written for Chapman. "Play it again!" came from the audience, so the jaunty tune got a second airing.

Things really got emotional during a presentation to Chapman by the Cape Breton Fiddlers' Association in honour of his contribution to the music. "I told Buddy MacMaster that my head was going to swell up something awful with all this attention," said the unassuming teacher.

"But Buddy told me, 'Don't worry, it'll be back to normal in the morning.'

"I've learned as much or more from them as I've taught them," he said, indicating towards his former students.

Later that night, back in St. Ann's, Wendy MacIsaac, Mairi Rankin and Natalie MacMaster closed down the Festival Club at the Gaelic College with a no-holds-barred set that saw the trio playfully bounce variations off each other while pianist Mac Morin. guitarist Fred Lavery and drummer Cheryl Smith held down the rhythm, grinning madly at the manic interplay. It's clear they worked very hard at their lessons, but they didn't forget how to play after school.

Teacher's Pets: Stan Chapman honoured by students, by CB Fiddle Association

October 15, 2003 - Inverness Oran
By Frank MacDonald

In the early 1970's, when Cape Breton was trying to fend off the perception that fiddlers were vanishing from the island, Frank MacInnis was told about a student at the Nova Scotia Teachers College who was a wizard with the instrument.

Unfortunately, the New Glasgow native wasn't a Cape Breton style fiddler. Put me in touch with him, said MacInnis, an organizer of the 1973 Glendale Fiddle Festival and a founder of the Cape Breton Fiddlers Association.

By 1975, Stan Chapman was among the hundred fiddlers on the stage at Glendale's 1975 Cape Breton Fiddle Festival and one of ten Cape Breton fiddlers selected to represent the island's music at the 1976 Olympics, performing before Queen Elizabeth II. In another couple of years, Chapman, now a school teacher in Antigonish, was taking on students and teaching them to be Cape Breton fiddlers.

Young people, children really, were traveling from Cape Breton to Antigonish on the back of Angus MacIsaac's truck to study with Chapman, children with names like Natalie MacMaster, Ashley MacIsaac, Wendy MacIsaac, Stephanie Wills.

"Stan Chapman had a mission," Bob MacEachern told a packed Judique Community Centre on Monday night, "to have young Cape Breton fiddlers spread the Gospel of Stan to every corner of the world. We (the Cape Breton Fiddlers Association) say tonight your mission has been accomplished. Congratulations on a job well done!"

How well the job was done was evident from the former students who filled the stage to pay tribute to their teacher as part of the Celtic Colours International Music Festival.

"I was his first private student," said Jackie Dunn-MacIsaac, who also co-hosted the evening with Dave MacIsaac.

"In my very first lesson with him, Stan brought the music alive in my life. I don't know how to begin to thank him for opening the doors he did in my life," Stephanie Wills told her mentor.

"In September, twenty years ago, Ashley and I got in the back of Angus' truck and headed for Antigonish. When we got there he was teaching his advanced class, Jackie and Kendra and those. We were intimidated, if you can believe that," Wendy MacIsaac recalled.

"Thank you for teaching me, but also for inspiring me to play my grandfather's, Hugh A. MacDonald's, music," Kendra MacGillivray said to Chapman.

"Thirteen years ago, I started studying with Stan. In my opinion, a good teacher is one where you go home after class and practice without even realizing you're practicing," Mairi Rankin told the audience.

"I was very nervous my first class, but you made me feel very special. Stan has been so much a part of this renaissance. Whenever you teach you encourage your students to be better but to remain comfortable with where they are. That's a magical balance for a teacher to have," Natalie MacMaster said.

Following each student's remark, she performed a set of tunes for the teacher, and when Natalie MacMaster finished her "blast" she suddenly remembered that she had forgotten to tell Chapman that she had composed a tune in his honour. "I already played it, it was the first reel in the set," she said, then replayed the tune.

The remarks, the memories and the music were all part of an emotional salute to a man whose impact on Cape Breton fiddling will ripple through many generations to come, many of his own students already having gone on to teach Cape Breton fiddling to classes of their own students.

It was an evening that Wendy MacIsaac noted was filled with Girl Power!, a six-fiddler fact that didn't seem to disturb Dave MacIsaac who accompanied them all on his guitar, and related how, meeting Stan Chapman at the 1975 Glendale Fiddle Festival, "we've been good buddies ever since," exchanging tapes of Cape Breton fiddling whenever they meet.

The evening was as special for the students as it was for the teacher, Jackie Dunn pointed out.

"We don't get to play much together. The last time was in 1990-91, and there are so many of his students who aren't here tonight, Rodney MacDonald, Glenn Graham, John Pellerine. All of Stan's students couldn't fit on this stage."

"The first time we all got together was in 1984 to play for the Pope's visit to Halifax. That was followed by a concert series at UCCB, a huge show, and that was the beginning of us being recognized as the next generation, so thanks very much, Stan."

Lieutenant Governor Myra Freeman doesn't play the fiddle - yet, but has been immersing herself in its music through the last two Celtic Colours at least, and was present for the tribute to Stan Chapman, telling him as she made a presentation on behalf of the province, "You are a most remarkable man. People are giving thanks to you for all you have done for this community. You have imbued in your students a lifelong love of music. You have much to be proud of, and we are proud of you for what you have done."

Another student, Hon. Rodney MacDonald, couldn't be present but sent his personal appreciation for Stan as his teacher, and congratulations on behalf of the province.

Burton MacIntyre, also with the Cape Breton Fiddlers Association, briefly described a scene from the first Glendale Fiddle Festival as organizers shook the bushes to find enough fiddlers to total one hundred on stage, and then moved the audience forward to last Friday and the opening ceremonies of the Celtic Colours.

"Of the 70 fiddlers from the fiddlers association, twenty-five of them were young fiddlers. You've done so much for our young people."

Stan Chapman, in his remarks, thanked the organizers for "a super wonderful evening. I am extremely happy, and what's happened on stage is awesome. But I want to acknowledge all my students who are not on this stage."

It was never his idea, Chapman said, that his students would earn a living by playing the fiddle. He was teaching them to play for the love of playing, for the fun of playing. But people like Buddy MacMaster and John Allan Cameron and others opened up the opportunities that allowed many of the young fiddlers to have careers. "As a teacher, you learn that you learn more from your students than they do from you."

The show, which had opened with a school house setting and Chapman teaching six squeaky fiddlers blossomed into an opening set with teacher and students driving the tunes off the back walls, and at the end of the evening, they did it again; and interspersed throughout the Teacher's Pets show were ovations and applause from a Cape Breton music fan base that learned, if they did not already know, that the quiet, unassuming man in the middle of all those young energetic fiddlers is largely responsible for them having traveled across the country, from Europe, from the United States for the Celtic Colours International Music Festival. His students are their musical heroes.

Judique Flyer steams ahead: Cape Breton's master fiddler Buddy MacMaster rolls along with new release

A Musical Marriage: Dares, MacNeil combine Celtic pipes and piano

Fiddling Over The Waves MacGillivray to officially launch third CD

Top of class salutes teacher Chapman MacMaster, MacIsaac, MacGillivray, Rankin, Dunn among students honouring musician

Judique Flyer steams ahead:
Cape Breton's master fiddler Buddy MacMaster rolls along with new release

A Musical Marriage:
Dares, MacNeil combine Celtic pipes and piano

Fiddling Over The Waves
MacGillivray to officially launch third CD

Top of class salutes teacher Chapman
MacMaster, MacIsaac, MacGillivray, Rankin, Dunn among students honouring musician