PROGRAMMING | Music For the Future

FIDDLE WORKSHOPS

TUSARNAARNIQ SIVUMUT ASSOCIATION

MUSIC FOR THE FUTURE

DONATE NOW

We’re in our 12th year of presenting fiddle workshops to communities in Nunavut, now visiting three times per year.

Our Current Schedule (2020/2021)

Spring Workshop (March 29 - May 2, 2020) - cancelled due to COVID-19
Fall Workshop (September 29 - October 31, 2020) - cancelled due to COVID-19
Winter Workshop (Jan/Feb 2021) - cancelled due to COVID-19... stay safe everyone!
Spring Workshop (April/May 2021) - TBA

Past Workshops

Winter Workshop – January 18 – February 15, 2020 in Qikiqtarjuaq, Igloolik, Pond Inlet, Sanirajak, and Kinngait.
Fall Workshop – September 29 – October 30, 2019 in Hall Beach, Pond Inlet, Pangnirtung, Qikiqtarjuaq and Cape Dorset
Spring Workshop – March 30 - April 27, 2019 in Hall Beach, Qikiqtarjuaq, Pangnirtung, Igloolik and Pond Inlet.
1st ever Winter Workshop – February 4 - 19, 2019 in Cape Dorset (TSA’s first visit), Pangnirtung and Pond Inlet.

Kim deLaforest & Greg Simm - promo photo

OUR INSTRUCTORS

GREG SIMM

Greg has been a prominent figure on the East Coast music scene for more than forty years in constant demand as an instrumentalist, arranger, teacher and producer. Teaching and presenting music workshops have taken Greg across the country many times from Coast to Coast to Coast. Most notable is his work with Tusarnaarniq Sivumut Association which he co-founded with Julie Lohnes.

For twenty-five years, Greg held many roles with the Ship’s Company Theatre in Parrsboro, NS including musician, musical director, sound-scape composer and board member. His music has been heard in fifteen main stage productions at SCT. As a multi-instrumentalist (guitar, bass, mandolin, banjo, tuba, bouzouki, and keyboards), Greg has been heard in a variety of live performances and recording sessions over the years. He has appeared with and/or recorded with artists as diverse as Grammy Award winner Denny Doherty (lead singer of the Mamas and Papas), Lennie Gallant, Kendra MacGillivray, Richard Wood, John Gracie, Teresa Ennis, Alistair Macdonald, Kelli Trottier, Brian Vardigans, Finnan Haddie and children’s entertainers Donna and Andy. He worked with master fiddler Gordon Stobbe for more than twenty-five years and is a member of the group Prairie Sea which was nominated for a 2013 Music Nova Scotia Award in the “Traditional Folk” category. He is currently one half of the Northwoods Music, with fiddler Kim de Laforest. Greg has been recognized four times as a finalist for Music Nova Scotia’s “Educator of the Year” for his work across the country and as a private instructor in Nova Scotia.

KIM DE LAFOREST

Kim de Laforest is a fiddle, violin, viola and vocal performer and teacher based in Saskatoon. She enjoys combining many different styles of folk and classical music to create her own unique sound.In her classical world, Kim spent 10 years with the Regina Symphony Orchestra before moving to Saskatoon in 2000. As a member of the Saskatoon Symphony, Kim has served as the assistant concertmaster, principal second violin, principal viola, and section violin and viola player.Kim has also been involved in chamber music groups across the province. She is currently the first violin player in the Mac Talla string quartet. She has been the musical director of the Saskatoon Fiddle Orchestra for the past 10 years.Kim plays with local Irish band Siamsa (now known as Jim ‘n Kim) as well as doing a lot of solo fiddle work. She released her first solo CD Kindred Spirits in 2004 and was featured on CBC's DiscDrive during its Saskatchewan tour. During Juno Fest 2007 in Saskatoon, Kim's performance was recorded for CBC's Canada Live. Kim’s second solo CD ‘Transitions’ was released in November 2011.Kim plays and sings with Prairie Sea (folk trio based in Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan). Both of Prairie Sea’s CD’s have been nominated for Traditional/Roots Recording of the Year by Music Nova Scotia. She is also one half of the duo, Northwoods Music with Greg Simm.As well as being a busy performer, Kim is also a sought-after instructor and adjudicator.Kim teaches at home in Saskatoon as well as travelling to Baffin Island, NU twice a year to work with Inuit youth.

AMEENA BAJER -KOULACK

Ameena has been playing fiddle from the age of five, when her dad taught her to play her very first fiddle tune; Boil them Cabbages. Since then, she has explored various musical forms, studying classical violin, piano, clawhammer banjo, voice, and traditional fiddle music. She played and recorded traditional Jewish music with the Klezmer Kids for seven years, toured with the Knappen Street All-Star Band, and regularly plays music with Winnipeg bluegrass band Hay Fever and with her dad, multi-instrumentalist Daniel Koulack.

A passionate and charismatic teacher, she is in high demand as a workshop instructor, and regularly teaches both privately and at camps in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Ontario. She also runs Falcon Lake Fiddle Camp, a non-profit music camp in Manitoba that aims to promote traditional music, inter-generational learning, environmental sustainability, and community building through music.

Whether it’s environmental science, handicrafts, languages, or music, the common thread for Ameena is a love of sharing knowledge and skills with others and building community through collective activities.

MUSIC CLUB

Thanks to the support of generous donors like the Leanne Children’s Foundation and more recently, Jason Roth & Cheryl Steadman-Roth and Anne Campbell & John Lindsay, we have been working to organize after-school music clubs (which include a nutritious snack) in more communities.

Sanirajak Music Club (March - June, 2020)

Stay tuned for details as we look to continue expand our Music Club in other communities this year!

2019/2020

Qikiqtarjuaq Music Club (September – May, 36 weeks)

2018/2019

Qikiqtarjuaq Music Club (February – May, 17 weeks) – 29 students participated (that’s more than 35% of youth aged 12-19 in Qik)

2017/2018

Qikiqtarjuaq Music Club (February – May, 10 weeks) – 27 students participated