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Countdown to the
Games Concert Series |
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The lineup for this year's concerts
include... |
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June 22 |
Dawn and Margie Beaton |
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Margie and Dawn Beaton are musical sisters from
Mabou, Cape Breton. They have been fiddling and
stepdancing together since they were four years
old. As children, they both appeared on their
aunt, Mary Janet MacDonald’s instructional
stepdance video. In 2003, Margie travelled with
her class at Dalbrae Academy in Mabou to
Scotland to perform and study the Gaelic music
and language. They are a popular duo at dances
and concerts throughout Cape Breton.
They are experienced stepdance teachers as well.
The pair has appeared on television, radio and
on numerous videos and documentaries. Dawn
performed for the world premier of Scott
Macmillan’s “MacKinnon’s Brook Suite” with the
Nova Scotia Symphony in 2001. In 2008, the
sisters were chosen as the recipients of the
Frank Sampson Award, given by the Celtic Colours
Drive’er Society to young musicians to help them
record their first albums. |
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June 29 |
Dara Smith and
Robbie Fraser |
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Dara Smith, born and raised in Antigonish, began
playing the fiddle fifteen years ago. She has
classical training and took Cape Breton fiddle
lessons from Kendra MacGillivray for five years.
With both her parents being from Inverness, she
very rapidly took to the Cape Breton style.
For the last eight years she has been playing at
concerts, pubs and ceilidhs throughout the
Maritime Provinces and is also a sought out
dance player. She has taught fiddle to students
both privately and in groups in Nova Scotia, PEI
and in the USA, with her focus being primarily
an instructor at St. Anne's Gaelic College for
the last five years. She is a member of the Cape
Breton Fiddler's Association and has played at
the Celtic Colours International Festival and at
the East Coast Music Awards.
A graduate of St. Francis Xavier University, she
has a degree in both Arts and Education. She is
a school teacher in Cape Breton and continues to
play at events throughout the year. |
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July 6 |
Robbie and Isaac Fraser |
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Robbie Fraser is a fiddler/pianist from
Strathlorne, Inverness County. He is currently
twenty years old, and is in his 4th year of a
Bachelor of Science degree at St. Francis Xavier
University. He is no stranger to the Celtic
music scene, having performed on stage since
five years of age. He is a regular at concerts,
ceilidhs, and dances in the Inverness Co. area
during the summer. Robbie learns almost all of
his music by ear, and is noted for his solid
timing and his playing of the pure traditional
old style, which is uncommon at his age.
Robbie has always maintained that Buddy
MacMaster and Willie Kennedy are the two biggest
influences on his style of music. He has
recently begun accompanying on the piano, which
he has learned without any formal lessons. He is
almost always accompanied by his brother Isaac;
they have released two albums, Here This, Here
It Is (2004) and Right at Home (2006).
Isaac Fraser is a talented
young musician from Strathlorne, Nova Scotia. He
began playing the piano at the age of nine years
old and took lessons for a few years under
Mari-Anne Jewel. He is usually found
accompanying his brother Robbie at most
concerts, ceilidhs and dances. Isaac listens and
learns from a number of piano players, and is
especially fond of Mac Morin's style of
accompaniment. Currently, Isaac is in his 1st
year at St. Francis Xavier University in
Antigonish where he is taking a Bachelor of
Science Degree. |
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July 12 |
Colin Grant and Friends |
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Hard-driving yet clean,
lively yet passionate, traditional yet original;
Colin Grant's fiddle playing has stepped to the
forefront of the East Coast traditional music
scene - and people are sitting up and taking
notice. Although most at home with traditional
Cape Breton fiddle music, his versatility as
both a lead and side musician has given him
experiences in Acadian, Breton, Folk, Rock, and
Country music. Besides having an ECMA nomination
under his belt for Roots / Traditional Solo
Album of the Year for his self-titled debut
album, Grant has traveled to Indonesia, China
and France while juggling full-time studies in
education at Université Sainte-Anne. Now a
graduate, he is pursuing a career in music as a
solo artist and side musician for East Coast
acts Pogey, Stephanie Hardy, and Jason
MacDonald. |
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Concerts take place from 6:30pm - 8:30pm at
Chisholm Park. Be sure to bring a chair. |
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