Ward MacDonald brings Fiddlers Three to the Irish hall
The Fiddlers Three, featuring Ward MacDonald, Sheila MacKenzie and Matthew Reid, along with Kevin Chaisson on piano, takes the stage for the ceilidh June 29 at the Katherine Hughes Memorial Hall, 582 North River Rd., Charlottetown.
Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show starts at 8 p.m. Admission is at the door. There will be a 50/50 draw during the evening at the air-conditioned hall, and a light lunch is served at intermission.
For more information, call 902-892-2367.
MacDonald, who will host the ceilidh from the piano bench, as well as play the fiddle, comes from a long line of Scottish-style fiddlers. Equally adept at composing tunes as well as performing, he is well known as the originator of the P.E.I. Fiddle Camp held annually in July on P.E.I. and is one of the originators of the islandwide Festival of Small Halls. In addition, he has toured for 20 years as a performer and teacher.
MacKenzie, a prominent newgeneration fiddler on P.E.I., has had a successful solo career and has released a self-title CD. Her musical background covers many genres from Celtic and country to folk and traditional. She started step-dancing at age five and then began studying dancing and fiddling respectively with Cecilia and Anne MacKinnon of Richmond. In 2006, she became the first female president of the P.E.I. Fiddlers’ Society and now plays most often in a band called Treble with Girls.
Reid has been fiddling for 17 years and is a regular at Island ceilidhs and concerts. He has also performed at the Rollo Bay Fiddle Festival, the QEH Eastlink Telethon and the Atlantic Fiddlers Jamboree. He began fiddling at age seven, studying with Cynthia MacLeod and Aaron Crane and then went on to teach at National Music for 10 years. His first CD, “Born to Fiddle”, was released in 2012 and received nominations at the 2013 Music P.E.I. Awards and 2014 East Coast Music Awards in the roots traditional categories.
Chaisson is a member of the well-known musical Chaisson Family of Bear River. His repertoire includes Scottish and Irish jigs and reels, beautiful strathspeys and lovely slow airs, mixed with traditional Gaelic ballads.