MIDLAND CULTURAL CENTRE
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Two exceptional artists with a high energy performance that you won’t soon forget are coming to the Midland Cultural Centre. It is a rare and very special occasion when these two fine musicians get together to play music.
Order online or call the box office (705) 527-4420 or purchase at the door.
Pierre Schryer is one of Canada’s leading traditional fiddlers. He has received numerous titles and awards including Canadian Open Fiddle Champion, Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Champion, Violoneux Championnat, and North American Irish Fiddle Champion. Pierre truly captivates audiences with his energy, genuine warmth, and flawless ability in many styles from Irish, Scottish and Québecois, to Canadian Old Time or American Swing.
He has established himself as a gem on the music scene among fans and fellow musicians and is a JUNO nominee and Canadian Folk Music nominee. For over two decades, Pierre has been touring across North America, the UK and Ireland headlining festivals and captivating audiences with his musical finesse, genuine warmth, personality, and stunning technical ability.
Pierre has established himself as a gem on the music scene among fans and fellow musicians. He was immersed from an early age in the Franco-Ontarian traditions of his heritage, through multiple fiddle competitions along with his triplet brothers. The Schryer Triplets recorded two albums and appeared several times on the Tommy Hunter Show.
Pierre has released six solo recordings on his own label, New Canadian Records, of which Blue Drag was honoured with a nomination at the 2004 JUNO Awards for best Roots and Traditional Album of the Year, and Mélange was nominated at the 2008 Canadian Folk Music Awards for Instrumental Solo Album of the Year.
Pierre has shared the stage with many colleagues in the traditional music scene including Dermot Byrne, Martin Nolan, Quinn Bachand, Adam Dobres, Ian Clark, Brian Pickell, Julie Schryer, Pat O'Gorman, Nathan Curry, Brad Fremlin, Raynald Ouellet, Normand and Benoit Legault, Jake Charron, Duncan Cameron, Martine Billette, Joe Phillips, Andy Hillhouse, Jean-Francois Berthiaume and many more.
He has performed with numerous symphony orchestras across Canada with his acclaimed Symphony Pops show. Pierre is the creator and artistic director of the Canadian Celtic Celebration, a three-day festival presented in Thunder Bay, Ont. each June.
Martin Nolan’s uilleann piping has taken him throughout Europe and the UK, India, Australia, New Zealand, the USA and Canada, from the Lincoln Center for the Arts in New York to the national theatres of Ireland and England and concert halls across the Indian subcontinent.
Respected in the Irish traditional scene, he has also played alongside jazz greats such as Dave Liebman, the late Michael Brecker, Ronan Guilfoyle, Conor Guilfoyle, Tommy Halferty, Michael Buckley and the Boclé Brothers. Other collaborative work includes virtuoso Hungarian violinist Zoltan Lantos and Japanese performance artist Keiji Heino.
In 2009, Martin joined the Celtic progressive rock band Iona. Born in Dublin, Ireland, it was here Martin took his first lessons from John Keenan Sr, the father of well-known piper Paddy Keenan. Martin’s playing is strongly influenced by the ‘travelling style’ of piping, which employs legato and staccato techniques, elements which are heard to great effect in his playing.
In 1991 Martin released his first recording Travel’n Style. It was warmly received across the broad spectrum of the folk/traditional world, and Neil Toner, broadcaster in RTE, hailed Travel 'n Style as "an excellent release appealing to a much wider audience that strictly traditional music lovers."
Bright Silver Dark Wood, his second album, was described as "an aural feast of musical soul food" by Irish Music Magazine. Martin is also a fine whistle player.
