April Verch
Encyclopedia
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
r and step dance
Step dance
Step dance is the generic term for dance styles where the footwork is the most important part of the dance. Body and arm movements and styling are either restricted or considered irrelevant.Step dance is one end of a spectrum of dance styles...
r born and raised in the small community of Rankin, Ontario
Papineau-Cameron, Ontario
Papineau-Cameron is a municipal township in northeastern Ontario, Canada, in Nipissing District. The township is located on the south side of the Mattawa and Ottawa Rivers along Highway 17....
, located approximately 15 km southwest from Pembroke
Pembroke, Ontario
Pembroke is a city in the province of Ontario, Canada, at the confluence of the Muskrat River and the Ottawa River in the Ottawa Valley...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. She attended the prestigious Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
in Boston before embarking on her professional career. While she is best known for playing traditional Ottawa Valley
Ottawa Valley
The Ottawa Valley is the valley along the boundary between Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec along the Ottawa River. The valley is the transition between the Saint Lawrence Lowlands and the Canadian Shield...
style fiddle tunes, Verch's repertoire branches into many other fiddle styles. She has appeared as performer and teacher at Mark O'Connor
Mark O'Connor
Mark O'Connor is an American bluegrass, jazz, country and classical violinist fiddler, composer and music teacher. O'Connor's music is wide-ranging, critically acclaimed, and he has received numerous awards for both his playing and his composition...
's Fiddle Camps.
- 1997 Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Champion
- 1998 Canadian Open Fiddle Champion.
- 2010 Performer at the opening ceremony of 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
Albums
- Steal the Blue (2008)
- Take Me Back (2006)
- From Where I Stand (2003)
- Verchuosity (2001)
- Fiddleicious (1998)
- Fiddle Talk (1995)
- Springtime Fiddle (1992)