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Many thanks from all of Oliver's family and friends, and from Oliver.
Look up the Olifiddle Concert from February 2008, and listen to it anytime you would like
April 13, 2008
Anyone in the Toronto area wanting to learn some Olitunes?
I will be in Toronto for the summer to spend time with Oli and would be overjoyed to host an Olifiddle workshop (or two) if we can wrangle enough fiddlers up.
It would likely be on a Sunday in June...if one goes well, we'll do another. I''ll leave this open to all levels of fiddling. If we get enough interest we can split the group up to better accomodate skill levels and learning speeds.
Secondly, Emilyn and I would like to kick-start a Twisted String group in the Toronto area. We're looking for highschool-aged, advanced fiddlers/violinists, with fast ears, dedication, an interest in Olitunes (essential) and at least a LITTLE bit of craziness (the more the better).
Please pass this message on to anyone you think might be interested.
Anyone interested can email me by clicking here.
Thanks to Karen for putting the bug in my ear.
Hope to see many of you in June!
Chels
April 8, 2008
Hi friends,
I have wanted to write more to all of you about my situation. I sent out an info letter last weekend, but it was a pretty plain letter, and did not include a lot of stuff I feel is important to talk about at this point, for me and for everybody.
The gist of that first letter was that the doctors have run out of ways to treat my disease, which is particularly aggressive and ornery. They have thrown every combo of chemotherapy and nasty drugs at my cancer, and in incredibly high doses. The doctors admitted that they were surprised already that the chemotherapy had not actually killed me. It turns out that I am very tough. (My friend Teresa Doyle from PEI says I’m tougher than a boiled owl.) So if there are no treatment options left for me, what they can and intend to do is make me as comfortable as I can be in the time left to me, so that I am not in pain and not suffering in any way.
What I did not talk about in that first letter was how I feel about all of this… I guess I feel that life is not only about quantity. It is about quality as well in a big way. We all have to die some time. None of us will live on this planet forever. I think some people live very intensely and burn very brightly during their time here. I think I am one of those people. A shining star while I am here. So I look at my life as I have lived it, and I feel very satisfied with all I have achieved and gone through. As a musician and artist I have found my voice on my instrument of choice. That is what any artist wants to do. Whether you are a mucian or a painter or a dancer or a writer, the bottom line as a creative person is to find that unique voice and express it in your art. I really did invent my own unique way of playing the fiddle, and that is a fantastic, beautiful and frankly, a lucky thing.
I got to record many albums of my music, and to get that music out there, instead of just thinking about it, or planning it. In the process of recording these albums, I had so many great adventures with fellow musicians and travelers along the path. I have gotten to collaborate with some wonderful folks throughout the years. So many of these collaborators have become great friends to me, and that is a source of a lot of satisfaction in my life. Not to mention the myriad of stories that have come out of these adventures. I have truly led a charmed life.
And then, I have had a beautiful bunch of teaching relationships with a lot of students, not only individuals but entire communities of learning musicians. I got to interact with them and to pass on my music in very direct ways. I created a lot of repertoire for these students – for example for the Valley Youth Fiddlers and the Twisted String in Smithers.
My mission was to make music that was going to be seriously fun to play. For myself, I felt that I succeeded, but of course the ultimate test was the players. If they were not playing it, did not like it, then my opinions about the music were going to be pretty meaningless. But play it they did. And with enthusiasm and aplomb. This has been a happy and proud part of my life. I never got to have biological kids. But I did get to pass on my music in important ways to a whole generation of young people. I did get to give something back in that way, and not just make or take.
So between finding my voice on my instrument, and being able to share my music directly with so many, I feel like a very lucky guy. There is also the fact that in life, I like to concentrate on the positive aspects of reality. I don’t like to mope around about things. I strongly suggest to all of you that this is a waaaay better way to go and to be. Look at what you do have, and thank the Creator for that, and enjoy it all to the max. Don’t look at what you don’t have. Make sure your glass is half full, not half empty. This is a stance you take in life. It is not a random attitude. But with just a little bit of practice, that becomes an attitude you can easily ick to. Let’s put it this way. If I can think like this in my present position, I would hope that you all can do the same. I would even ask you to do this for me. Take that stance in life for me and from me, and concentrate always on the positive.
So then, this is how things are shaping up for me in my present headspace…. I feel I have burned brightly in life, and lived life very fully. I feel I have achieved a great deal in life. And as I look back on the life I have lived, I am concentrating on all of the positive aspects, on all of the beauty I have experienced and generated, and getting a lot of satisfaction and pleasure from that thought and reality. And the fact that my life is shorter than it might have been ceases to trouble me very much.
I do want to encourage you, that when you do stuff, and get into projects in life, make sure you have the maximum amount of fun and satisfaction you can have. Don’t settle for just a bit of fun. You might have heard the saying ‘More is less’. Well, that only applies sometimes. Often, more really is more. And when it comes to getting satisfaction from creative projects you are involved with, you can bet that more is more, so grab the moment and make the moment big.
One very amazing thing about my position right now is how I get a clear insight into my own situation at this exact time. What is coming at me is very much eyes wide open and sort of in slow motion. In the time left to me, I get to contemplate my life, and to ponder about what I would like to do in the time left to me. This is so different from many people’s end. A lot of people die in very random ways, in car crashes for example, suddenly, with no time to plan for anything or even to blink for a minute and ask themselves any important last questions. It is just splat and it’s over. I on the other hand, get all sorts of time to mentally prepare myself for what is happening to me. I can make a wish list of things I want to do in my last days here. Who do I want to spend time with? Are there things I want to finish up? Things I want to see? My end is near, but I have the feeling that it is also not going to happen super quickly. The doctors have a pretty good handle on how things transpire, and I do get the sense that time will not be moving too quickly on me here. Of course I have to be prepared for anything, but I still have time to focus and be myself and live as myself for the time left to me.
I want to finish by saying that I am totally open to communication these days. So if there is anything any of you want to say to me, or to share with me, or to ask me, etc, etc, please go ahead and do that. I cannot read your minds. But I can sure share perspectives and conversation if you get it started.
The very best, from the very edge….
Oli
February 24, 2008
Hi Folks,
Well, it has been a tremendously eventful week. The Olifiddle benefit took place last Monday/Tuesday at Hugh’s Room in Toronto,
with friends coming in from across the country to show their support. I was lucky to be out of the hospital, so I could be there both nights,
and got to see and meet so many friends old and new, and to play with some dear old musical friends. I did a solo spot, and played with the Stewed Tomatoes,
Michele George, Casey Sokol and Anne Lindsay on their sets.
CBC “Canada Live” taped the second evening. That will be aired sometime later this year, possibly April. I will keep you informed.
In any case, I want to send out a huge heartfelt THANK-YOU to all who participated in this event, in so many ways. The event gave me a huge boost and
infusion of love as well as money to survive. The feeling of community was overwhelming in the best of ways. Throughout my illness, so many of you have been
very present for me. And it was magical to see and feel you all gathered in one room together. It felt like a great big family gathering.
And what’s a family gathering without kids! A big part of Olifiddle for me was the presence of my BC youth group The Twisted String.
Chelsea Sleep and Emilyn Stam, the two leaders of the new generation of The Twisted String had been organizing in secret since November to try to get the
whole group (old cohorts and new cohorts) out to Toronto for the benefit. They sent out a Canada-wide fundraising letter, outlining their impossible dream
(that was going to be 35 kids coming to Toronto, a massive undertaking to be sure). But dreams are meant to be dreamed, and the girls persevered, and Canada
stepped up to the plate. In the end, 21 young folks came to the benefit concert. Canadians, and fiddle friends as far away as Australia donated Aeroplan points
and money for these young folks to fulfill their (and my) dream. Many folks in Toronto helped out, organizing and providing billets, rides to/from the airport, etc.
And the crazy thing about it was that Emilyn and Chelsea kept the wool pulled over my eyes until late January. I simply didn’t have a clue. Apparently, there had
been talk of it on the radio, on Facebook and msn, it was common knowledge to my entire circle of friends, and I did not know. Clues would come in to my
hospital room, and my own mother would act baffled and surprised. (She knew.) Wonderful!
And it was wonderful to see and hear The Twisted String in Toronto.
They played fantastically and won over the hearts of so many Torontonians. Not only did they play the benefits, and do concerts and clinics at many schools
throughout the week, but they did a typical Twisted String thing ‘Random Acts of Violins’ taking the music to the street. After a show at Princess Margaret Hospital,
they took their instruments (and wild costumes of course) into the subway and played their way down to Union Station, to the delight of TTC travelers. After buzzing
Union Station, they stormed the CBC building, where they played in the resonant atrium and did interviews.
Later in the week, I managed to have a few teaching sessions with them in my little apartment (that was a space challenge); we learned some new tunes I had
written for them recently and finished on Friday night with a fiddle party and potluck. The Twisted Stringers have all gone home now, and there is a lot to
remember and reminisce about. And sleep to be slept!
During the whole week, I was still going down to Princess Margaret Hospital for blood transfusions. On Friday, I was informed that the Bone Marrow Coordinator
wanted to talk with me. Well, the good news was that the donor from last year is still on board and they have a date for my transplant set: March 13th. I am to
go into the hospital on March 7th for preparatory chemo and radiation. I have to stay healthy until then, and so I am keeping many fingers and toes crossed.
But after Olifiddle, I have no agenda right now beyond staying healthy.
Thank you again, friends and musicians across Canada for your overwhelming generosity and kindness and yes, love over the past months, culminating in
Olifiddle 2. I feel so part of the fabric of community, and feel my presence here on this plane is so appreciated and honoured, that it gives me tons of
strength and fighting spirit to face the upcoming challenges. My Bone Marrow Transplant is far from a sure bet. I am in a very high risk group.
But at least I have come to this point, and they are giving me another chance at it after the abortive attempt last fall. I continue to enjoy life to the fullest day by day.
Blessings to you all,
Oliver
January 20, 2008
OLIFIDDLE
Benefit Concert for Oliver Schroer
February 18 & 19, 2008
Host Mon: Stuart Maclean
Host Tues: Shelagh Rogers
James Keelaghan,Ben Grossman,October Browne,Anne Lederman,Jaime RT,Ian Bell, Steafan Hannigan & Saskia Tomkins, Anne Lindsay, Stewed Tomatoes,Two Left
$35 / $40 Visit hughsroom.com
HELP BRING TWISTED STRING TO OLIFIDDLE IN FEBRUARY 2008
To whom it may concern;
We are on a seemingly impossible mission, but are passionate about our goal and confident in the generosity of individuals and businesses throughout the great country of Canada and further.
Our dear friend and mentor, Canadian musician and composer Oliver Schroer, is in his fourth round of Chemotherapy treatment for Leukemia at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto. This great man has been helping others for years, and now we would like to help him.
Oliver Schroer has been a huge inspiration to many of Canada's youth over the past several years. He has gone into small communities that normally wouldn't have the opportunity to work with professionals such as himself, and poured out endless love and energy. He has used his talents and resources as a producer, composer, and musician to educate, but more importantly, inspire youth. Because of Oliver, there are countless children, as young as 7 years old, composing pieces of music that are coherent, unique and creative. Through his encouragement, young children have formed their own folk bands, such as the "Klezmer Katz" and the "Truffles Tune Band", which are run completely by these inspired children under the age of 13.
Oliver has spent the past four years, among many other things, directing two groups of talented young fiddlers from British Columbia in a project he named “The Twisted String”. The idea was to produce a group of energetic youth to perform Oliver’s new, multi-part compositions that he would normally only be able to perform live by using electronics such as a loop and effects pedal. The group has been very successful, performing at numerous festival and venues around BC and recording a CD, receiving rave reviews wherever they go.
Since Oliver relocated to Toronto for treatment in March, two of the older members of the two groups have created yet another generation of Twisted String groups. Many of the members Oliver has yet to meet, yet the group members feel they know him through the music and look forward to meeting him someday.
Oliver thrives on giving and building relationships with people. Though these relationships often start as musical ones, Oliver takes the time to pay attention to his students' other interests. Many times he has been seen discreetly giving a child a book by a favourite author, a cd by a mutually favoured musician, or quality art supplies to a budding artist. He has even given away his own favourite high quality bow and lent out 2 of his own professional grade violins to students in need.
Oliver Schroer is not just a world class musician, but a self-less giver, who has spent years encouraging others. Now it is time for us to give to and encourage him.
We have just been notified that in February there will be a benefit concert for Oliver in Toronto. It was an immediate dream for the Twisted String members to be in Toronto to perform at the benefit in support of Oliver, and visit Oliver in the hospital, inspiring him to keep on fighting and encourage him with our joy of his music.
In total there are 20 fiddlers from the original project, and 15 from the second generation of fiddlers. Some of the older members have jobs and will be able to afford their flight, but most are in high school or just starting university and will not be able to make the trip without major financial assistance. Due to the lack of time, it will be impossible to achieve this goal without outside help. There is next to no time for us to put together fundraiser concerts and earn the money ourselves, though we will attempt to do this also.
Oliver has told us how much the Twisted String project means to him. What higher honour could we show him, than to bring his groups of fiddlers to him, playing and enjoying his music? What more encouragement to keep fighting and survive the battle of cancer than the inspiration of younger generations following in his footsteps? We know that for him to meet the generation of Twisted String and be re-united with the old one will be priceless to him, and inspire him to keep going in the fight for his life.
If you can in any way provide assistance to our cause, in the form of ideas and fundraising suggestions, financial support or flight donations, we, along with Oliver Schroer, would be eternally grateful.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Chelsea Sleep and Emilyn Stam
On behalf of The Twisted String
Emilyn Stam
105 Twinflower Way
Salt Spring Island BC
V8K 1R4
emilyn.stam@hotmail.com
1-250-538-7267
Chelsea Sleep
RR 10 215 Grandview Heights
Gibsons BC
V0N 1V3
chelsea_sleep@yahoo.ca
1-604-886-3891
OLIVER’S LEUKEMIA PROGRESS REPORT, DECEMBER 2007
(Click here for Orange Ribbon Project information)
I am currently in Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto on my third round of chemo, trying to kill off a nasty and persistent leukemia before I undergo a Bone Marrow Transplant. I was scheduled to go in for a transplant on November 2nd, but I was called in to my oncologist’s office on the evening of the 1st, and he came in with a long face and confirmed that my leukemia was back, and I had slipped out of remission. This is not good. It means that the leukemia is persistent and nasty, and has probably become drug resistant. So they hit me hard with a 3rd round of chemo, to try to eradicate the disease. They cannot do a Bone Marrow Transplant if there is any leukemia in the system. It won’t work. And seeing as I get one bullet, as it were, I want to make sure that the bullet has the best chance of working. Hence the 3rd round of chemo. I can only hope that my donor will still be on board when I am ready for that transplant. Theoretically, I have a matched but non-related donor. But they could change their mind or be otherwise indisposed when I am finally ready for them.
I will probably be in the hospital for Xmas. I tend to be aplastic in response to chemo. This means that my bone marrow shuts down and doesn’t produce anything – none of the good stuff I need, like hemoglobin (good for oxygen absorption) and platelets (good for clotting) and white blood cells (fighting disease). So when they let me out of the hospital, I have no immune system, and I am effectively a hemophiliac. I have to take many antibiotics and I have to avoid crowds (germs) so that my lack of an immune system is not tested. I am dodging bullets these days. Any common little germ could lay me low. When I was out of the hospital before my 3rd round of chemo, I came down with a fever very suddenly. It turned out to be an e coli infection, and I was in Toronto General for a week, fighting this thing off and feeling like I was running on one cylinder.
This chemo has not been quite as brutal in terms of side effects to my stomach. Last time around I had a lot of problems and could not eat, threw up tons, etc. This time, the stomach is much calmer, but I have terrible mouth sores, which is quite a tribulation. But if that is what it takes to overcome this cancer, I will happily undergo it. My lips are 3 times their normal size and I look quite the sight.
Orange Ribbon Project
Chelsea Sleep, on the sunshine coast, has been relentlessly campaigning and motivating on my behalf. Her latest idea is Orange Ribbon Project. Go Chelsea, and thanks to everybody who has signed on.
The "Orange Ribbon Project" is to help raise Oliver Schroer and leukemia awareness. Oliver is a Canadian fiddler/composer who is fighting leukemia. He is also mentor to many (including me) and one of my dearest friends who has given a lot of support to myself and many other fiddlers through the years. Now I'm trying to give a little of that back to him at a time when he really needs it.
I've been adding a bright orange ribbon (Oli’s favourite colour) to the scrolls of all my students and fellow fiddler's violin’s who know at least one Oli tune (this does not exclude other instruments either.) Those who didn't already know an Oli tune were taught one and then given a ribbon. For those of you who don't know an Oli tune, I've attached an easy one here called A Song for all Seasons (The Prayerful Hymn). I'm using this one because it is simple enough even for beginners (take out the drone notes and doesn't look so scary!). This tune is on Oliver's soon to be released "Hymns and Hers" album and a snippit of the completed recording can be heard at www.oliverschroer.com/music.htm
I'm hoping this campaign will help spread Oli tunes REALLY fast, and also get people knowing about Oli who don't already. If you're not a fiddler, you can still help by spreading the word by forwarding this message on to all your friends, especially musicians.
Thank you for your support :)
Chelsea Sleep
OLIFIDDLE 2008
There is serious talk floating around of having another Olifiddle benefit concert at Hugh’s Room in mid-February 2008. It would be one evening, and the theme would be music by Oliver. So performers would be doing takes on Oli-tunes. With any luck, if the Bone Marrow Transplant goes ahead on a decent schedule, I could be there for that event. I would love to be. It will be way too much fun.
DONATING MARROW
Marrow Donors are still needed, folks. If you are healthy and under the age of 50, the Canadian Registry is looking for you to sign up for this programme.
How does it work?
Well, that branch of medicine has come a long way, and today’s donation is a far cry from the old way. They used to take a big honking horse needle, put you under general anesthetic, and draw a litre of marrow out of your hip bone. Ouch!
That was then. Now, they work with stem cells, those magical little things that can become anything in the body. Stem cells are in your normal blood, and can thus be harvested by normal blood-taking procedures. They give the donor a drug to help boost stem cell production, and then they draw their blood, centrifuge the stem cells, and reintroduce the blood to the donor. The donor is fully conscious for this procedure, and leaves minus 250cc of fluid, a far cry from the old litre of marrow. So the pain and difficulty is gone – but the need persists, so be generous and sign up. Chances are you will never be called. But Canada lags far behind some other countries like Germany in their Bone Marrow Registry. Someone down the line will deeply appreciate your generosity.
www.blood.ca
