The
Twisted String
“The
Twisted String are hard-core fiddlers ready to bite into
anything Oli brings them. Together, he and the String
are going where no fiddlers have ever gone before…”
(Vancouver Folk Music Festival programme, 2004)
THE TWISTED STRING, FIRST GENERATION
The Twisted String is a unique teaching and performance concept developed for young musicians by fiddler/composer Oliver Schroer. It is a series of fiddle squads, each consisting of 8-12 hot young fiddle players; the instrumentation is mostly fiddle but can include other instruments as well. It was called The Twisted String because it is string music and it is slightly twisted. There was also the sense of twisting a bunch of threads together to make a stronger chord. Oliver launched this programme in 2003 with two squads, one in Robert’s Creek on BC’s sunshine coast, and one in Smithers, in Northwestern BC.
The repertoire was composed by Oliver Schroer specifically for the groups. It was rooted in Celtic music, but stretched way out from there… shades of Bulgarian dances, Norwegian polskas, interlocking pattern music, and low down funk. Sleazy disco grooves supported soaring melodies. African and Mongolian sonic forays – why not! And throughout it all, a sense of fun was paramount.
“I realized that the best incentive for getting the kids to really play this music and put their hearts and bows into it, was to write music that was the most fun to play. It was a revelation! I also realized I could use many of the experimental violin techniques I had evolved over the years to good musical effect. I want to stretch out the boundaries of what a group of kids on fiddles can do. So I composed stuff that showcases funky ensemble playing and alternative techniques, while never losing sight of a good strong melody.”
There was also strong visual component to The Twisted String… outrageous colourful costumes… a splash of headbands, scarves, Hawaiian shirts, crazy fun-fur leopard skin pants… a hundred clashing colours, glowsticks taped to the bows and strobe headlamps ready for nighttime playing. A specialty of the Twisted String was Random Acts of Violins. The groups would head for the streets in their costumes and create spontaneous parades in the most unlikely places. It was creative anarchy of the best kind.
The summer of 2004, The Twisted String (both squads together) was hired to play at the Vancouver Folk Festival. They opened the festival on mainstage, and pretty much played their faces off all weekend, cutting a blazing swath of tropical colour wherever they went, on stages or doing their guerilla Random Acts of Violins. The summer of 2005, The Twisted String played the Island Folk Fest in Comox, and the Harrison Festival of the Performing Arts. Apart from these official tours, the squads did many gigs independently in their communities, ranging from concerts to creating music for a silent film showing at a DOXA event in Vancouver.
THE TWISTED STRING, NEXT GENERATION
The first generation of The Twisted String grew up. Most of the kids have graduated from high school, and have moved on to college. Many are doing music.
But now, The Twisted String twangs again. Two of the alumni have restarted the next generation of this exciting group. Emilyn Stam, who led the Smithers squad for a number of years, now teaches with Jaime RT’s Fiddleworks studio on Saltspring Island. Chelsea Sleep, the senior member of the Sunshine Coast squad, has her own busy teaching studio in Gibsons. Together, they decided to reactivate The Twisted String, drawing from their most advanced students to form two new squads. They are working up some of the favourite original Twisted String repertoire, and have already instigated several Random Acts of Violins in Gibsons, Saltspring and Victoria, much to the surprise and delight of local residents. It’s all there; the music, the costumes, the anarchy, the fun. And the two squad leaders, Chelsea and Emilyn, bring a wealth of knowledge to create a unique musical learning and performing experience to a new generation of Twisted Stringers.
stay
tuned for www.thetwistedstring.com
