ABOUT
Aurora Fiddle Society registered under the NWT Societies Act in January 2008; prior to that we were operating under the auspices of "Strings Across the Sky" that was founded by Andrea Hansen of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 1987 in Inuvik. Ms. Hansen had identified an interest and aptitude for fiddling in the North and worked tirelessly to provide youth with the opportunity to learn to play the fiddle. Throughout the communities, many people volunteered countless hours through workshops and performances to revive the history of fiddling. In Yellowknife there was a chapter of "Strings Across the Sky" until it was determined that Yellowknife could operate independently as its own fiddling organization.
Aurora Fiddle Society promotes fiddling in Yellowknife and and throughout the North Slave region. We offer week-end workshops 3 - 5 times/year, with professional musicians from the North and across Canada providing the instruction. These workshops provide fiddling development opportunities for people of all ages and skills. Instruction is provided for beginners (never touched a fiddle before) to advanced levels. Many of our members also attend fiddling workshops in other areas of Canada - from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia to British Columbia, and points in-between.
Bi-weekly fiddle jam sessions are held at the Anglican Church basement from September to June on Friday evenings. These jam sessions provide a unique opportunity for fiddlers of all ages and skill levels to come together and learn from each other. We spend the first hour playing beginner tunes; then the advanced fiddlers take over. These sessions are open to the public. While we do not charge a fee we do accept donations toward the rental fee. These sessions are tremendously popular and we appreciate Bob Bromley initiating this idea in Yellowknife. Our northern "kitchen parties" are great fun.
We get many requests from the community of Yellowknife to have our fiddlers perform for them - Canada Day, Aboriginal Day, International Music Day, "Let Your Spirit Fly" concert at NACC and we have played at functions hosted by the YK Rotary Club, Aven Manor, YK Seniors Club, Ecology North, Anglican Church 70th Anniversary, and Yellowknife's 75th Anniversary concert. We have a special relationship with the Aven's Senior Centre and perform monthly, on their "pub night". Playing for the seniors is particularly satisfying for our group.
The Society works cooperatively with other organizations to the benefit of fiddling, in particular the Kole Crook Fiddle Association, which operates mainly in the communities. We aim to hold our Yellowknife workshops to coordinate with their community workshops so that we may share instructors and other resources. Several Aurora Fiddle Society members attended the July 2009 one-week fiddle camp in Hay River, organized by the Kole Crook Fiddle Association.