Collage Trad
Take some of the hottest, award-winning, contemporary fiddlers from Western Canada, mixed with complex arrangements and a thrilling rhythmic underlay and you’ve got… Collage Trad. A musical melting pot of local fiddle traditions with a dash of swing, a pinch of jazz, a sprinkle of rock and pure folk. Their music and spirit is uplifting and energizing. Collage Trad has developed an explosive, exceptionally tight, cohesive sound.
This energetic and gripping musical experience is the result of a creative collaboration between six exceptional musicians with strong traditional music roots. Collage Trad is led by fiddler, Gabriel Dubreuil. Gabriel is joined by fiddlers Mark Sullivan and Serena Eades and by Andy Hillhouse (guitar), Allan Dionne (drums/accordion) and Wynston Minckler (bass).
This energetic and gripping musical experience is the result of a creative collaboration between six exceptional musicians with strong traditional music roots. Collage Trad is led by fiddler, Gabriel Dubreuil. Gabriel is joined by fiddlers Mark Sullivan and Serena Eades and by Andy Hillhouse (guitar), Allan Dionne (drums/accordion) and Wynston Minckler (bass).
Allan Dionne has been an active part of the Vancouver music scene for many years. Since obtaining a Bachelor of Music degree in percussion from UBC, Allan has performed with such notables as Ashley MacIsaac, Jocelyn Pettit, Alpha Yaya Diallo, Stephanie Cadman, Shona Le Mottee, Tim Readman and, of course, the Celtic-Funk band Mad Pudding, with whom he has performed at festivals worldwide. An accordionist and composer as well as a drummer, Allan is currently a full-time member of the Francophone trio Pastiche (accordion/percussion) and is currently active in the Vancouver Brazilian music scene (accordion/percussion), specializing in Forró and Choro. He also plays drum set in both the eclectic rockabilly- Mexican band Rocabrones and the progressive rock band The Undoing. In addition to recordings done with Mad Pudding, Shona Le Mottee, Tim Readman and Jocelyn Pettit, Allan has recorded with many other artists, playing drum set, accordion, bodhrán, and marimba.
Since the early 1990s. Andy Hillhouse has had a varied career in music. He has been a touring bandleader in the Anglo-Celtic music world, a choral director, a music and culture scholar, and now a festival organizer. As a musician he toured North America and Europe through the 1990s as founder and manager of the folk rock/funk band Mad Pudding. As a specialist in guitar accompaniment for trad music, he has toured from Brittany to Mexico with several of the Celtic music scene’s most respected and exciting acoustic musicians, including champion Canadian fiddlers Pierre Schryer and Mark Sullivan, Irish flute player Nuala Kennedy, and Juno and Canadian Folk Music Award winners The McDades. His first solo CD, “Passages,” was released in 2017 and has an underlying theme of travel and transformation, alternating between traditional music, original songwriting, and song interpretations. He is currently the Artistic and Executive Director of the Harrison Festival of the Arts in Harrison Hot Springs, BC.
Gabriel Dubreuil is a multi-instrumentalist, fiddler, composer, and producer hailing from British Columbia, Canada. With a degree in Jazz Performance and American Roots Music from Berklee College of Music, Gabriel blends various musical styles, including Celtic, Canadian fiddle, and jazz, into his music. He has recorded on several albums with acclaimed musicians and producers and performed across North America with some of the world's finest folk musicians. Gabriel is a founding member of Celtic-rock band Early Spirit, which released their second album, "The Hollow Tree," in 2022. He is also the Executive Artistic Director for Vancouver's North Shore Celtic Ensemble, a youth performing arts group. Additionally, Gabriel leads the energetic and gripping Collage Trad, a musical melting pot of local fiddle traditions with a dash of swing, jazz, rock, and pure folk. With his exceptional talents and tight cohesive sound, Gabriel Dubreuil continues to captivate audiences and push the boundaries of traditional and contemporary music.
Among his many awards, Mark Sullivan is a 3-time Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Champion and is widely regarded as one of the finest fiddlers in North America today. He is in demand as a spirited performer and continues to collaborate with many of the finest names in traditional music today. Mark holds his Masters in the Science of Education and is a regular instructor at Music Camps throughout the country. His recent recording, The Gathering Room, is a compilation of original music which showcases his unique Canadian Fiddle style. He is currently the co-host of SwingReel Radio, an online podcast which features interviews and music with notable Canadian fiddlers. Canadian fiddle icon Calvin Vollrath says “He is a true master at his craft.” Mark grew up playing for square dances and learning his craft from dance fiddlers. His appreciation for the old time style is evident on his recording, Wednesday Night Clubs, which pays tribute to the local fiddle clubs that continue to play such an important role in sustaining the Canadian Fiddle Tradition. Originally from Bowmanville Ontario, Mark now calls BC Canada his home.
Serena Eades is a violinist and composer based in Vancouver, Canada. Best known as a member of Delhi 2 Dublin, she is also active as a session musician, performer, composer, and educator. And is the director of the Serena Eades Academy of Music. Serena’s early love for music grew through studying classical violin at a young age, later earning a Bachelor of Music degree collectively from Brandon University and Capilano College in Canada and La Universidad de Colima in Mexico in 2005. Her success and unique style brought her to Boston’s Berklee College of Music where she earned a Diploma in Professional Music in 2014. Serena has an insatiable desire to explore music from around the world. Her unique style reflects a lifetime of studying western classical music and various folk idioms – primarily Celtic and Brazilian. Serena is co-founder of Vancouver’s first and only Forro band Forro do Cana. Serena has performed with Dream Theatre, Alejandro Sanz, Tanya Tagaq, Patti Austin, Siedah Garrett (co-writer of Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror"), Tony Trischka, Alison Brown, Matt Glaser, Darol Anger, Gooral, CR Avery, Beat Circus, Mark Berube, Locarno, The Paperboys, Itamar Erez, and many others. With Delhi 2 Dublin she has toured throughout North America, Malaysia, India, and the UK, playing stages from Burning Man and Glastonbury to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, San Francisco's famed Fillmore, to Vancouver's iconic Commodore Ballroom. As an educator for over twenty five years Serena has worked with many aspiring and inspiring violinists and fiddlers of all ages.
Wynston Minckler has quickly emerged as one of the foremost bassists in the Vancouver and Canadian music scene. His devotion to music began when he was teenager after being exposed to the sounds of 50s and 60s jazz, the writings of George Orwell, Phillip K. Dick, and Jack Kerouac, and Eastern Philosopy. He is a musical chameleon, performing in a diverse and eclectic blend of projects ranging from Jazz, songwriter, rock, rnb, open improv, and world music. He has performed across Canada at festivals including the TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival, The North Country Fair, The Kispiox Music Festival, Artswells, and Buscadero Days in Pusiano, Italy. Wynston has had the opportunity to study with musicans such as Jodi Proznick, Andre Lechance, Darren Radtke, Laurence Mollerup, and David Brown and is very thankful to have spent time studying music at Capilano University. He has also had the honour of sharing the stage with Brad Turner, Chad Makela, Malcolm Aiken, Ernie Watts, Phil Dwyer, Joel Miller, Don Thompson, Tyson Naylor, Bernie Arai, Evan Arntzen, and Markus Mosley.
Since the early 1990s. Andy Hillhouse has had a varied career in music. He has been a touring bandleader in the Anglo-Celtic music world, a choral director, a music and culture scholar, and now a festival organizer. As a musician he toured North America and Europe through the 1990s as founder and manager of the folk rock/funk band Mad Pudding. As a specialist in guitar accompaniment for trad music, he has toured from Brittany to Mexico with several of the Celtic music scene’s most respected and exciting acoustic musicians, including champion Canadian fiddlers Pierre Schryer and Mark Sullivan, Irish flute player Nuala Kennedy, and Juno and Canadian Folk Music Award winners The McDades. His first solo CD, “Passages,” was released in 2017 and has an underlying theme of travel and transformation, alternating between traditional music, original songwriting, and song interpretations. He is currently the Artistic and Executive Director of the Harrison Festival of the Arts in Harrison Hot Springs, BC.
Gabriel Dubreuil is a multi-instrumentalist, fiddler, composer, and producer hailing from British Columbia, Canada. With a degree in Jazz Performance and American Roots Music from Berklee College of Music, Gabriel blends various musical styles, including Celtic, Canadian fiddle, and jazz, into his music. He has recorded on several albums with acclaimed musicians and producers and performed across North America with some of the world's finest folk musicians. Gabriel is a founding member of Celtic-rock band Early Spirit, which released their second album, "The Hollow Tree," in 2022. He is also the Executive Artistic Director for Vancouver's North Shore Celtic Ensemble, a youth performing arts group. Additionally, Gabriel leads the energetic and gripping Collage Trad, a musical melting pot of local fiddle traditions with a dash of swing, jazz, rock, and pure folk. With his exceptional talents and tight cohesive sound, Gabriel Dubreuil continues to captivate audiences and push the boundaries of traditional and contemporary music.
Among his many awards, Mark Sullivan is a 3-time Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Champion and is widely regarded as one of the finest fiddlers in North America today. He is in demand as a spirited performer and continues to collaborate with many of the finest names in traditional music today. Mark holds his Masters in the Science of Education and is a regular instructor at Music Camps throughout the country. His recent recording, The Gathering Room, is a compilation of original music which showcases his unique Canadian Fiddle style. He is currently the co-host of SwingReel Radio, an online podcast which features interviews and music with notable Canadian fiddlers. Canadian fiddle icon Calvin Vollrath says “He is a true master at his craft.” Mark grew up playing for square dances and learning his craft from dance fiddlers. His appreciation for the old time style is evident on his recording, Wednesday Night Clubs, which pays tribute to the local fiddle clubs that continue to play such an important role in sustaining the Canadian Fiddle Tradition. Originally from Bowmanville Ontario, Mark now calls BC Canada his home.
Serena Eades is a violinist and composer based in Vancouver, Canada. Best known as a member of Delhi 2 Dublin, she is also active as a session musician, performer, composer, and educator. And is the director of the Serena Eades Academy of Music. Serena’s early love for music grew through studying classical violin at a young age, later earning a Bachelor of Music degree collectively from Brandon University and Capilano College in Canada and La Universidad de Colima in Mexico in 2005. Her success and unique style brought her to Boston’s Berklee College of Music where she earned a Diploma in Professional Music in 2014. Serena has an insatiable desire to explore music from around the world. Her unique style reflects a lifetime of studying western classical music and various folk idioms – primarily Celtic and Brazilian. Serena is co-founder of Vancouver’s first and only Forro band Forro do Cana. Serena has performed with Dream Theatre, Alejandro Sanz, Tanya Tagaq, Patti Austin, Siedah Garrett (co-writer of Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror"), Tony Trischka, Alison Brown, Matt Glaser, Darol Anger, Gooral, CR Avery, Beat Circus, Mark Berube, Locarno, The Paperboys, Itamar Erez, and many others. With Delhi 2 Dublin she has toured throughout North America, Malaysia, India, and the UK, playing stages from Burning Man and Glastonbury to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, San Francisco's famed Fillmore, to Vancouver's iconic Commodore Ballroom. As an educator for over twenty five years Serena has worked with many aspiring and inspiring violinists and fiddlers of all ages.
Wynston Minckler has quickly emerged as one of the foremost bassists in the Vancouver and Canadian music scene. His devotion to music began when he was teenager after being exposed to the sounds of 50s and 60s jazz, the writings of George Orwell, Phillip K. Dick, and Jack Kerouac, and Eastern Philosopy. He is a musical chameleon, performing in a diverse and eclectic blend of projects ranging from Jazz, songwriter, rock, rnb, open improv, and world music. He has performed across Canada at festivals including the TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival, The North Country Fair, The Kispiox Music Festival, Artswells, and Buscadero Days in Pusiano, Italy. Wynston has had the opportunity to study with musicans such as Jodi Proznick, Andre Lechance, Darren Radtke, Laurence Mollerup, and David Brown and is very thankful to have spent time studying music at Capilano University. He has also had the honour of sharing the stage with Brad Turner, Chad Makela, Malcolm Aiken, Ernie Watts, Phil Dwyer, Joel Miller, Don Thompson, Tyson Naylor, Bernie Arai, Evan Arntzen, and Markus Mosley.
Collage Trad brought nothing but the best when we hired them for our event. With a simmering energy and musicianship of the highest level, this group doesn't disappoint! They will be essential to carrying the beauty of traditional Celtic music into the modern day and engaging younger audiences in this genre. -Outside/Inside Fest
Gabriel Dubeuil is an amazing fiddler with a flair for getting you up to dance, or holding you captive in a soft comfy theatre seat. - Sue Judge, Coldsnap Fest
Choisir le groupe Collage Trad a été pour nous une évidence pour clôturer notre festival d'hiver Francofun 2023. Ces prodiges de la musique nous ont fait vibrer lors de notre traditionnelle cabane à sucre. Une musique Rock-Folk et Celtique, de quoi satisfaire les érudits de musique traditionnelle et populaire. Ils ont su allier le traditionnel et le contemporain, le groupe Collage Trad à une énergie débordante et enveloppante. Avoir des musiciens francophones de ce calibre, en milieu anglophone, est une réelle opportunité pour transmettre notre culture et faire rayonner la francophonie à travers le Canada. -Sarah Maurice, Le Cercle des Canadiens Français de Prince George
What a great band. -Steve Edge, Rogue Folk Club
Well now if that doesn't leave one wanting more! Great band with unlimited talents, some of the best of the best from out west! -J. Hegan, photographer
Files
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