Scott Woods (fiddler)

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Scott Woods is a Canadian Grand Masters fiddling champion and band leader based in Ontario. [1] [2] He is known for his travelling variety fiddling show.

Contents

Early life and education

Woods was born in Fergus, Ontario and grew up in Fergus and Courtice. [3] He began learning to play violin at the age of four, [4] and when he was growing up played in his family's band, along with his parents and three siblings. He began competing in fiddle contests when he was eight, and by 1984 he was an Ontario fiddle champion. [5] [6]

Career

In the late 1980s, Woods took over the family band. He continued to compete in fiddle contests and won the Maritime Fiddle Festival Champion Class in 1996, [7] and the Canadian Open Old Time Fiddle Championship in 1993 and 1996. [8] Scott Woods also won the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Competition in 1998 and 1999, as well as finished in the top eleven finalists between 1992-2005, including twelve top three finishes over that period. [9]

In 1998 Woods was hired to play the part of Don Messer in a series of tribute shows, "Memories of Don Messer Jubilee", after the series' co-founder and fiddler Graham Townsend died. [10] He became music director, and continued to perform in this series for seven years. [4] [11]

By 2004, the family band had become the Scott Woods Band. In 2006, Woods and his band released an album of traditional fiddle music, Reflecting the Past, [12] and another album Dancing Fiddles. [13]

Woods organized a traveling show, in which he often performed with his sister, Kendra Woods-Norris. [14] [15] For many years the show has toured throughout Canada, staging more than 100 concerts each year. The show includes guest musicians, and sometimes members of Woods' family, performing traditional and modern fiddling from a variety of genres. [16] [17] [18] [19] During the shows Woods demonstrates "trick fiddling", including his well-known summersaulting and barrel rolling. [20] [21] [22] [23] Step dancers and other performers add to the variety. [24] Each year's show is different. [25]

In 2014, Woods once again MC'd a Don-Messer-themed tour across Canada. [26]

As well as his regular tours, Scott organizes and performs in a series of Christmas fundraisers each fall for various charities and service organizations. [21] [27] [28] As of 2017, about $2 million had been raised by the concerts. [29]

In 2017, Woods was Master of Ceremonies at the 67th Canadian Old Time Fiddle Championships in Shelburne. [30]

In 2018, The Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Association also presented Scott Woods with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions in composing, recording, teaching and recording of Canadian fiddle music as well as for his performances throughout Canada, the United States and Europe. [31] [32]

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References

  1. ↑ Ougler, Jeffrey (April 24, 2015). "Champion Canadian fiddler Scott Woods admits adding new themes to shows featuring age-old melodies can be challenge". Sault Star. Archived from the original on July 28, 2015. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  2. ↑ "Scott Woods". Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Association website. Accessed June 2018.
  3. ↑ "Scott Woods and Band 'Fiddle Up a Storm' Wednesday". Discover Humboldt, 17 May 2018. by Katie Kraus
  4. 1 2 Barnard, Elissa (September 22, 2011). "Fiddler channels more than Messer". Chronicle Herald. Archived from the original on June 20, 2018. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  5. ↑ "Mackenzie-Smith talent terrific at annual show". Acton Free Press, Feb 29, 1964, page 5
  6. ↑ "Old-time fiddling competition a success". Brandon Sun, August 11, 1981
  7. ↑ "Maritime Fiddle Festival, Champion Class Past Winners" . Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  8. ↑ "Past Winners" Shelburne Fiddle Contest website.
  9. ↑ "Canadian Grand Masters Top Three Finalists 1990-Present" cgmfa-acgmv.ca
  10. ↑ "Fiddle-duddle". The Globe and Mail, Paul Waldie, Dec 18, 2004
  11. ↑ "Scott Woods Fiddling Champion Performs June 24, 2008 Southampton United Church". Saugeen Times,
  12. ↑ "Scott Woods-CD-Reflecting The Past-In Review". Atlantic Seabreeze, By John Gavin, Friday, April 07, 2006
  13. ↑ "Scott Woods-CD-Dancing Fiddles-In Review". Atlantic Seabreze, By John Gavin, Tuesday, December 19, 2006
  14. ↑ Ougler, Jeffrey (June 15, 2017). "Scott Woods may still play lead, but sister Kendra Woods-Norris is happy in her natural habitat providing harmonies; play Sault Monday". Sault Star. Archived from the original on June 15, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  15. ↑ Jackson, Whitney (April 21, 2017). "Continuing a tradition, creating a legacy". International Falls Journal. Archived from the original on June 30, 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  16. ↑ "Scott Woods returns to Melfort to Fiddle Up A Storm. Melford Journal, May 22, 2018
  17. ↑ "Scott Woods' Old Time Christmas". Mitchell Advocate, December 11, 2017
  18. ↑ "Woods and his band fiddle around in Humboldt". Becky Zimmer, Humboldt Journal, May 18, 2016
  19. ↑ "Scott Woods' Old Time Jubilee in Tillsonburg Sunday". By Chris Abbott, Tillsonburg News, April 6, 2014
  20. ↑ Kirchmeir, Wolf (December 15, 2010). "Fiddler Scott Woods plays to sell-out crowd". Elliot Lake Standard. Archived from the original on June 20, 2018. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  21. 1 2 "Masterful fiddling". Fort Francis Times, Dec 6, 2017. Duane Hicks
  22. ↑ "Scott Woods returns with Twin Fiddle Express". Melfort Journal. May 22, 2017. Archived from the original on May 23, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  23. ↑ The Island Fiddler, September 2017, page 10
  24. ↑ "In the key of . . eh?". Dauphin Herald, May 19, 2015
  25. ↑ Neuhaus, Danielle (September 4, 2017). "German-Canadian impressions: Interview with musician Scott Woods". DKG. Archived from the original on June 20, 2018. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  26. ↑ "Two hours of musical thrills". Castlegar News, Jim Sinclair, Jun. 17, 2014
  27. ↑ "National fiddle champion raises funds across Saskatchewan". Northeast Now, By Clark Stork. November 19, 2017
  28. ↑ "Christmas Traditions with Scott Woods". Snapd Ajax, December 2017
  29. ↑ "A Nice Surprise for Residents at Wellington Terrace". Grand 101FM Radio. March 31, 2017. Archived from the original on June 22, 2018. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  30. ↑ "The Shelburne Heritage Music Festival & The 67th Canadian Open Old Time Fiddle Championship of 2017!". The Shelburne Freelancer
  31. ↑ "Canadian Grand Masters Lifetime Achievement Award Winners" cgmfa-acgmv.ca
  32. ↑ "Canadian Grand Masters 29th Annual Contest Program" (PDF). cgmfa-acgmv.ca. September 25, 2018. p. 36-37. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 9, 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
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