House Fiddler
Courtney Drew Courtney began classical violin lessons at age seven, and started fiddling shortly afterwards. It wasn’t until she was 18 that she was introduced to Ontario’s fiddle and stepdance competitions, where she has since achieved many awards for her playing. Courtney has toured and recorded with the Scott Woods Band, and performs regularly at many festivals and events across Quebec and Ontario. She has recently formed a new trio, “Triptik”, with Marie-Jeanne Brousseau and Alanna Jenish. In addition to performing, Courtney fills her spare time with teaching and is in high demand as a fiddler for dances. Courtney recently graduated from the University of Sherbrooke with a master’s degree in Mathematics, and is currently working as a mathematical statistician.
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House Pianist
Mika McCairley-Greenwell Mika McCairley-Greenwell is a champion Ottawa Valley stepdancer, fiddler, and accomplished piano player. She has played alongside musicians such as Natalie Macmaster, Shane Cook and Leahy, and is a member of the 2 time Canadian Open Champion stepdance group "UnReel". Together her sister duo "The McCairley Sisters" have toured and competed across Canada. Mika is currently finishing her degree in Music Therapy at Wilfrid Laurier University, and hopes to continue research in music and health sciences.
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Master of Ceremonies
Paul Lemelin Canadian Grand Master Fiddle Champion Paul Lemelin hails from Sudbury Ontario Canada, has been playing the fiddle since the age of 4 and has been competing at various contests since the age of 8.
At home Paul works as a Mechanical Design Technologist for Vale Exploration. He enjoys teaching the fiddle, guitar, mandolin and Piano as well as being a father of 3 boys and a one daughter. Paul has won numerous competitions including first place in the Open category in Sturgeon Falls, Chelmsford, Richmond, and three wins in Pembroke. Paul was first invited to compete at the Canadian Grand Masters, an invitational only fiddle contest, in 2006 and has since received the honour of being invited to compete every year since 2010. The highlight of Paul's career came in 2014 when he won the CGM earning him the Title of Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Champion, followed by a back to back/weekend to weekend win in Pembroke Ontario, a feat only achieved 3 times prior in the history of both contests! More recently, Paul has repeated a second win of the Canadian Grand Masters in 2021. |