Fiddleworks Board of Directors, Staff, Friends and Advisory Council
Fiddleworks: THE TEAM (please scroll down for bios)
Board of Directors:
John Munro, Chairman, Salt Spring Island BC
Bob Bromley, Yellowknife NT
Allice Legat, Yellowknife NT
Carol Brown, Salt Spring Island BC
Calvin Cairns, Victoria BC
Administrative Staff:
Christie Gray - executive director, Salt Spring Island, BC
Zav (Jaime) RT - founder, artistic director, Salt Spring Island, BC
Important Staff not found in our Office:
Laura Clement - official Fiddleworks luthier, Victoria BC
Rebecca Niedziela - graphic designer
Fiddleworks Core Teaching Staff (Northern Teaching Program):
Zav RT, Salt Spring Island BC
Calvin Cairns, Victoria, BC
Trish Clair-Peck, Nanaimo BC
Christie Gray (web program development), Salt Spring Island, BC
Advisory Council & Special Friends of Fiddleworks:
Kim Tipper, Victoria BC
Drew Rokeby-Thomas, Salt Spring Island BC
Barb Cameron, Yellowknife NT
Brenda Dragon, Yellowknife NT
Larsen Music, Victoria BC
Raffi, musician, Salt Spring Island BC
Valdy, musician, Salt Spring Island BC
Kole Crook Fiddle Association, NT
Strings Across the Sky, ON
Huron Suzuki Strings, ON
BIOS:
Christie Gray Bio ~
Christie Gray has a Graduate Diploma in Administration from Concordia University in not-for-profit arts administration. She worked at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto Ontario for many years. In 2009 she came to the clear realization that she wanted to use her talents in a leadership role with a grass roots organization focussed on music as a means for community development and social change. Fiddleworks is incredibly lucky to have her.
As a violin and fiddle teacher, Christie Gray, has been teaching children and adults for over
15 years. Christie uses a unique method of teaching that combines the traditional
classical approaches of the Royal Conservatory of Music and the Suzuki Method with
fiddling methods from around the world. Students are able to develop solid technical
skills and learn basics in theory and history in a creative, engaging, and inspirational
environment.
As a violinist, Christie holds a Bachelor of Music in violin performance from the University of
Victoria. She has been an active teacher and performer in BC, Quebec, Ontario, and
throughout the United States for over 15 years. Christie's principal teachers include Carolyn Hatch, founding teacher of Fiddler's Hatchery; William van der Sloot, Mount Royal College; Sharon Stanis, LaFayette String Quartet.
Zav RT Bio ~
Zav RT is an innovative fiddler, violist, pianist, composer, educator and storyteller.
As founder and artistic director of Fiddleworks Community Development Society, Zav is dedicated to sharing the joy of music, developing life and leadership skills, and building community through innovative music education programs. She hosts one of Canada’s most successful summer music camps on Salt Spring Island BC, and loves traveling North where she teaches the joy of fiddling to youth in Canada’s remote Northern villages.
A dynamic performer, Zav tours internationally playing her unique five-string viola and piano. She tours with Canadian folk legend James Keelaghan and has shared the stage with Liz Carrol, Martin Hayes, Alasdair Fraser, Oliver Schroer, Daniel Lapp, Pierre Schryer, Colin Adjun, Catriona MacDonald, Jerry Holland, and Yves Lambert.
As a composer, her original writing is winning international composing accolades, and is often featured on CBC radio and stations around the globe. RT's first two original solo albums “Reach” and “Spark” received nominations for Canadian Folk Music Awards and Western Canadian Music Awards.
RT holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano and Composition from the University of Victoria, and currently lives with her inventor husband and two cats in their straw bale home on Salt Spring Island, BC. For more information about Zav check out www.zavrt.com