FREE Admission (ticket required)
Folk in Fredonia Music Series 

Winners, Great American Duet Sing-Off

General Admission $15
($13 Opera House Members)
Folk in Fredonia Music Series

For Anne and Pete Sibley, it is the simplicity of the music:  the words, the vocals, the harmonies.  The storytelling and intimate nature of their original songs has drawn fans and encouraged the husband and wife duo to keep delivering.  They aren't afraid of making music that is personal, pairing it down, staying true to their instincts.  The audiences and the communities and the correspondence from their fans in the past five short years has made it very rewarding for the couple and reinforced their commitment to their music.

Raised in New England singing in choirs, studying all types of music - except folk and bluegrass - Anne and Pete stumbled upon their true calling when they moved west to Jackson Hole, Wyoming - the land of the Tetons.  They consider folk and bluegrass the people's music, nature's music; and they sing it freely and graciously.  In April 2009, the Sibleys took top honors in the "Great American Duet Sing-Off" on NPR's A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keilor.

Anne and Pete have recorded four well-received CDs, including one for Christmas.  They celebrated their newest release, Coming Home, in April 2009, just as they were winning the Sing-Off. 

"What emerges front and center are the couple's transcendent harmonies, vocal renditions that embellish already artful songwriting." - Bluegrass Now magazine

"Their harmonies are warm, tight and soulful; and their performances simple, poignant and unforgettable." - Nashville Public Radio

Featuring Ashley MacLeod
with Clann Na Cara Irish Dance

General Admission $15
($13 Opera House Members)
Folk in Fredonia Music Series

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day a wee bit early with this special performance of Celtic music and dance!

Ashley MacLeod is from Dalkeith, Ontario, in the county of Glengarry, a hotbed of Scottish culture in Canada.  At the age of 10, she literally picked up a fiddle and began playing.  In the next few years, she proceeded to win many awards at fiddle competitions throughout Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes.  At age 14, she was invited to play at the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Championships as a Junior Showcase artist - an honor given to only four young people across Canada each year!

Bulding from there, MacLeod has gone on to perform her musical magic before thousands of captivated fans all over North America.  She has collaborated with many outstanding musicians, including the four-time world champion Simon Fraser University Pipe Band and Celtic rock band Hadrian's Wall.  She also has performed on recordings with artists The Paperboys, The Shiners and Rathkeltair, among others. 

In 2002, she released her first CD titled From the Heart of Glengarry, a collection of traditional Scottish fiddle tunes arranged in Ashley's inimitable style.  Her much-anticipated follow-up CD Hold Fast was released in August 2006 to rave reviews.

In 2003, MacLeod performed with the Ottawa Police Services Pipe Band at New York's Carnegie Hall as part of a Canadian presence in September 11th Memorial observations.  She has performed on Country Music Television (CMT) with country music artist Johnny Reid.  Most recently, she toured Europe with the Juno Award-winning band The Paperboys.

Living in a community so steeped in its Scottish heritage and raised on a farm that has been in the family for more than 200 years gives MacLeod a spirit and depth in the music she plays.  Her strathspeys, jigs and reels vibrate with strength, and her waltzes and airs are colored with an aura of peacefulness.  It is a gift; and it flows freely from the heart - from the heart of Glengarry.

Clann Na Cara Irish DanceJoining MacLeod will be dancers from Clann Na Cara Irish Dance.  Clann Na Cara was established as a western New York Irish dance school in 2006 by four National and World Champion medalists.  Prior to receiving their dance teacher certifications, all four founders were regular performers at the Opera House during St. Patrick Day celebration events.  In addition, each has led dancers in performances with such notable artists as The Chieftains, Cherish the Ladies and Natalie MacMaster.  The students at Clann Na Cara range in age from 4 to 21 and include numerous Preliminary and Championship dancers.

General Admission $15
($13 Opera House Members)
Folk in Fredonia Music Series

Featured in the Opening Ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics, Canadian fiddler and stepdancer April Verch is a young dynamo credited with introducing roots music to a whole new audience.

Ontario's Ottawa Valley is steeped in cultural history including a musical style and stepdancing heritage influenced by the French, Irish, Scottish, Polish and German settlers of this Canadian region.  Verch, a modern pioneer of this tradition is emerging as one of the top female artists in the roots music genre.  She has built a repertoire rich in original tunes influenced deeply by the treasure chest of musical jewels passed down through the generations.  Her fiddling and stepdancing styles were shaped by the diverse roots of the immigrants drawn to the region's lumber camps in the mid-1800s.

Verch knew as a young girl that she wanted to play fiddle and dance for a living, and by the time she finished high school, she had recorded her first two self-released albums and was touring full time.  She studied at Boston's Berklee College of Music and simultaneously captured two fiddling championships - Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Champion and Canadian Open Fiddle Champion.

April Verch (center) in the Opening Ceremonies of the 2010 Winter OlympicsIn addition to her fiddling virtuosity and remarkable stepdancing, April has become a soulful songstress, using her vocals to draw the listener into her wistful and evocative lyrics.  April's musical tastes continue to grow and evolve, and adding vocals to her repertoire has given even more interest and depth to her performances.

The April Verch Band, with April at the helm on fiddle, delivers richly textured phrasing on traditional roots tunes, bluegrass and newgrass melodies, jazz-influenced compositions and country music all in one electrifying performance.  When April trades her fiddling for the rhythmic art of stepdancing, the band takes on the sound of the old lumber camp halls where those without instruments created rhythms with their feet.  The metal taps on April's shoes generate exhilarating cadences that enhance her traditional Ottawa Valley arrangements.

"Her style, technique and sheer virtuosity rivals anyone who's ever held a bow.  Verch is capable of delivering a variety of material from Carter Family classics to contemporary songs with verve and innovative energy ... a unique mix of old-fashioned and modern sensibilities to make every song special." -- Vintage Guitar magazine