Originally from Colinet, St. Mary’s Bay, Denise Batten is a passionate writer/ singer/ songwriter who has only recently begun to present her work publicly. Much of her writing has been inspired by childhood memories and experiences special to her rural Newfoundland upbringing. Denise's maternal grandparents, Simon and Emily Nolan, were both significant influences in her life. Simon, an Irish Catholic fisherman, was a gifted singer and storyteller. He was a firm believer in the fairies, and his tales of his own encounters with "spirits" were spellbinding. Many of Denise's songs are based, at least in part, on her memories of these stories. Simon's wife, Emily, was an amazing woman - loving, capable and independent. Denise's first book, Emily, is based on the life of her grandmother. It is scheduled to be released by Creative Book Publishing, in Spring 2012.
Dave Paddon is originally from Northwest River, Labrador and has been writing and performing recitations since 2008. "Upalong" for 20 years in Nova Scotia, Ontario and Alberta, he gratefully returned in 2004 along with his wife Kim. When not engaged in his regular job as a pilot for Air Canada he divides his time between St. John's and English Harbour, Trinity Bay where he helps Kim run the English Harbour Arts Centre. And no, he does not compose while at work (well, maybe a little).
Christopher Newhook grew up Mt. Pearl, NL and moved to Alberta to take his early art training through the University of Alberta's Bachelor of Fine Art program. Upon returning home, he moved to Placentia with his wife Lori Pretty, raised two children, and now works in a variety of art media including oil, pastel and computer graphics. Though his fine artwork hangs on the walls of homes and businesses throughout the world he also contributes to books, magazines and designs posters, cards, reports, murals, logos and interior-exterior displays. As a trained artist and photographer Christopher is also experienced in the fields of publishing, fine art consulting and set design. He moves from the easel to camera to computer and blends the qualities of each medium effectively. As a result, he is in demand by both large scale corporations and young children looking to develop their talents. Christopher has a great affection for history, culture and nature. When not in the studio he can be found wandering the coastline and barrens of Newfoundland with his paints and camera trying to create special perceptions of his favourite subject, the natural history of the Cape Shore. His expressive and sometimes quietly haunting work shows a special fondness of Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve. He created the unmistakable artwork for the poster of the Cape St. Mary's Performance Series and has often been a presenter at these shows creatively blending his powerful nature photographs with stirring musical scores.
Scott Hewlett is a fingerstyle guitarist with a rhythmic approach to tunes from the swing era through to the 70s. A former member of the Furry Eggs and the Avalon Jazz Quartet this year marks Scott's third appearance at Cape St. Mary's.
Robert Chafe is a St. John's based playwright whose work has been seen across Canada, the UK, Australia and in the United States. He is the author of seventeen stage scripts and co-author of another ten. He frequently collaborates with Siminovitch Prize winning director Jillian Keiley. He was shortlisted for the Governor General's Award for Drama (Tempting Providence and Butler's Marsh) in 2004, and won the award for Afterimage in 2010. Tempting Providence, directed by Keiley and produced by Theatre Newfoundland Labrador, is entering its ninth year of national and international touring. He has been writer in residence at Artistic Fraud, Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre, Playwrights Workshop Montreal, and Forest Forge Theatre, Hampshire, UK, and a guest instructor at Memorial University, Sir Wilfred Grenfell College, and The National Theatre School of Canada. His newest play, Oil and Water, premiered in a sold out run in February 2011 in St. John's and tours nationally next year. He is Artistic Associate and playwright for Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland, and an Artistic Associate of the Magnetic North Theatre Festival. He is currently working on new projects for Mulgrave Road Theatre and for the Shaw Festival.
ZARl is a mixed trio of singer/instrumentalists living in Canada who specialize in the music of the Georgian Republic. In early 2003 Shalva (Bachi) Makharashvili (of Rustavi, Georgia) and Torontonians Andrea Kuzmich and Reid Robins joined forces to concentrate their efforts on the exquisite harmony and complex polyphony of this ancient music. By turns exotic, lyrical, and powerful, ZARl brings to the stage three accomplished artists who embody the tradition and improvisational interplay of one of the world's most beautiful musics in its most transparent form: the vocal trio. Zari is committed to bringing this relatively unknown repertoire into the lives of listeners everywhere. They have made two recent tours of the Republic of Georgia where they were featured artists at the Tbilisi Opera House, the Tblisi State Conservatoire and at the Tbilisi PhiIharmonic.They make a concerted effort to perform for charitable causes, such as Literacy in the Middle East. Shalva Makharashvili has been performing the music of his homeland for 20 years. At the Tbilisi Conservatoire he mastered the choral repertoire and studied the panduri (3-stringed lute). Makharashvili's contributions as a soloist and instrumentalist have won him national acclaim. Andrea Kuzmich had sung in four Canadian Opera Company productions by the age of 16. She then studied Bulgarian and Macedonian folk music and discovered the ancient harmonies of Georgia. At York University she won the Ella Fitzgerald Award for Performance in Jazz. Reid Robins trained at Berklee College of Music in California, and at Harvard University. A fascination with polyphony, harmony, and composition led him to Bach, North Indian classical music, the Beatles, and jazz improvisation. Reid has collaborated with some of the finest musicians in world music. They have just released their third CD.
Born and raised in St. John's, Katie Baggs has been contributing to the local music scene for a number of years as a songwriter, singer and violinist. In 2008 she collaborated with Matthew Hornell, Jonathan Bungay, and Ben Rigby to form the band Dead Language (releasing a full-length album in 2009), while finishing a degree in education at Memorial. Taking her songs and credentials with her, Katie then spent a year on the opposite side of the country on a small island teaching in the village of Kitkatla, BC, gathering images and memories that continue to lend themselves to her latest songs. Recent highlights include Bluebird North Songwriter's Series (November 2010), the Lawnya Vawnya festival (April 2011) and opening for Bill Bryson and John K. Samson at the Rocket Room (April 2011). Katie also sings, and plays the fiddle in All the Wiles and Pilot to Bombardier.
Joan Clark is the multiple-award-winning author of several novels: Latitudes of Melt, The Victory of Geraldine Gull and Eiriksdottir, as well as short story collections for adults and novels for young readers. Her last adult novel Latitudes of Melt was nominated for the 2002 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, the 2001 Commonwealth Writer's Prize, Canada-Caribbean, and was a New York Times Notable Book. Born and raised in Nova Scotia, she has lived in various places across Canada with her geotechnical engineer husband Jack. She became a founding member of the Alberta Writers Guild and co-founded the acclaimed literary journal Dandelion. She now lives in St. John's. In December 2009 Joan Clark was named a member of the Order of Canada for “her contributions as an author of literature for both children and adults, and as an arts activist who has supported provincial and national cultural organizations for decades.” (Photo by Ned Pratt)
Back at Cape St. Mary’s by popular demand, Steve Cowan grew up as a self-taught multi-instrumentalist in St. John's. He began his musical path playing in rock bands and was introduced to the world of classical music upon entering University. While studying classical guitar at Memorial University under the instruction of Sylvie Proulx, Steven's success as a performer led to prizes in local and national music competitions, and eventually, the decision to pursue guitar performance at a graduate level. Steven is currently working on his Master's degree under the instruction of David Leisner at the Manhattan School of Music. He has spent the past year studying and concertizing in New York City as a soloist as well as with his ensemble, the Manhattan Guitar Quartet.
Multi-award-winning bilingual singer, songwriter, and producer Colleen Power is best known for her satirical lyrics and stick-in-your-head melodies. The Freshwater, Placentia Bay native co-produced her first three albums and self-produced and recorded her last three. Her collaboration with her partner, Roger Maunder resulted in music videos like New Townie Man, Dead Bird in the Garbage and Sketchy Jerome, which have become YouTube phenomena. Owner and operator of Baygirl Music Studios in St. John's, she started working in film as a boom operator/sound recordist for film and TV in 2003. Colleen presently composes and records original music for various short films, videos and commercials and she is now developing of a series of music videos and a comedy TV-pilot with her partner, Roger Maunder.
Roger Maunder was born and raised in St. John's, where he currently works as the First-Time Filmmaker Mentor at NIFCO. He has independently produced, written and directed a number of films including Cut From The Same Cloth which recently aired on CBC Television's "Canadian Reflections" and the multi-award winning short drama Swallowed, which also appeared on "Canadian Reflections" and on "Bravo!". His short The White Balloon screened at the L.A. Children's Film Festival. Recognizing a need to showcase local films in 2001 Maunder created the successful Nickel Independent Film Festival based in St. John's. In 2007 Maunder's debut novel Mundy Pond was published by Creative Book Publishing. It is currently in the development stages as a feature film. He currently resides in St. John's where he continues to enjoy writing and making films while raising his four children.
Ruth Lawrence's 20-year career as a performer, writer and filmmaker has taken her to Ireland, France, the US, and across Canada, even performing live for the Queen. She has appeared in over 100 theatre, film, TV and radio productions. Her short films BARK and Sweet Pickle have screened across Canada and the US. Her plays have been produced by professional theatre companies across the province and her poetry is published in several anthologies. She runs the Nickel Film Festival and is co-Artistic Director of White Rooster Theatre. She is a past recipient of the NLAC's Rhonda Payne Award.
Des Walsh is a poet, screenwriter, musician and actor. His most recent collection of poetry is The Singer's Broken Throat. He has written a dozen produced stage plays, including Rocking the Cradle for Tarragon Theatre, Toronto and RCA Theatre. His screenwriting credits include the international miniseries The Boys of St. Vincent and Random Passage. Love and Savagery, his first feature film, was nominated for the DGC's 2009 Best Feature award and won a Genie Award. His writing has been recognized with international awards including a Gemini, the Umbria Fiction in Italy, the Grand FIPA d'Or Cannes in France, and a 1995 Peabody Award in the United States. He received the NLAC's Arts Achievement Award for 2009. He began his performing career over 30 years ago and can still be coaxed into a song or two. Des and Ruth have performed together on screen and on stage for the past ten years.
Tom Dawe has been a high school teacher, English professor, visual artist, editor, writer and poet. He has published seventeen volumes, including poetry, folklore and children’s literature. His latest works include Where Genesis Begins (Breakwater, 2009), winner of The Canadian Authors' Association Poetry Award and Moocher in the Lun, winner of the Bruneau Award for Childrens' Literature. His work has appeared in many magazines, journals and anthologies. In the seventies, during the "Newfoundland Renaissance", he was one of the founders of Breakwater Books, a founding editor of TickleAce and prose editor of The Livyere, a folklore journal. In 2002 Martina Seifert's comprehensive study, Rewriting Newfoundland Mythology: The Works of Tom Dawe, was published in Germany and Cambridge, Mass., USA. Recipient of many awards and honours, in 2007 he was awarded a WANL Lifetime Membership Award and was elected to the Newfoundland & Labrador Arts Council Hall of Honour. In 2010 he was named St. John's Poet Laureate.
Millie Didham resides at Rocky River, Colinet. Both parents were singers of songs and musically inclined thus instilling in Millie a love of music. At the age of five she played the accordion and was featured along with her brother Eddie at a charity ball at the Argentia Naval Base. The caption on the base newspaper read "They stole the show". Millie has had no professional training. She enjoys and performs all genres of music but has a special love for Irish ballads. She has written a number of songs and hopes to one day soon record a CD. Millie performs at various events, weddings, 50+ socials and community centre events. The positive response she receive from everyone is very rewarding. She looks forward to and enjoys every opportunity to perform.
Ed Squires is a percussionist and improviser from Goulds, Newfoundland. He graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in percussion performance from Memorial University, where he studied with Rob Power, John Wyre and Don Wherry. He also holds a performance diploma from the Glenn Gould School, where he was taught by John Rudolph and David Kent. Now living in Toronto, Ed is in demand as an orchestral player as well as an accompanist for dance. He is the former principal timpanist of the Brampton Symphony Orchestra, and has also performed with the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, Oshawa Durham Symphony Orchestra, Tapestry New Opera Works, Kingston Symphony, Windsor Symphony Orchestra and Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra. Ed is a member of the contemporary percussion duo River Connected, and performs regularly with renowned folk singer Donovan Woods.
For the past 25 years, Christina Smith and Jean Hewson have been performing the traditional songs, ballads, of Newfoundland and Labrador to audiences in North America and the UK. They learned their repertoire directly from the older generation of musicians and singers around the Island. Jean and Christina believe that traditions live in the people that cherish them, and for that reason they give workshops at festivals and events, and teach in their home city of St. John's. They have recorded two albums together, August Gale and Like Ducks!, and another with their other band Frank Maher and The Mahers Bahers (Mahervelous). Their work has been nominated for three East Coast Music awards, two Canadian Folk Music Awards, an Indie, a Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council award, and has won the Crossroads Gold award. In August 2010, Jean and Christina were the recipients of the Ernie King Tradition Bearer Award; an honour bestowed annually by the Goderich Celtic Festival which celebrates individuals who have shown outstanding dedication in the preservation and passing on of their musical traditions.
Chris Brookes tells stories with his voice, his keyboard or with his microphone. With a microphone, he is an award-winning independent radio producer whose documentaries have been broadcast around the world. With his keyboard he is a published author and playwright. With his voice, he tells traditional Newfoundland stories and recitations and (regrettably) sometimes sings a little. He seems to be obsessed with narrative, which makes him keep telling stories in one form or another with hopes of one day getting them right.
Jesse English is a sixteen year old student who lives in Branch. At the age of ten he began to teach himself to play the accordion. He also plays harmonica and likes to step-dance. Jesse has performed at Cape St. Mary’s before at several occasions as member of the Branch Accordion Group, now called the Fatima Accordion Group under the guidance of music teacher Robert Colbourne. In 2007 he travelled to Ireland as part of the Festival of the Sea, an annual cultural and economic exchange between Newfoundland and Ireland.
Gordon Quinton was honoured with MusicNL's 1997 and 2007 Instrumental Artist of the Year Award and in 2007 was also nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award. Quinton, who has released eight guitar recordings, specializes in original compositions and arrangements of traditional and contemporary folk music.
In 2008, after 42 years in the music industry, Bill Rose released his first solo guitar recording. Leap Before You Look received very favourable reviews both locally and internationally. Bill's playing ranges from jazz/blues to folk and bluegrass. In 2009 he was nominated for MusicNL's jazz/ blues artist of the year. Gordon and Bill joined forces in 2010 and played their first gig together in November.
Gerald Campbell was born in Branch, St. Mary's Bay. He has been living in Branch most his life. He learned a lot of his songs from his parents, and after he heard them at Garden parties, and during the Christmas season when there were parties every night at almost every house in the community. He went away to work when he was younger to work for the railroad. Gerald favours songs with a story, despite that some of them are fairly long, he never wrote them down, but listened carefully to learn them, especially when they were carried on a nice tune. Gerald was invited to Mariposa Folk Festival twice. He went along with Mary and Anthony Power, Pat and Joe Byrne, and The Wareham Brothers. There he also met fellow Newfoundlander Rufus Guinchard, who prompted him to sing The Sweet Forget Me Not a song Gerald knew from the singing of his mother since he was young, and which remains one of his favourites. It has been recorded by many others among them famed Irish singer Dolores Keane, who learned it from a recording made by Irish Journalist Aidan O'Hara from Gerald Campbell's singing.
Jessica Grant is the author of the novel Come, Thou Tortoise and the story collection Making Light of Tragedy. Come, Thou Tortoise won the 2009 Winterset Award, the 2009 Amazon.ca First Novel Award, and the 2010 Downhome Fiction Award. Making Light of Tragedy includes a story that won both the Western Magazine Award for Fiction and the Journey Prize. Jessica was recently named Artist of the Year by the Newfoundland & Labrador Arts Council. She lives in St. John's.
Delf Maria Hohmann is a singer and musician who performs frequently on both sides of the Atlantic. He plays guitar, banjo and dulcimer and sings a mixture of contemporary and traditional folk music in English, French, Yiddish and German. He has performed across Canada including the Mariposa Folk Festival and the Home Country Folk Festival in London, Ontario. From 1981 to 1985 he worked for the environmental project Clearwater on the Hudson River, and performed with Pete Seeger at Carnegie Hall in New York and Massey Hall in Toronto. In 1999 he founded the Cape St. Mary's Performance Series, and is Int. Coordinator of Sound Symposium. He collaborates with St. John's storyteller Dale Jarvis in the theatre productions of Under the Juniper Tree - Stories & Songs from the Brothers Grimm Collection, and The Devil Made Me Do It - Stories and Songs about the Man in Black which brought them to the Yukon International Storytelling Festival in Whitehorse in 2002 and 2004. With The Cape St. Mary's All-Stars he plays folk music from around the world. He has created soundtracks for local visual artist Christopher Newhook's slideshows, and composed Harbour Symphonies, Music for Ships' Horns. Delf Maria Hohmann lives in St. John’s where, aside from being a musician, he works as a freelance translator, radio author and lecturer.
Hayleigh McGrath is 14 years old and lives in Branch. She is a member of the Fatima Accordion Group. Hayleigh is very interested in all aspects of music and has a great interest in keeping the Newfoundland musical traditions alive and growing. In 2007 she came first in a heritage fair project on Newfoundland Traditional Music at her school, Fatima Academy in St. Bride's, and studied at the Vinland Music Camp. Hayleigh trains with her music teacher Robert Colbourne and participates in the Kiwanis Music Festival in Carbonear in Musical Theatre and Newfoundland song categories with much success and in 2008 and 2011 she was invited back to perform at the Festival of Stars, and Folk Festival in St. John's.
Joy Norman is a singer/song-writer originally from St. Bride's, Placentia Bay. Joy has opened shows for a number of high profile acts and has toured the Province, in Atlantic Canada, and Ireland. Among her favourite venues are the Atlantic Scene Festival in Ottawa, the Stan Rogers Folk Festival in Canso, NS, and closer to home, the Newfoundland & Labrador Folk Festival. She has been a part of the Music NL Songwriter's Circle, the George Street Festival, and the Ireland Festival of the Sea. In 2001, Joy released her debut CD entitled Lately, and Field of Diamonds in 2006. She has also appeared on several compilations including Homebrew, Our Songs, Newfoundland Women of Song, and Maritime Women & Song. Joy plans to release a new CD in 2012. She is currently attending Memorial University's School of Social Work.
Tony Power born in Branch by a midwife, parents Anthony and Mary Power who both were great storytellers and singers. The stories and song Tony listened to while sitting on the end of the couch in the kitchen was were it all happened. From hearing about the fellow who shipped the devil to the fairies in the River Styx and the haunting in Golden Bay. Tony believes not everyone is open to these experiences it may only be seen by those who have an Irish background. Over the years Tony also shares some of his own stories and experiences with family and friends but now he feels like sharing them with you at the Cape St. Mary's Performance Series next to Golden Bay and Branch where the experiences still go on between the ghostly presence and the living.
Innismara, meaning "island in the sea" in Irish Gaelic, is an autonomous vocal chamber ensemble that fills a gap in the rich tapestry of choral music in Newfoundland and Labrador. Comprised of professionally trained musicians, Innismara is dedicated to the performance of the intimate and hidden treasures of the vocal ensemble repertoire. Innismara made its debut in the summer of 2010 at The Muses and Minstrel Festival of Early Performing Arts held in conjunction with the Cupids 400 celebrations. In collaboration with the Hot Earth Ensemble, Innismara performed music from the late Renaissance and early Baroque, highlights of which were recorded for national broadcast on CBC Radio. The success of these performances led to an invitation to participate in a series of workshops and performances in the Labrador Inuit communities of Nunatsiavut in the spring of 2011. The entire exchange project was recorded by film-maker Nigel Markham and radio producer Francesca Swann for use in a documentary film on the choral traditions of the Labrador Inuit. Innismara has also been invited to participate in Festival 500 Sharing the Voices as part of the Professional Development Program for Small Vocal Ensembles in July 2011. The Members are Jennifer Babstock, Deirdre Costello, Jennifer Hart, Terry Howlett, Stephen Ivany, Dave Lane, Rebecca McDonald, Jonathan Reed, and Kellie Walsh.