Métis Fiddler Quartet Members
Alyssa, Conlin, Nicholas, and Danton Delbaere-Sawchuk come from a strong family background of music lovers. Alyssa began her formal music training with the Suzuki method on the violin at the tender age of 3, which set the stage for her brothers’ musical environment, and it was only natural that they would follow her on the violin. Conlin fiddled for a few years with his older sister in the Winnipeg Tartan Fiddlers, a local kids group where they first found an interest in fiddle music. While much of their early musical training was classical, it was only natural to fiddle when grandfather Sawchuk brought out his accordion. After leaving their hometown of Winnipeg, Conlin received a guitar for Christmas, which proved to be his Métis voice. With an ongoing approach to musical diversity, they all focus on classical music training, but enjoy letting go and having fun with old time Métis music. Alyssa, Conlin, Nicholas, Danton continue to study classical music, musicianship and performance as driven young artists. 2006 Toronto Kiwanis Music Festival Strings Trophy Finalist, the 2004 Manitoba Music Festival Senior Strings, and National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation scholarships, among others. In 2004 she was awarded the National Métis Youth Award for Arts and Culture for her promotion of Métis music. Most recently, Alyssa received a grant from the Ontario Arts Council to study with Ojibwe Métis fiddler, Lawrence “Teddy Boy” Houle.
Alyssa
Alyssa presently studies viola performance at the Conservatoire de Tibor Varga with Urich Eichenhauer and Nobuko Imai in Sion, Switzeland. Alyssa has also studied viola performance with David Zafer, and violin performance with Mayumi Seiler. She has toured China with the Royal Conservatory Orchestra RCM , as well as, the US and South America with the Youth Orchestra of the Americas. As a graduate of the Young Artists’ Performance Academy of the Royal Conservatory of Music, she has won several awards such as the2006 Toronto Kiwanis Music Festival Strings Trophy Finalist, the 2004 Manitoba Music Festival Senior Strings, and National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation scholarships, among others. In 2004 she was awarded the National Métis Youth Award for Arts and Culture for her promotion of Métis music. Most recently, Alyssa received a grant from the Ontario Arts Council to study with Ojibwe Métis fiddler, Lawrence “Teddy Boy” Houle.
Conlin
Conlin studies vocal performance at the University of Ottawa, has performed in the Glenn Gould School opera productions: the Magic Flute and Dido and Aeneas. He has won many awards such as the Most Outstanding Singer award at the Davenport Music Festival 2005, and the Hamilton Kiwanis Most Promising Intermediate Voice in 2004 & 2003. Conlin aspires to fluently speak Italian and German, but is also aiming to learn Michif voyageur songs as a folk singer.
Nicholas
Nicholas studies violin with Marie Berard in the Young Artists Performance Academy at the Royal Conservatory of Music and plays viola in the RCM Academy Orchestra. He has won such awards as the 2004 Junior Strings Finalist Trophy at the Hamilton Kiwanis Music Festival and 2005 Toronto Kiwanis Music Festival scholarship.
Danton
Danton began his cello studies at the age of three and piano at the age of 6. In 2006, he was awarded a Peel Music Festival scholarship for cello and First Class Honours for his RCM Grade 6 piano exam. Danton also received a music scholarship from the 2007 Newmarket Music Festvial this year. He studies cello in the Young Artists’ Performance Academy at the RCM with Joo Won Kim, and he studies piano with Marina Levkin Toronto. If Danton is not practising his music, he is training as a provincial competitive gymnast or playing soccer or hockey. He was the 2007 Level 1 Ontario provincial champ on vault and silver medallist on floor at his first Provincial meet.Now at the age of eleven, he enjoys performing alongside his siblings as their Métis jigger and fiddle cellist.
