The Twisted String are hard-core fiddlers ready to bite into anything Oliver brings them. Together, he and the String are going where no fiddlers have ever gone before...
Vancouver Folk Music Festival, 2004
The Twisted String is a unique teaching and performance concept developed for young musicians by fiddler/composer Oliver Schroer. It is a series of fiddle squads, each consisting of 8-12 hot young fiddle players; the instrumentation is mostly fiddle but can include other instruments as well. Oliver launched this programme in 2003 with two squads - one in Robert’s Creek on BC’s sunshine coast, and one in Smithers, Northwestern BC.
The repertoire is composed specifically for the groups by Oliver Schroer. It is rooted in Celtic music, but stretched way out from there... shades of Bulgarian dances, Norwegian polskas, interlocking pattern music, and low down funk. Sleazy disco grooves supported soaring melodies. African and Mongolian sonic forays – why not!? And through it all, a sense of fun was paramount.
"I realized that the best incentive for getting the kids to really play this music and put their hearts and bows into it, was to write music that was the most fun to play. It was a revelation! I also realized I could use many of the experimental violin techniques I had evolved over the years to good musical effect. I want to stretch out the boundaries of what a group of kids on fiddles can do. So I composed stuff that showcases funky ensemble playing and alternative techniques, while never losing sight of a good strong melody."
There is also strong visual component to The Twisted String: outrageous, colourful costumes - a splash of headbands, scarves, Hawaiian shirts, crazy fun-fur leopard skin pants. A hundred clashing colours, glowsticks taped to the bows and strobe headlamps ready for nighttime playing. A specialty of the Twisted String are the Random Acts of Violins. The groups head for the streets in their costumes and create spontaneous parades in the most unlikely places. It's creative anarchy of the best kind.
In the summer of 2004, the entire Twisted String was hired to play at the Vancouver Folk Festival. They opened the festival on mainstage and played throughout the festival, cutting a blazing swath of tropical colour wherever they went, on stages or doing their guerilla Random Acts of Violins. In the summer of 2005, The Twisted String played the Island Folk Fest in Comox, and the Harrison Festival of the Performing Arts. Apart from these official tours, the squads have done many gigs independently in their communities, ranging from concerts to creating music for a silent film showing at a DOXA event in Vancouver.
After a brief group hiatus, The Twisted String twangs again under the direction of Emilyn Stam and Chelsea Sleep, drawing members from their most advanced students to form two new squads. It’s still here: the music, the costumes, the anarchy, the fun. The two squad leaders, Chelsea and Emilyn, bring a wealth of knowledge to create a unique musical learning and performing experience to a new generation of Twisted Stringers.
Stay tuned for the new site!