The majority of the repertoire is composed specifically for the groups by Oliver Schroer. It is rooted in Celtic music, but stretches 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, the sense of fun is paramount....they call themselves the Twisted String, and they are a testament to how music can change a kid's life.
Andrew Craig, CBC Canada Live
"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 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 faux-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 troups 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 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. Two of the alumni, Chelsea Sleep and Emilyn Stam, have restarted the next generation of this exciting group. Together they decided to reactivate The Twisted String, drawing from their most advanced students to form two new squads. Now three groups strong (island, mainland and Smithers), the String has plans invade the rest of Canada. They are revamping some of the favourite original Twisted String repertoire, as well as cooking up new arrangements. It's all there; the music, the costumes, the anarchy, the fun. And the past members of the String bring a wealth of knowledge to create a unique musical learning and performing experience to a new generation of Twisted Stringers.Oliver Schroer
Oliver Schroer is a unique fiddler/composer who lives at the cutting edge. His musical explorations have taken him far beyond his traditional Canadian roots into the realms of jazz, Scandinavian, Balkan, and Asian music. But he has gone much farther. He has melded those elements into a unique and recognizable style of his own: lyrical, fractal, a continuously twisting thread. Once his music has been heard, it's hard to mistake it for anyone else's.
He has performed across North America and Europe with a wide variety of top acts in venues ranging from intimate clubs to New York’s Lincoln Center. He has been a featured guest on virtually every leading Canadian national radio show, and has been the subject of numerous special broadcasts.Schroer's playing appears on over 100 albums of new traditional, acoustic, and popular music. He has recorded with American songwriting legends Jimmy Webb and Barry Mann, Canadian singers James Keelaghan, Loreena McKennitt and Sylvia Tyson, acoustic guitar mavens Jesse Cook and Don Ross, East Coast rockers Great Big Sea, West Coast rockers Spirit of the West, members of Quebec powerhouse La Bottine Souriante, Finnish accordionist Maria Kalaneimi , and World percussionists Trichy Sankaran and Bob Becker, to name but a few.