April Verch Band coming to Staples April Verch, the dynamic fiddler and stepdancer who performed at the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics at Vancouver, will present a concert with her band at Centennial Auditorium in Staples, on Sunday, April 11, at 7:30 p.m. April Verch is still basking in the glow of performing in the “Fiddle Nation” segment of the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics at Vancouver. The dynamic fiddler and stepdancer will present a concert at Centennial Auditorium in Staples on Sunday, April 11, at 7:30 p.m.

The concert is a part of the Staples Motley Area Arts Council’s Concert Series. For more information, on this and other concerts in the series, check out the Arts Council’s website at www.staplesmotleyarts.org

April Verch brings new meaning to the word multitasking. Her many You- Tube clips bear witness to the Canadian fiddler’s high-energy performances. A winner of both the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle and Open Fiddle Championships, April was already pleading with her parents for a fiddle of her own by the age of three.

Verch’s dancing and fiddle playing are both strongly rooted in the musical traditions of Canada’s Ottawa Valley, where she and her family have lived for generations. The region stretches from Ottawa, westward along the shores of the Ottawa River, to the northern tip of Algonquin Park. She still lives “one road over” from where she grew up.

Immigrants from France, Scotland, Ireland, Poland and Germany, who were drawn to the region’s logging camps, brought with them a passion for fiddle music. Those without an instrument would often use their feet to accompany the music, and the form of dance, now known as Ottawa Valley stepdancing, developed. Fiddle music and stepdancing continue to be prevalent throughout the valley and still inform Verch’s style today.

“My parents were fans of that whole scene,” Verch says. “We were always dancing to fiddle music, and I just fell in love with the instrument and the energy of the music.”

Verch has said that her father always reminds her not to forget where she came from, and for her that means playing the music she knows and loves with pride, and always acknowledging its heritage.

By age of 10, Verch, who had already decided to make music her life’s work, was touring Canada and winning fiddle contests.

“There weren’t a lot of kids in my school that played fiddle or danced, and every weekend during the summer we’d go to a contest and I’d get to hang out with other kids who loved to do what I did,” Verch says. “There was a huge social aspect to it that was very encouraging.”

By the time she finished high school, Verch had recorded her first two selfreleased albums, 1992’s “Springtime” and 1995’s “Fiddle Talk.”

While attending the annual Mark O’Connor Fiddle Camp in Nashville, Verch met Matt Glaser, the chair of the string department at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, who convinced her to study at the school.

“I realized that it was somewhere I’d be able to go and study and that I’d be able to play whatever I wanted to play,” Verch says. “They weren’t going to make me play jazz or classical, but they would help me figure out my own style and that’s really what drew me to the program.”

During her time at Berklee, Verch says, the exposure to other musical styles became infectious. “What I really realized at that time was how sheltered I had been musically,” Verch says. “I had traveled Canada and a little bit in the States, and I knew about different styles of fiddle music, but I hadn’t heard a lot of world music or jazz. It just really opened up a world of possibilities for me in music.”

The first four of her seven albums were instrumental. It was only at the suggestion of Rounder Records that Verch began singing.

“They said it would be good variety for (my) shows, and open more doors. That’s what made me give it a go,” she recalls.

“I felt really vulnerable at first,” Verch says. “I’d been doing everything else for so long, and voice is just so out there. You can’t hide if you’re tired or you’re sick. It took awhile, but I do enjoy doing it and audiences seem to like it so I’ve kept at it.”

Tickets are available from the Centennial Auditorium Box Office at 218- 894-5416 or 800-213-6877. The Arts Council has two new ways to save on tickets. Anyone purchasing six or more advance sale tickets to any event, or series of events, will receive the special season price of only $10 per ticket. That means that even though this is the last show in this year’s season, the series price is still available to people that purchase six tickets or more for this event. Any student with proper ID can purchase a student rush ticket one hour before the show.