Born and raised in Prince George, British Columbia, Daniel
Lapp learned the joy of fiddle music from his grandfather,
five uncles and numerous accordion playing aunts. Family events
were excuses to play music and he carries this tradition into
a new era and contemporary culture.
His new album, "REUNION," was recorded in Edinburgh and Newcastle.
It is a celebration of "how fantastic being a musician is,"
says Daniel. ".traveling the world and discovering soul mates
from other countries." REUNION is the first fiddle album recorded
by Daniel featuring 10 original tunes as well as offering
some unusual arrangements of a few old standards. There are
a total of 11 extraordinary UK musicians collaborating on
this record including: Kathryn Tickell on Northumbrian pipes,
Tony McManus on guitar, Simon Thoumire on concertina, and
David Milligan on the piano. At times, your toe will be tapping,
but all of the music is not what one might expect from a 'fiddle'
album. The genre is explored a step further with Daniel's
unique 'folk trumpet' and other musical influences, including
jazz, which find their way into the recording.
Between the late 80's and early 90's, Daniel
made numerous visits to the UK, touring and doing session
work. After forming bonds with a diverse group of musicians
over the years, he discovered that "deep images and sounds"
of his UK friends still remained long after. In 2001, after
a much anticipated reunion with Kathryn Tickell in Vancouver
and other surprise musical re-acquaintances in Cape Breton,
Daniel was inspired to return to the UK and record an album.
In fact, "Sweet Reunion" (the first track on REUNION) summarizes
the entire experience, as Daniel explains, "it's an amazing
thing that you can play music with someone once and then many
years later just continue on where you left off. The 'sweet'
bit comes from the intimate, nonverbal and soulful exchange
that occurs when people play music together, a unique human
interplay without bias or prejudice."
Throughout his diverse musical career, Daniel
has learned to play numerous instruments in many musical genres.
He studied jazz at Humber College in Toronto and received
a BMus degree from the University of Victoria specializing
in trumpet, composition and world music. His jazz influences
led him to form the dynamic quartet, Lappelectro, in 2001.
Lappelectro fuses experimental elements of various influences
including jazz, folk, and electronica. Their sound mixes loop
based DJ culture and live improvisation with a unifying goal
to bridge the gap between the two.
This Victoria, BC resident is the winner of
the British Columbia Fiddle Championship and has appeared
as a soloist with the CBC Chamber Orchestra as well as the
Prince George, Victoria, and Vancouver Symphonies. Subsequently,
Daniel was invited to Fiddlesticks, an international meeting
of fiddlers in Cork, Ireland to perform selections from his
collection of over 1000 indigenous British Columbia fiddle
tunes. He also represented Canada in Hanover, Germany at Expo
2000 with Bowfire, an ensemble of eleven critically acclaimed
violinists and fiddlers, who were subsequently invited to
perform on the Governor-General's Awards telecast. Last October,
Daniel performed at the Celtic Colours International Festival
in Cape Breton Island, followed by a one-month tour of the
UK performing with the Edinburgh Fiddle Festival.
Over the past 10 years, Daniel has taught various
fiddle styles to dozens of students at workshops across Western
Canada and the United States. He has also been a guest instructor
at the Universities of Victoria and Newcastle, England. In
1994, Daniel formed the BC Fiddle Orchestra with 10 of his
brightest students. This exceptional group was invited to
perform in front of an audience of 60,000 people at the Commonwealth
Games in Victoria. This evolved into the Daniel Lapp Fiddleharmonic.
Both ensembles have recorded albums and played extensively
throughout B.C. In addition, Daniel is the founder and president
of The Victoria Fiddle Society.
Dedicated to this music and the fiddle,
Daniel is currently compiling a book entitled "101 BC Fiddle
Tunes by 101 BC Fiddlers." He will hopes to put together a CD entitled "Put 'er in the Woodbox"
that will feature 35 compositions by old B.C. fiddlers.
"I am sure that someday, intimate memories and
a mutual fondness will demand another REUNION, perhaps in
Ireland or the Appalachians" says Daniel. "When that time
comes, we'll grab an instrument, sit down, have a laugh and
pick up right where we left off."
You can contact Daniel for lessons at
daniel@daniellapp.com or
www.houseofmusic.ca
