April Verch (Special Event)

A STAR among the young Canadian fiddlers, April Verch's high energy performance will steal your heart and leave you in awe. Those of you who saw Ivonne Hernandez last month will get to hear her teacher!EMERGING from the thick of the traditional music scene, the fiddling of 22-year-old April Verch is a breath of fresh air. Though she has deep roots in the fiddling of her native Ottawa Valley in Canada, April's broad repertoire features traditional and contemporary tunes ranging in source and inspiration from French Canadian to Appalachian, from Bluegrass to Celtic, and Brazilian to Old Time - not to mention her own colorful compositions. Her note-perfect virtuosity and masterful technique combine with vigorous Ottawa-Valley-style step dancing to make the place rock and bring the house down. APRIL'S accomplishments extend far and wide, artistically and geographically. As a headliner, special guest, and backing musician, she has toured across Canada, in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates. Amongst many honors, April performed for the Millennium Celebrations at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and was a guest at Chet Atkins' tribute in Nashville, along with a host of Grand Ole Opry stars. She was also a featured performer at the Oklahoma International Bluegrass Festival and at Fiddles of the World. And let's not forget her coveted titles of Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Champion (1997) and Canadian Open Fiddle Champion (1998). She's got four CD recordings to her credit, including the most recent, VERCHuosity, on the Rounder label.NO MATTER what you call it, April's music is beguiling in the way it brilliantly balances contemporary élan and traditional resonance. Dynamic and diabolic, soothing and soaring, the music of April Verch will invigorate you, calm you, and charm you.We expect this concert to be very crowded, so please contact the Helbrecht/Johnston's (phone: 703-548-5784 or e-mail: mjkandg@erols.com) to claim a space.