Sherryl is an Ottawa native and East Coast Music Award nominee who is a highly skilled and sought-after traditional fiddle teacher and piano accompanist. Entering her 40th year of teaching, this prolific composer and recording artist combines traditional Quebecois, Celtic, Classical, Jazz and Old time music, giving her students a solid musical foundation. Having attained her grade 8 RCM violin distinction and grade 2 theory, she incorporates all these styles and techniques in her playing.
In May 2021, Sherryl launched a Canadian musical heritage project called, “Fiddles on the Rideau”. This organization was founded to promote and preserve Canadian fiddle music and to raise awareness and financial aid for local mental health organizations. She is passionate about using music to cultivate relationships, bring joy to people’s lives and to continue with her philanthropy initiatives. To date, FOTR has donated $30,000 to mental health organizations in Ottawa.
Sherryl has competed in fiddle contests across Ontario as well as the Maritimes. In July 2018, she competed at the Maritime Fiddle Festival where she placed third in the Open class and took home the Best Jig award. In 2013, she along with Bb Sisters, Kimberley Holmes, placed 1st in the Group class at the Maritime Fiddle Contest. She won 2nd place in the “Fiddler Magazine” composers competition for her composition, “Eagles Wings”. She was commissioned by the Canadian Grand Masters to compose a tune for Right Honourable Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. It is aptly named, “Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Waltz”. Most recently, she has completed a Canadian musical legacy project whereby she has compiled the original compositions of the late Yvon Cuillerier along with memorabilia and tributes into a book entitled, “Letters from Yvon”.
In addition to playing fiddle, she has been playing piano for the past 26 years crediting Kimberley Holmes, Denis Lanctôt, Germain Leduc and Rachel Aucoin as her main piano influences. She has provided piano accompaniment for Calvin Vollrath, Shane Cook, Yvon Cuillerier, Germain Leduc, Gordon Stobbe, Kimberley Holmes, Martin Aucoin, Keith Wilson, Peter Dawson, Dennis Harrington, Randy Foster, Stéphanie Lépine, Anna Ludlow, Leo Ready, Alex George and Ben Plotnick. She has provided piano accompaniment for contestants at the Pembroke Old Tyme Fiddling Contest, Metcalfe Fiddle & Step Competition as well as the Richmond Fiddle & Step Contest. She is in demand as a piano player for traditional fiddlers or playing back up fiddle for various country or Irish bands and as a regular jazz duo with Everard de Souza at the ever popular café, 692 Coffee & Bar.
As a member of the Bb Sisters, she has earned a 2012 ECMA nomination for Roots/Traditional Group of the Year, was nominated for a Galaxie Rising Star Award, won the duet class at the Maritime Fiddle Festival and were featured performers at the Ottawa Folk Festival opening for Steve Earle.
She directed her own fiddle camp, Ottawa Valley Fiddle Camp, for 14 years. She has been a guest instructor at numerous fiddle camps, most notably the Canadian Grand Masters camp, Camp Souches à l’Oreilles in Quebec, Ship’s Company Theatre Fiddle Camp, Tamworth Fiddle Camp, Tobique Fiddle Camp, Second Wind Fiddle Camp as well as instructing groups of Native children in Norway House, Manitoba.
She has 5 recordings to date, 3 solo recordings where she features her own compositions and two recordings as a member of the Bb Sisters. She has written two books featuring her own compositions and many traditional standards. She provides music transcription (notation) for various fiddle players most notably Peter Dawson, Randy Foster, Dennis Harrington and Leo Ready.
She served as President and Vice-President of the Ottawa Traditional Fiddling and Folk Art Society in Ottawa from 2016-2019. www.facebook.com/OTFFAS
Sherryl has been a special guest fiddler with the Cameron Highlanders Pipe & Drum Band of Ottawa. She is in demand as a fiddler for Irish Feis’ most notably the National Capital Feis Ottawa, Sue Fay Healy’s Christmas Feis Ottawa, Montreal Feis, Quebec City Feis and the NAV Canada annual Feis in Cornwall, ON. Sherryl holds a black stripe in ITF Tae Kwon Do, is a certified CSIA Level 2 ski instructor, a certified CSCF Level 1 Ski Coach and is a certified Reading Therapist through the Canadian Dyslexic Association.
You can contact Sherryl for more information on any of her projects at (613) 854-5665 or via email at sherryl@sherrylfitzpatrick.com or visit www.facebook.com/sherrylfitzpatrickschoolofmusic