Sister Fair 2009 Performers

Kadijah Harcourt-Vernonis a writer, singer, artist and musician with a deep love for playing and teaching West African music. She is originally from Toronto but is “OK  NOW” that she has been living in Nova Scotia for 13 yrs.
    She first started drumming in 1985 after  a life altering experience in an after hours club where one man came out and by playing  his djembe, was able to work everyone into a fever within seconds.
   Kadijah’s decided she wanted a bit of what he had and asked him to teach her how.
Chi Richard became one of many drum masters who Kadijah has been blessed to learn from. Her most recent Drum Master is Famoudou Konate from Conakry, Guinnee, West Africa.
    Kadijah’s deepest wish is to travel to West Africa and learn from the masters in the birth place of the Djembe.
    Kadijah has been conducting drum circles and teaching drumming  in the Digby/ Annapolis/ Clare and Valley area now for 6 years and loves every second of it. 
   Kadijah has also participated in a wide array of fascinating community and world focused events and is active in the schools and colleges spreading the rhythm. She is currently co-teaching a trial world music cirriculum in the high school and hopes that drumming becomes a more intrigal part of school life. 
Contact: (902) 245-2760 or www.drumspirit.ca

performer

Thugs at Bay, or t@b for short, could be called a folk music duet. They play original, acoustic music with guitar, fiddle and two voices. But that's the tip of the iceberg. As a pair, Ariana Nasr and Andy Flinn project the exuberant energy of a Caribbean septet. While Ariana sings jazzy melodies and plays reggae fiddle, Andy beat-boxes a vocalized bass line, plays guitar, and operates parts of a drum kit with his heels. There's nothing like them. In a t@b performance, you'll hear skat and saxophone. There will be root elements from Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America. This couple is completely and utterly unfaithful to any particular style of music. They shamelessly borrow inspiration from anywhere. They also cover songs written by friends and play timeless jazz classics... t@b has just released their live CD "New Teeth on Stage" which was recorded live in October 2008 at the Al Whittle Theatre in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. To date, t@b has released four CDs and an "extremely entertaining" live concert DVD.
Contact: http://www.thugsatbay.com/

performer

Wanda Joudry-Finigan I am a Mi’kmaq woman very proud of my Aboriginal roots. I am currently employed at the Bear River First Nation Heritage and Cultural Centre as Supervisor. I am a certified Professional Heritage Interpreter and Cultural Coordinator. I am also a First Nation singer, songwriter, performer and recording artist. Throughout the past ten years, I have been facilitating Mi’kmaq Culture and Language Workshops within the education system and private entities.
Contact: grandmotherdrum@eastLink.ca

performer

Shoestring Swing's main focus is on up-beat, intimate treatments of jazz standards from the Swing Era and beyond.  The band strives to create new versions of favourite tunes plus forgotten gems and an easy-to-enjoy, historical sound--while each musician contributes new ideas--encouraging constant experimentation. For The 2009 Sister Fair, Shoestring Swing Limited (four cool cats out of the usual seven) will be featuring Lorri Dunn, vocals; Micaela "Micci" Comeau, bass & vocals; Susan Hall, percussion; and Jordan Comeau on keyboard. Contact: http://www.johnmalmstrom.com/shoestring/

performer

Pat Watson has been singing all of her life. Her love of music and theatre have been instrumental in shaping her life. Pat’s current repertoire includes jazz and gospel music. She performs with John Bird and on occasion other jazz musicians. She also performs with the Nova Gospel Ensemble which is a dynamic 9-member gospel singing group.
Pat toured Nova Scotia as a member of the South Shore Women in Jazz trio and was a part of the 2005 Halifax Jazz Festival. She has coordinated and directed gospel music workshops for Saint Margaret’s of Scotland Anglican Church in Halifax, The Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival and the Mahone Bay United Church. Pat was a cast member in the play, The Gospel of Colonus at Neptune Theatre, the Revels Production and the play Copernicus. She has also performed with a 19-member a capella jazz group called Counterparts and Tribe I, and an 11-member dynamic vocal and instrumental group and various choral groups.
Contact: http://www.patwatsonsings.com/

performer

Hope Gillis, singer songwriter,
has a passion for music. This is echoed through her soulful voice and her desire to explore music in its many dimensions.
Hope Gillis was born in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia in the early 60’s. She came into the world five minutes following the arrival of her twin sister, Holly.
Hope sings songs of love, heartache, freedom, peace and the forever quest to seek out humanity. Hope has studied with vocal mentors Susan Dworkin and Nancy Denton Peck. She has studied guitar under the tutelage of Bonnie Price and presently with James Harris.
One of Hope’s musical quests is to explore multiple instruments and she is presently studying the harp under the direction of Johanne McInnis. She is also a prolific songwriter who longs to extend the creative process to the recording studio.
Hope has performed for Music-cadie; Festival XXI (The Annapolis Region Community Arts Council); Annapolis Farmer’s Market; Wolfville’s Farmer’s Market; Fundy Folk; The Evergreen Theatre; Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens; Kings Theatre; Café Compose; The Night Kitchen, Acadia Cinema’s Al Whittle's Theatre; and Night Kitchen On the Verge. Hope welcomes you to share time with her musical spirit and become part of her musical journey.
Contact: http://www.hopegillismusic.com/

performer

Wanda Waterman St. Louis, is a spoken word performer, journalist, comic strip artist and musician. She is committed to encouraging women to make their voices heard. Wanda writes for The Voice Magazine http://www.voicemagazine.org/