Community Fiddle Orchestra Set To Perform Again, Welcome New Members

Jeff Green | Aug 17, 2022

Both in her day job at Lanark Lodge, a long-term care facility in Perth, and in her passion project as the conductor of the Blue Skies Community Fiddle Orchestra, Cindy McCall has felt the stress of the last 21/2 years.

While Lanark Lodge is now dealing with a large COVID outbreak among patients, the path forward for the orchestra seems to be clearer now than it has been over the entire pandemic, as they prepare for a normal fall session staring in mid-September.

“The first thing that happened to us back in March of 2020, was a total shut down of the orchestra spring session,” she said. “We had no idea what was going to happen at that time, so we laid pretty low.”

The idea of doing anything virtual for an orchestra with up to 50 members did not appeal to McCall.

In the fall of 2020, during a lull in the pandemic, the orchestra was able to gather at the Perth Legion, under strict distancing and masking protocols.

“We usually meet at the Maberly Hall, or the Oso Hall in Sharbot Lake, but they were closed at the time, but the Perth Legion came through for us at the time.”

Those in person meetings did not last very long, as the everything shut down again pretty quickly.

After that, it became time for a Zoom orchestra.

“I did not know much about Zoom at the time, and the idea of teaching over the Internet where I could not hear and react to what people were playing, was terrifying,” she recalls.

But with the time lag over rural Internet, or any Internet, there was no way for 40 fiddles to play at the same time without it being a cacophony of sounds for anyone listening, so Cindy played and the orchestra had to mute their microphones and play along at home.

“Luckily, my husband Gary is our guitarist, so we could work on tunes together, and provide a basis for the orchestra members to play. We also developed ways for members to let me know if they felt they were getting the tunes, or were struggling.”

Over time, the weekly Zoom sessions were working for the members, and they became more than that, they were social events for a group that is predominantly made up of older adults who appreciated the interaction.

“Orchestra members began to tell me that the orchestra rehearsals were a ‘lifeline’ for them, and we did what we could to make them fun. We did crazy hat day, and the one of our members said maybe people who wanted to could prepare something to play for us all, so we did that and it gave people a chance to perform. It really became something that people looked forward to. For Gary and me it became a lot of work, because instead of preparing and teaching 15 or 17 songs in a session of 12 weeks, we were doing 35. Songs and tunes from all over the world.”

The orchestra was able to meet in person again in the Fall of 2021, at the Oso Hall in Sharbot Lake this time, and planned a Christmas Concert.

“We spent hours measuring the hall to see hwo many people we could seat a proper distance, and it was going to be a fully masked and vaccine mandated event, with all of us masked as well, no singing, all of that, but we were really excited to perform.”

Two days before the concert was scheduled, the Omicron COVID shut down was announced and the concert was scrapped, another disappointment for orchestra members, and their conductor.

Another challenge the orchestra faced was financial. The orchestra is supported by Blue Skies in the Community (BSIC), the outreach arm of the Blue Skies Music Festival, which was cancelled for two years.

“BSIC were able to give us some money, because the festival made it a priority to keep supporting the arts, but not as much as before,” she said.

The orchestra members came forward to fundraise.

“We had a tip jar on Zoom for members who performed for us on Zoom, and posted the videos on our Facebook page and generated some money from Blue Skies supporters. And we held a couple of fundraisers, a sale of chocolate by Ludwig Ratzinger, and a silent auction on Facebook, which both did really well.”

Finally in April, the orchestra got together again, meeting outdoors as much as possible, and the Zoom sessions continued for those who are not ready to meet in person, and for some orchestra members who have moved away but have been able to attend the virtual sessions.

“I was surprised how well the orchestra had done learning the tunes over Zoom when we got together. It was very emotional for us hear each other in person when we got together in late April. There were tears.”

The fiddle orchestra plays a set each at the Blue Skies Festival, which was held in early August.

“I was really excited to conduct the orchestra at the festival, but that did not happen.”

A week before Blue Skies, family members of Cindy who had gathered together for a meal, then tested positive for COVID. Cindy developed symptoms, and although she eventually tested negative, she had to miss the concert.

A fiddling friend of hers, also a supporter of the orchestra, Victor Maltby of the Long Sault Trio, stepped in in her place and the concert was on again for orchestra members.

“It was a blow for me, but that’s how it goes,” she said.

The orchestra is now planning its fall session, and one of the key features will be starting up a new beginner’s orchestra.

“We lost a lot of our younger members, and some others, through COVID, and we are always looking to being new people to the fiddle, young people or older people who always wanted to play but never had the chance.

“We are accepting new beginner’s ages 8 years and up who interested in learning to play the fiddle, reading very basic sheet music, playing with others, having fun, and following a conductor. Anyone who is interested is welcome to give us a call to find out more. We are offering group lessons starting in Sept to Dec on Saturdays at the Maberly Hall. Cost of membership is $100 for the term, and there is financial support available if that is a problem. There are all sizes of fiddles to rent from the Blue Skies instrument bank at a very reasonable monthly rate as well. Finances should not be an impediment.”

Anyone who is interested in joining the beginner’s orchestra, or those with some experience who are interested in jumping in to the orchestra itself are invited to email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for further information.

The Blue Skies Community Fiddle Orchestra is over 20 years old. It was started by Carolyn Stewart with the goal of bringing the fiddle tradition back to the local region and promoting music for areas youth.

It has done both, providing a starting point for musicians, young and old, who now play around kitchen tables, campfires, and in churches and concert halls around the region and beyond.