April Verch

KNOXVILLE — Most of us don't know what we want for lunch when we're 3 years old. April Verch knew what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. She wanted to be a fiddler.

"My parents didn't believe me, so they didn't get me a fiddle until I was 6," says Verch.

Verch says she doesn't remember all of the incidents from when she was three, but her parents remember it well.

"My parents were both music lovers, especially of local traditional music. And my dad had a little band. He plays guitar and sings. I also have an older sister. My older sister was taking step-dancing lessons, and that's why I started - because I wanted to do everything she did. When I'm having a bad day I blame her for all this!"

The lead instrument in the music Verch danced to was the fiddle, and she fell in love with it. Several years later, Verch would go on to win 1997 Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Championship and the 1998 Canadian Open Fiddle Champion, as well as make a name for herself as a touring performer.

Verch grew up in the tiny community of Rankin, which is near the small town of Pembroke, in the Ottawa Valley area of Ontario, Canada. She says the traditional music of the Ottawa Valley is not so much Celtic-based as it is in the more coastal areas of Canada. Instead, the area is a melting pot of styles.

While Verch doesn't remember the very first fiddle song that caught her ear, she does remember learning her first song - a jig called "Chase Me, Charlie," learned one day after she got her first fiddle.

"I got my fiddle for my sixth birthday and that was a Saturday," says Verch. "My family goes to church on Sunday morning. I remember I had a cold and it wasn't a serious cold. Any other day I would've had to go to church. But my dad said, 'Oh, I don't think she's feeling well. I better stay home with her.' And as soon as my mom and sister left for church he showed me how to play it. It was awesome!"

Verch's first actual fiddle teacher was a local teenager who was still just learning himself. Rather than teaching his young student to read music, he taught his young student a notation that he had made up himself.

"I'm really glad that I learned that way," says Verch. "I don't think I would have had the patience to learn how to read music and play at the same time. But, when I went back to learn it correctly, it was hard."

Playing, says Verch, came easily at first. She remembers learning a song called "Angus Campbell," which she loved to dance to, becoming a major challenge.

"I just had a real sense of accomplishment when I learned that," she says.

Verch says growing up in a small town meant there wasn't a lot of competition for local musical entertainment. Thus, at only 6 years old she was performing around the community. As she became more accomplished she began traveling to fiddle competitions. She also formed a music group with her older sister Tawnya and two local brothers.

As far as her developing her own style, Verch says a trip to Mark O'Connor's fiddle camp when she was a teenager was pivotal.

"I remember everyone wanted to play like someone else and I remember thinking, 'There can only be one Liz Carroll and there can only be one Mark O'Connor. I better work on being April Verch!' "

Coming from a dance background helped.

"When I'm working with people and trying to get them to get the groove I have them waltz," says Verch.

"(Fiddle and dance) just go hand in hand in my tradition, anyway. I always remember my dad teaching me, 'If you're doing it right, people are going to want to get up and dance or they'll be tapping their toes. If they're not then you're not doing it right!' "

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel
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