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New England Celtic Arts will present Cape Breton fiddler Andrea Beaton at Skye Theatre Performing Arts Center in South Carthage on Wednesday Nov. 18 at 7:00 P.M.; and at Unity College Performing Arts Center on Thursday, Nov. 19 at 7:30 P.M. There is a pre-show jam beginning at 6:15 p.m. at Skye Theatre. Audience members are encouraged to bring their instruments and play for a few minutes with the artists.
One of Cape Breton’s most promising young fiddlers, Andrea Beaton comes by her music honestly. Listen to her play, the power of her bow, the drive and swing of her timing, the crispness of her attack. She’s making a name for herself in dance halls, concerts, ceilidhs, and festivals. Like the compelling tradition she represents, her reputation is growing, spreading beyond the island. Andrea Beaton is destined for great things.
She’s the youngest of generations of Beaton musicians. Her father, Kinnon, is one of today’s most influential Cape Breton fiddlers, and you can hear some of his timing in Andrea’s playing. Her mother, Betty Lou Beaton, is one of the great piano accompanists of her generation, contributing to that remarkable Beaton timing.
Her paternal grandfather, Donald Angus Beaton, was one of the strongest and most popular players of his time, and you can hear some of his power in her playing. Her paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Beaton, is a strongly rhythmic piano player, with a great love of the music.
Her uncle, Buddy MacMaster, is the most revered fiddler on Cape Breton island. Her cousin, Natalie MacMaster, is an enormously popular entertainer. And so it goes, back and across the generations. Cape Breton is an extraordinarily musical place, and Andrea is increasingly in the forefront of her generation. Her music is at once her own and deeply rooted in the tradition associated with the Mabou Coal Mines. And, like her father and grandfather, she is a composer in the tradition, adding fine new music to the island’s repertoire.
Born in 1979, Andrea grew up surrounded by music and dance. She was playing a little at ten; at thirteen she took lessons from Stephanie Wills, a very fine traditional player. But it was some years later, when, missing home while doing a two-year course on Prince Edward Island, that she began playing in earnest. And it seems she never looked back.
These concerts are part of her US tour to release her latest CD “Branches.” Hilda Chaisson-Cormier, wife of noted Cape Breton multi instrumentalist J. P. Cormier, will accompany her on piano and Remi Arsenault on guitar.
Skye Theater is located 3 miles West of East Dixfield village at 2 Highland Drive off Winter Hill Rd and US RT. 2 in South Carthage. Ticket price is $10.00 at the door. Call New England Celtic Arts at (207) 562-4445 for reservations and directions. Unity Theater is located at 42 Depot Street in Unity, Maine. Tickets at Unity are $11 online at unityme.org/theater/index.html or $10.00 at the door. More information is also available at www.necelticarts.com
