Bowfire is a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 musical show featuring multiple violin

Violin

The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

s, established in June 2000 by violinist and composer Lenny Solomon

Lenny Solomon

Lenny Solomon is a Canadian jazz, pop, and classical violinist and composer. An active studio musician, he has performed on hundreds of recordings and soundtracks, including albums by Nigel Kennedy, Anne Murray, and John McDermott. He has also recorded two of his own jazz albums: After You've Gone...

. They perform an eclectic mix of classical music

Classical music

Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...

, jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

, bluegrass music

Bluegrass music

Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...

, celtic music

Celtic music

Celtic music is a term utilised by artists, record companies, music stores and music magazines to describe a broad grouping of musical genres that evolved out of the folk musical traditions of the Celtic people of Western Europe...

, rock music

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

, and world music

World music

World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...

.

In addition to the group's nine violinists/fiddlers, Bowfire also features Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

-based erhu

Erhu

The erhu is a two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, which may also be called a "southern fiddle", and sometimes known in the Western world as the "Chinese violin" or a "Chinese two-stringed fiddle". It is used as a solo instrument as well as in small ensembles...

 performer George Gao

George Gao

- History :George Gao was born in 1967, in Shanghai, China. Gao began studying the erhu at the age of six. In 1982, he won First Prize at the Shanghai Junior Instrumental Soloist Competition and a Silver Medal at the China National Junior Instrumental Soloist Contest. His performance skill exempted...

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One of the group's most popular compositions is "Fiddler in the Hood." They also perform covers of well known tunes such as Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...

's "Kashmir

Kashmir (song)

"Kashmir" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin from their sixth album Physical Graffiti, released in 1975. It was written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant over a period of three years, with the lyrics dating back to 1973.-Overview:The song centres around a signature chord progression...

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Formed in June 2000, Bowfire made its debut performance the following month at Expo 2000 in Hannover, Germany. Audience response was wildly enthusiastic, and the group was subsequently invited to perform on the Governor-General's Awards telecast, the Canadian equivalent of the United States' Kennedy Center Honors.

The ensemble made its American debut in a series of performances during the summer of 2001 in New York City, and embarked on their first U.S. tour during the 2002-2003 season. In December 2003 Bowfire made its Asian debut with performances in Taiwan. Bowfire has enjoyed many highly successful touring seasons since then and is currently touring North America, with over 100 performance dates scheduled for 2008.

Bowfire also filmed an HD concert special in conjunction with WLIW Public Television in New York, which airs on PBS stations throughout the United States

Performers

• Stephane Allard - Québécois jazz violinist
• Bill Bridges - guitar
• Stephanie Cadman - Celtic fiddler
• Shane Cook - fiddler
• Bogdan Djukic - classical violinist
• George Gao - erhu
• Yi-Jia Susanne Hou - violinist
• Ray Legere - bluegrass fiddler
• Lew Mele - bass
• Jon Pilatzke - Celtic fiddler
• Ben Riley - drums
• Bernie Senensky - piano
• Wendy Solomon - cello
• Lenny Solomon - jazz violinist/founder/Artistic Director
• Kelli Trottier - Celtic fiddler