Fiddle show rocks Freshwater

Playing from left to right, Chantelle Jubenville, Emilia Bartellas, Maria Peddle, Carole Bestvater, Daniel Hawkins, and Douglas Dorward.

There’s an old Irish proverb that reads ‘the older the fiddle, the sweeter the tune.’ 

If that were true, then I’d say the instruments played this past Saturday night at the Freshwater Community Centre must have been ancient.

Or maybe it was the players. 

Emilia Bartellas, Carole Bestvater , Douglas Dorward, Daniel Hawkins, Chantelle Jubenville, and Maria Peddle brought to the stage genuine chemistry, passionate craftsmanship, and endearing personality. 

“We’re all involved in different things, with different commitments, and different styles of playing, but we just wanted to create an opportunity to play what we wanted, to be creative together,” said Bartellas. 

“For us it really us an opportunity to have fun and for everybody to bring to the table what they wanted to play to make this work.” 

Playing from left to right, Emilia Bartellas,
Carole Bestvater, and Daniel Hawkins.

The show, String Together ; Fiddle Tunes from Near and Far, delivered on the promise in its name, drawing material from America, Scotland, Sweden, and of course, from our own local repertoire.  The sextet struck a perfect balance between high octane, frenetic, toe tapping dance songs and more quiet, sombre, and reflective airs.  Both classic and contemporary tunes were performed, including a handful of original compositions.  

“Music has a way of bringing people together,” said Dorward.  “It just really taps into the emotions.” 

And the audience? During the intermission, and after the show, exclaims of ‘fantastic’, ‘phenomenal’, and ‘excellent’ could be heard all throughout the crowd. 

Though the performers have not formed an ‘official’ group, there is certainly potential for future projects. 

“I think one of the beauties of what we have created here tonight is that there is potential for more projects in the future, but as a project-based collective of friends rather than something that is really formalized,” explained Bestvater . 

For information on the Sizzle Sisters, a string duo comprised of Bestvater and Jubenville, you can visit their Facebook page.