News
Oliver Schroer, 52: Boundary-pushing violinist
Well, folks, a great musician, wondrous spirit and dear old friend has left the planet. Oliver Schroer passed away on Thursday July 3rd, 2008 after a 16-month battle with leukemia.
I knew him first as my father's (Trichy Sankaran's) student. He studied anything he could get his hands (and voice) on - I remember singing at the York University recitals with him, his smiling face adding to the sheer delight of simply making music.
Later, as solo artist, with the Stewed Tomatoes and within other wild and wacky musical contexts, I watched and listened as he brought the fiddle into the world and the world to his fiddle.
Dylan Bell and I got married on April 9, 2000, and Oliver, along with many other Toronto artists, graced our East-meets-West-meets-music-night (cleverly disguised as a "Wedding Reception") by playing a song he wrote for the occasion. He used the letters of my name to create the title Sing Up Bird Above. It was magical. 
Never have I met one being who embodies the essence of what I believe music is -- a cosmic connection between the voice, body, spirit, soul and mind in free artistic play. You are truly an inspiration. You will be so missed Oli, but never forgotten. Below are 2 of Oliver's songs Autorickshaw performed on May 29th at our Lula Lounge show with special guest Ben Grossman, as well as a song called sing up bird Above, that Oliver wrote for me on the occassion of my wedding: Humours of Aristotle:
Deep Water:
Sing Up Bird Above
Here's Oliver's obituary from the Toronto Star: Oliver Schroer, 52: Boundary-pushing violinist July 07, 2008
Oliver Schroer was a late bloomer. But boy did he bloom.
Over a 25-year career, the violin virtuoso produced or performed on more than 100 albums and wrote more than 1,000 pieces of music.
He is credited by his peers with having achieved and fostered in a new generation of fiddlers a unique fusion of traditional, classical and progressive musical styles.
Schroer died Thursday in Toronto's Princess Margaret Hospital after a 16-month battle with leukemia. He was 52.
"Oliver was so spiritually involved with his music," award-winning guitarist Liona Boyd said Friday from her home in New Canaan, Conn. In April, Schroer, a close friend since childhood, played on two tracks on Boyd's soon-to-be-released album.
"In April he had already come to terms with death," Boyd said. "He knew he didn't have much time left, but he was so full of life ... and music."
Schroer was born in Toronto and raised in a conservative German immigrant family in Flesherton, Ont. Having abandoned recorder and violin lessons for an electric guitar and jazz at age 16, he returned to the violin – this time electrified – in the early 1980s, after being exposed to the music of Frank Zappa, Lenny Breau, Chick Corea and Bill Evans in college, where he studied history and philosophy.
Over the next 25 years he shared stages and studios with American songwriting legends Jimmy Webb and Barry Mann, as well as Canadian artists Bruce Cockburn, James Keelaghan, Loreena McKennitt, Sylvia Tyson, guitarists Jesse Cook and Don Ross, violinist Anne Lindsay, the Toronto folk band Muddy York and the folk-rock bands Great Big Sea and Spirit of the West.
"It wasn't just his playing that made him special, though he was an amazing performer; it was also the clarity of his musical vision," said his longtime musical collaborator, David Woodhead.
"He took the violin as far as it could go. There were no boundaries for him. He had a way of bringing things out in other musicians that they didn't know were there. He had such an adventurous spirit."
Schroer focused on teaching young violinists – in a British Columbia-based program called
Twisted String – and on writing and recording an astonishing body of instrumental work that embraced Scandinavian, Balkan and Asian folk forms, jazz and avant-garde contemporary orchestral music.
He was working on an album only hours before his death, said Woodhead. "In hospital he'd jam with anyone who dropped by.
``One day he and I started jamming in time with the beep on his IV machine. He had a great sense of humour."
Schroer's best known solo albums were Camino and Hymns and Hers, a work of profoundly spiritual elegance, recorded after his cancer was diagnosed. "Oliver's instrumentals were more eloquent than most songs," said Grit Laskin, co-founder of the Canadian Folk Music Awards.
"Hymns and Hers touches every emotion humans are capable of feeling. His playing pushed boundaries in a way that was accessible. Unlike many jazz
musicians, he worked with melodies, stretching them into new shapes." Schroer attended the Toronto City Roots Festival June 28 to watch his "kids" – Twisted String students who had flown in from B.C. – performing at a concert highlighting new musical discoveries.
"There was such purity of intent in everything he did," said Toronto roots/jazz violinist Lindsay, whose recent album, News From Up the Street, Schroer co-produced. "Oliver touched so many people with his music."
Schroer leaves his wife Elena, mother Irene, sister Martina, and brothers Andreas and Ansgar.
The funeral is private, but a celebration of his life and music will be staged in the first week of September at a venue to be announced, Andreas Schroer said.
A scholarship is being set up in his name to sponsor young string players of promise interested in pushing the boundaries of their instruments.
Cheques may be made out to the Oliver Schroer Scholarship Trust Fund at 725 College St., P.O. Box 31029, Toronto, Ont., M6G 1C2. To donate via PayPal, and for more information go to oliverschroer.com. |
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John Lennon Songwriting Contest |
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We're happy to announce that Heavy Traffic from our latest album, So The Journey Goes, is a Grand Prize Winner in the 2007 John Lennon Songwriting Contest, Session II, World Music Category. The Grand Prize Winners from the 2007 contest will now compete head to head to determine the 12 Lennon Award Winners. Please vote by clicking the image below. You may vote once per category per day, so vote now and vote often! Voting is open March 19 - April 26th. The 12 Lennon Award Winners will be announced on May 1st and then go on to compete for the Maxell Song of the Year. Please note: when you click on the link and try to vote, you will be redirected to a page requesting your age and email address. Once entered, a confirmation emaill is sent to you. Click the link in the email, and your browser will load a page asking for your address. You do not have to enter your street address! The required fields are: 'Are you a songwriter?'
City
State (CDN provinces are in there)
Zip (CDN postal code with no spaces)
How did you hear about JLSC?  Click to vote!
The voting takes a few moments, and entails answering a few questions, but please don't let that deter you! This award caps off a number of award nominations and wins for So The Journey Goes: • A Juno nomination for World Music Album of the Year
• 2 Canadian Folk Music Award nominations, in the Best World Group and Pushing The Boundaries categories
• 2008 IMA finalist in the 'World Fusion' category, also for our song 'Heavy Traffic'
• Winner of an Ontario Independent Music Award for Best Jazz |
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2008 JUNO nomination |
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2007 Year in Review |
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 2007 - The Year in Review
Since it’s taken me almost a year to get this website up and running, I should probably start by giving you my 2007 Year in Review! This was an amazing year of touring, traveling, music-making and collaborating, from autorickshaw’s tours of India and Sweden, and directing the Collaboratory project at the Vancouver Island MusicFest (5 bands/artists performing a 90-minute musical invention created only days before the festival) to my 2-week, 6-country choral workshop tour in Europe with Dylan Bell. Also of note, my voice can now be heard in a permanent installation at the Royal Ontario Museum AND in spaaaace!!!
January in India
I started the year off with autorickshaw’s first-ever, 3-week India tour where we performed in Chennai, Bangalore, Jaipur and Kolkata. My husband and all-around talented multi-musician Dylan Bell subbed in for Rich Brown on bass.
In Chennai, we conducted three nights of workshops and concerts in a house concert setting for the Brhaddhvani School of Music, did a live-to-air performance and interview at the Radio Mirchi station (Radio Mirchi – It’s Hot! That’s the radio ID that I got to record several times over), and performed at the Unwind Centre – India’s Mega-Rock fest headquarters!, considered to be an innovative musical haven for the younger generation.
We then headlined a heavy metal/hard rock showcase in Bangalore!!! That was a first for us.
We moved to the north to breathtaking Rajasthan performing as part of the Jaipur Heritage Festival. The palace we performed in (also a first for us!) was called Diggi Palace, a cool name for a gorgeous venue. Here we encountered your run-of-the-mill peacocks and camels, elephants and horses in traffic. You know, the usual.
We performed at the Dalhousie Institute in Kolkata as part of the Congo Square Jazz Festival. We unfortunately missed Herbie Hancock who graced the same stage only days beforehand.
We had one perfect day at Marina beach back in Chennai and then came home for one day to unpack and repack kamikaze style for our BC tour...
Thanks to the Department of Foreign Affairs International Touring, the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi for their support and to my mother and father for generously providing us a home base in Chennai, not to mention the greatest home cooking on earth.
We have an extensive photo gallery from our India trip ... Click here. Samples below:
January/February in BC
Immediately after our return from India, Autorickshaw went on a 15-day tour of BC including 9 performances and 2 workshops, with several radio and print media interviews in advance of our official CD release in BC.
In our first leg, we performed on Cortes Island, Quadra Island, and celebrated our official CD release with a sold-out performance at the Jazz Cellar in Vancouver.
We then flew to Prince George, did a CBC radio interview and then drove to Prince Rupert on the famous Yellowhead Highway 16 - all in the same day. For those of you who have done this road trip, you know how crazy we were…
At this point we basically drove/toured our way back to Prince George via performances in Prince Rupert, Terrace, Kitimat, Smithers, Vanderhoof and finally Fort St. James where we performed a very special concert with the students of the local elementary and high schools. If you think BC is alluring in the spring and summer months, you should try driving it in a Lincoln Navigator in February! Seriously though, experiencing the majestic wilderness, the snow-capped mountain peaks and the backcountry in general reminded us how lucky we are to live in this beautiful country.
Thanks to the Canada Council for the Arts for their generous support.
February
I was asked to participate in a riveting and inspiring panel discussion on World Music through Worlds of Music Toronto at Hart House.
March
An annual, personal highlight for me is Trafalgar 24, presenting new Canadian theatre created, rehearsed and performed within a 24-hour period, using as its stage the beautiful surroundings of Trafalgar Castle in Whitby, Ontario. All proceeds from Trafalgar 24 are directed toward The Driftwood Theatre Group's annual season of Outdoor Summer Theatre. My contribution, along with librettist/playwright Lanie Treen (also of Retrocity fame), has been creating the musical feature (complete with actors, singers and dancers).
Visit the Driftwood Theatre website
March 24-25 Downtown Community Choral Summit
I was involved with the Downtown Community Choral Summit where I gave clinics on alto and soprano vocal production, workshops on jazz, south Indian singing and early music, and adjudicated various choral ensembles.
From February through April, I was teaching south Indian and jazz singing through the Worlds of Music Toronto: www.worldsofmusic.ca
April
 April 11th was Autorickshaw’s official CD release of So The Journey Goes in Toronto to a packed house at Lula Lounge.
May
May 6th was Sunda Songs with the Evergreen Club Gamelan. I had the pleasure and privilege of singing traditional and contemporary works for gamelan and voice. Stay tuned for a future remount of this concert: www.evergreenclubgamelan.ca
June Global Divas
 June 12th I was invited to perform once again at Global Divas: An International Celebration of Women and Song benefiting St Stephen’s Community House. Thanks to Jane Bunnett and the Spirits of Havana as well as Emeline Michel,Telmary and Rita Chiarelli.
There are photo galleries at www.ststephenshouse.com/globaldivas.html (I was involved in 2004 and 2007)
June 14 A Time to Hear for Here
The Royal Ontario Museum’s Multidimensional Sound Installation at the Spirit House
I was asked by John Oswald and Laurel McDonald to sing, in archaic Tamil no less!, in the context of a 24-part canon titled Qui (Latin for “who”), inspired by the late 15th century choral piece Qui Habitat by Josquin Desprez.
A sensual experience in the true sense of the word, this is an installation worth experiencing. Please read more at the ROM website. June 19th marked a fantastic concert by Retrocity (all 80s a cappella where I sing top soprano) and Cadence (four men, four microphones, no instruments). High energy, over-the-top, delightfully entertaining, please stay tuned for more shows in future. www.retrocity.ca
www.cadence-unplugged.com
Vancouver Island Music Festival July 2007
At the Vancouver Island Music Festival, Autorickshaw collaborated with a slew of excellent artists in Doug Cox's collaborative project 'Ancient Voices-Modern Times', directed by yours truly: Slammin' All Body Band from San Francisco (a fresh mix of a cappella vocals, beatboxing and body music); Tanya Tagaq (stunning Inuit throat singing), The Marigolds (three of Canada's best female musicians); and beatboxer Shamik Bilgi.
All of the participating artists arrived two days in advance of the Festival. I led two rehearsals where all of the artists brought existing songs, a couple of cover songs and their imaginations to ignite some spontaneous invention!
The magic often happens outside of the rehearsals, through lunches and dinners, late night jamming rendezvous, etc., and this was no exception. The end result was a 90-minute program of music and improvisation, a unique contribution to the festival that even 6 power outages could not stop (no joke)!
July 2007 in Sweden
Autorickshaw broke into the European market with their debut show at the Stockholm International Jazz Festival . What a fantastic trip!
Where to start? Well, Stockholm is a beautiful, historic city with gorgeous summer climate: imagine Muskoka if it were designed by Ikea. The show was great... fun performance, wonderful audience, great support staff. When we asked for
some "backline" equipment (some drum stuff for Patrick and a bass amp for Dylan who was subbing for Rich on bass) they led us to two tractor-trailers full of gear and said "just choose what you want and we'll deliver it". Now that's how you run a festival! We also got to see some other great acts including Steely Dan, Dave Holland, India.Arie, Joe Sample and Margareta Bengtson, former soprano for the Real Group.
Thanks to the Canada Council for the Arts and FACTOR for their generous support.
July 26-29 WorldSongs
I was one of three musical directors at WorldSongs, a choral retreat on beautiful Snake Island. I taught south Indian, early music, jazz, gospel and world-influenced songs.
September
Autorickshaw stayed closer to home this September with gigs at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Toronto with my father Trichy Sankaran as special guest. We also performed at the Junction Arts Festival, Diana Downtown in Guelph and the Kingston Jazz festival. I also participated as part of a panel discussion on world music and performed with my father Trichy Sankaran as well as John Gzowski as part of the X Avant New Music Festival at the Music Gallery.
www.musicgallery.org/
I sang/recorded on three songs (Mr. Softee, Fascination and Still) by inventive composer and percussionist Mark Duggan for his upcoming CD Diggin' Duggan.  Public Radio International Interview Sept 17
Bird On A Wire from our album So The Journey Goes was the featured 'Global Hit' on the PRI program 'The World' today. I was interviewed, giving insight and background into the arrangement.
Visit the Global Hit webpage hereiTunes podcast link
 October - Suba in Spaaaaace...
I attended composer, saxophonist and educator David Mott’s CD Release. I sing on his composition entitled Eclipse, a concerto for piano and unique chamber ensemble. Canadian astronaut and York alumnus Steve MacLean has since taken a recording of Eclipse along on his space shuttle mission. In space, no one can hear you scream, but they CAN hear you sing! I was a moderator for a world music panel at the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals (OCFF) conference.
Autorickshaw showcased at Ontario Contact with their new show Bollywood and Beyond, featuring the Autorickshaw with 7 members of the Hannaford Street Silver Band.
 Independent Music Awards: link
Autorickshaw was as a 2008 IMA finalist in the 'World Fusion' category for our song 'Heavy Traffic'. Congrats to fellow Magnum Opus Managment roster-mate Sultans of String for their nomination! This is an international competition, so we're very honoured to have been selected as a finalist.  Canadian Folk Music Awards
Also in October, Autorickshaw was nominated for two Canadian Folk Music Awards in the 'Best World Group' and 'Pushing The Boundaries' categories.
October-November Europe choral workshop tour
Dylan Bell and I did a 6-country tour of Europe (Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Holland), giving choral workshops. We were impressed with the choirs we worked with, and were delighted with the warmth and hospitality of our European friends both old and new. Many thanks to our organizers and hosts Jon, Rene, Thomas and Jasmin; Thorsten and Ghislaine; Uli and Helga; Anne and Marco; Mario, Feri and Sona; and Luc and Tanja. Here's looking forward to next year! Also in November, Autorickshaw received the Ontario Independent Music Award for "Best Jazz" for its version of the Bollywood classic "Aaj Ki Raat,"
Photos by Bruce Barrett 
Autorickshaw’s BC/YT/MB Tour
We spent three days giving workshops and performances at the Vancouver Community College. We took a side trip to perform in Gibson’s BC and then made our way to Whitehorse. We performed as part of the Jazz On The Wing series and gave several workshops and private lessons ranging from choral conducting to beatboxing and bass to drumming. We also got a chance to hang out with the good people at Magnum Opus Management (MOM, as we affectionately say).
We moved on to Winnipeg where we madly rehearsed for a very special event – the world premiere of my new work for Autorickshaw and string quartet called Maya, commissioned by the West End Cultural Centre. We had the great fortune of working with a stellar quartet from the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra.
Thanks to Sal Ferreras , Robert Benaroya and Celso Machado (for the finest home cooking on the west coast!), Scott Wilson, MOM, Dominic Lloyd and Boyd MacKenzie for their tireless efforts in organizing the events and thanks to the Canada Council for the Arts for their generous support.
Here’s a photo gallery from our Jazz Yukon show in Whitehorse, YT (click the photo to view)  December 2 Tia Anita Project
One of my compositions, Vara Sapta Swara, off Autorickshaw’s latest album So The Journey Goes, is featured on the new Tia Anita Project CD. All proceeds from the disc go to the Stephen Lewis Foundation. For more info: www.tiaanitaproject.ca/
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