Multi-award-winning fiddler Don Roy and his wife Cindy Roy, a pianist/guitarist and step-dancer, will return to the Eastport Arts Center stage for a concert on Tuesday, October 6 at 7 pm. Called “the quintessential Downeast fiddler” by Bau Graves, director of the Old Town School of Folk Music, Don Roy has garnered honors beyond counting, though his three Individual Artist Fellowships (1994, 2001 and 2008) from the Maine Arts Commission, given for excellence in the pursuit of traditional arts, must be noted.
Don met Cindy on a blind music-playing date in 1980 and a year later the two were wed. They have been performing together frequently ever since, both as a duo and with the Don Roy Ensemble, which has toured extensively, playing such venues as the Champlain Valley Festival, Burlington VT; National Folk Festival, Bangor ME; Library of Congress, Washington DC; and the Kennedy Center, Washington DC.
Don has also been involved with the genesis of the open community-based orchestra, Fiddle-icious, which is now in its 13th year. The project was formed when Don started teaching free sessions in Portland, and is now made up of more than 140 members of all skill levels and is dedicated to preserving the cultural heritage of Maine’s traditional fiddle music, aided by volunteer staff and administrators, a library of books and recordings, and an extensive inventory of stringed instruments for members to explore. The group’s website, for those interested, is at fiddleicious.com.
Don is an instructor at Maine Fiddle Camp, teaches privately and makes and plays on his own violins. You can read more about his instruments at http://www.donroyviolins.com.
Tickets for Don and Cindy’s Eastport show are $10; those 18 and under will be admitted free of charge.