In February of 2004, Ben Plotnick went down to Sundre for a weekend fiddle workshop, in collaboration with violin teacher Laurie Syer. The weekend sparked an idea in the 14 or so students who attended, and as such, 7 Fiddlesworth was born! Then called "The E String Gang", the group went 2 years under the direction of Ben Plotnick. Those with alternate priorities went their own ways, and the group was down to about 9 players by 2005.
At this point, a mother with a smart idea suggested that Ben begin a fiddlecamp. This camp, "FiddleMania", has become a huge success since then, with 55 students in 2008 and some of the finest teachers Canada has to offer.
With Ben's departure to university in Toronto, the group was taken over by a teacher they had made friends with previously at FiddleMania - Sean Softley. Sean took the group to new heights over the next two years.
Meanwhile, the parents were hard at work! The group was beginning to find more and more performance opportunites, from festivals to folk clubs, from seniors homes to various other functions.
Now, in 2008, with Ben back from school and Sean hard at work still, Seven Fiddlesworth has some amazing performance credits. Amidst many accomplishments, they've performed on the main stage at the Water Valley Celtic Festival, played a feature set at the Calgary Celtic Folk Club and wowed audiences at public shows in Cochrane, Didsbury and many more.
They are currently working on music for their first CD! More information will follow.
