Go and do

WHO: fiddler/vocalist April Verch

WHAT: L/A Arts concert

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 18

WHERE: Franco-American Heritage Center, 46 Cedar St., Lewiston

TICKETS: $23/$19 students and seniors. They may be purchased online at www.laarts.org, or by calling 782-7228.

LEWISTON - April Verch's love for the sound of the fiddle started when she was only 3 years old and taking step-dance lessons in the shadows of an older sister. Now at age 29, Verch is still step dancing. But she has since nurtured her love for fiddle into a repertoire of finely tuned sounds as versatile as her instrument and has claimed the spotlight for herself.

Verch and her four-piece band will perform Thursday, Oct. 18, at the Franco-American Heritage Center, courtesy of L/A Arts and local business sponsors.

Already with six CDs to her name and myriad awards, Verch performs with an authentic understanding of fiddle traditions that comes from growing up in the Ottawa Valley of Canada. There, the styles of French, Irish, Scottish, German and Polish settlers have blended their musical heritages into a distinct Ottawa Valley sound that has inspired and fascinated Verch from her earliest memory.

"I grew up with that music," she said. "I actually started dancing first, but then I started fiddling because I liked the sound."

In recent years, Verch has added vocals in a style as clear and natural as her fiddling. Several tracks on her "Take Me Back" CD released last year include lilting melodies that accentuate Verch's voice. The tracks "Cruel Moon" and "Bride of Jesus" evoke an empathetic angst that compares to Emmy Lou Harris and Gillian Welch. Verch sings with an innocence and simplicity that tugs at the heart strings as well as the fiddle.

"I like to play anything that inspires me," said Verch. "Sometimes it's something that I've heard, and I just can't get it out of my head. But sometimes stuff that you like doesn't really suit you, so you have to find what fits."

Although Verch hasn't written any of her own lyrics yet, she said she searches for songs that haven't been recorded previously.

As for her instrumental tracks, Verch shows impressive creativity in adapting any of the couple of dozen standard fiddling styles into a sound uniquely hers. "Monarch," on the "Take Me Back" CD, combines traditional folk with jazz and blues in a mesmerizing contemporary sound. Verch blends a Nashville style with a little Texas swing in "Tennessee Wagoner."

But Verch stays true to fiddling roots with Gaelic-inspired tunes such as "Eclipse" and the more English-sounding "Grand Slaque." Verch's earlier CDs "Fiddelicious" and "VERCHuosity" showcase her nimbleness and command of a wide range of traditional fiddling.

Verch and her band have a new CD, just finished and as of yet untitled, due to be released next year.

Verch stays in tune with regional fiddling as she travels throughout Canada and the United States on nearly a nonstop, yearlong tour of performances and teaching engagements. She noted that fiddle camps have become more popular recently and have, in turn, made fiddling more popular. These fiddle camps cater to all ages and levels, some to a particular style and others to a variety, she pointed out.

"I think fiddling and traditional music has really come to the forefront in the last few years," said Verch. "First there was River Dance and then there were movies like 'O Brother, Where Art Thou.' People are getting in touch with their roots, and more young people now are playing the more traditional music."

Although Verch was a student for a year at Boston's Berklee School of Music and studied under renowned fiddler and violinist Matt Glaser, the young musician has spent most of her life on the road either performing or teaching.

While she loves the life of a musician, Verch admits that home is always nice. She makes a point of letting her audience know that her father reminds her not to forget where she comes from. It helps that she travels with her husband, Marc Bru, who is also her road manager and percussionist for the band. Other members of the tightly knit band are Isaac Callender on guitar and Cody Walters on bass.