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Originally from Manitoba, fiddler/singer/composer Anne Lederman is rooted in several Canadian musical traditions, old and new – Metis and French-Canadian, Scottish, Irish and Old-Time Canadian, Eastern European and African. She sings in several languages and also plays mandolin, tenor guitar, piano, bones, feet, jawharp and more.

Anne began her professional career as a fiddler in the late 1970s touring with Harry Hibbs, Newfoundland's “favourite son”. In 1983, as half of duo Muddy York with Ian Bell, she released the ground-breaking recording Scatter The Ashes: Music of Old Ontario (now re-mastered and released on CD).

In 1985 and ‘86, she returned to Manitoba to study and record the music of Native and Métis fiddlers, resulting in a 4-record archival set of recordings titled Old Native and Métis Fiddling in Manitoba (re-released in 2004 as a double CD set on The National Museum's Archive label). This was followed by work with Izvor, an ensemble devoted to Balkan, Greek and other East European traditions, and then The Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band with whom she recorded two albums: The Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band and Agada.


In Switzerland

In 1991, she released her first solo recording, Not A Mark In This World, a collection of Canadian traditional songs of social comment. This was followed in 1998 with a special collection of songs for children, Come From Every Way, about coming to Canada from all over the world. In 1999, Anne began to work with Njacko Backo of Cameroon and his Kalimba Kalimba! ensemble who have toured the Prairies, Quebec, B.C. and the North. They have released 4 recordings, Ka Koua (2001), The Conscience of Africa (2004) Ou est l'amour? (2009) and Ici Bas, rien n'est impossible (2013)

The year 2000 saw the appearance of Anne’s first instrumental fiddle recording, 7 Cats, featuring traditional and original tunes – Metis, French-Canadian, Celtic-Canadian, Klezmer and Macedonian. This was followed in 2003 by Fiddlesong, a work hailed by critics as an inspired expression of “Canadian world music”.

"It sounds traditional; it sounds brand new. Mostly it just sounds damn good." Penguin Eggs
“. . . creates something both traditional and new, and it's a thing of beauty.” Sound Bytes
“. . . truly a great example of Canadian music at its finest.” The Observer. Hartland, NB

IN 2015, Anne released her most recent CD, Old Man's Table: Tunes from Grandy Fagnan. Grandy was a Métis elder from Camperville Manitoba with an astonishing repertoire of tunes passed down from fur trade days in Manitoba.

   
Come from Every Way at Harbourfront The Flying Bulgar Klezmer Klezmer Band in Yellowknife

In 1992, Anne founded Worlds of Music Toronto, a school devoted both to teaching of musical traditions throughout the world and to cross-cultural performance. Throughout this time, she taught Music and Folklore part-time at York University, composed and performed music for several theatrical productions in Toronto and Blyth, Ontario and backed up numerous artists in live shows and on recordings (Grit Laskin and Ian Robb, Eileen McGann, Don Freed, Holly Cole, Cindy Thompson, Theresa Tova, Tom Leadbeater and Garnet Rogers, among others). Anne was also fiddler and musical consultant for the Road to Avonlea television series.

In 1997, Anne wrote a solo show, Spirit of the Narrows, about her work with Native and Metis fiddlers in Manitoba. In 2004, this work was turned into a 2-person play which premiered at the Blyth Theatre Festival to rave reviews, was remounted in 2005, and then in 2015 and '16 at the Pearl COmpany in Hamilton. In 1997, she composed and performed for two Veronica Tennant productions, A Pair of Red Shorts, and for Roseneath Theatre's Spirit Horse, a Canadian adaptation of Irish movie “Into the West,” which is about to go into its 7th tour in 2017 and was featured at the first Luminato Festival in Toronto.

In 2005, Anne represented Canada at the prestigious Viljandi Festival in Estonia. In 2006, 2008 and 2010, she performed at the North Atlantic Fiddle Convention in Aberdeen, Scotland and in Newfoundland as well as the Fiddle Festival of Wales. 2010 also marked the beginning of Eh?!, a wonderful new adventure in Canadian music with James Stephens and Emilyn Stam - trad and new music, instrumentals and songs, in dynamic concert arrangements. Eh?!'s first CD was nominated for a Canadian Folk Music award in 2011.

In 2020, Anne helped create a new musical venture with 4 other musicians from throughout North America: Erynn Marshall (Virginia, originally B.C.), Laura Risk (Quebec, originally California), Jean Hewson and Christina Smith (Newfoundland). They are proud to announce the release of their new, self-titled CD on Dec. 1, 2023. Check out the Portage website here Portage Youtube Channel (please subscribe!)
They are currently working on their first CD.

In 2023, Anne was able to go to Norway to study hardanger on a Canada COuncil grant. SHe is currently working on a show about her experiences. Anne has been heard on Morningside, Gabereau, Musical Friends, Midday, Friday Night with Ralph Benmergui and as part of Stuart McLean's Vinyl Café Orchestra. She continues to perform on her own, for shows with Ian Bell as Lederman/Bell, with Fiddlesong, with Njacko Backo, and with new ensemble, Portage.

In 2022, Anne was inducted into the Canadian FIddlers Hall of Honour, and in 2016, Anne was given the Estelle Klein Award by Folk Music Ontario for her contributions to Canadian folk music.

with Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band and IZVOR

Anne at Soozi's

Anne and Ian at Upper Canada Village 1982

Muddy York 1980-85

w/ Peter Horan and Pierre Schryer
Goderich

w/ Wade Hemsworth Expo 84

LOKA