Gabe's Gibsons Fiddle Camp

Gabe's Gibsons Fiddle Camp is in its third year! The 2023 camp will run from Friday Jul 28-Sun Jul 30 on the beach at Chaster House on BC's beautiful Sunshine Coast (in Gibsons)! This year's instructors are Daniel Lapp & Gabriel Dubreuil on violin and Craig McGregor on guitar.  

Early RegistratioN Now open

Highlights:

- Instructor outdoor house concert Friday Jul 28 in the Bonniebrooke neighbourhood of Gibsons, BC at 7pm. 

- Workshops Saturday Jul 29 and Sunday Jul 30 at Chaster House right on the waterfront across from scenic Chaster Park, Gibsons, BC. 

This year's camp has three streams: (1) accompanists; (2) mixed levels ensemble (intermediate); and (3) advanced fiddle ensemble. The camp is open to musicians of all ages who are interested in ensemble playing and learning new fiddle tunes and sets. Please note that classes are geared towards adults and teenagers.

Parents: Please note the camp is not geared towards kids and there is minimal supervision; Children must have at least 2 years playing experience and accompanied by a parent.

We suggest booking accommodations and making ferry reservations soon as these will book up well ahead of time. Ferries for the dates are already booking up, so make a reservation soon! 

2023 Camp Instructors

Daniel Lapp

Daniel Lapp grew up in Prince George, BC in a musical house with deep prairie fiddling roots. He received his BMus from UVic studying classical trumpet and spent a year studying jazz at Humber College. For over 30 years he has toured across Europe, Australia, China, Israel, the USA and Canada playing a plethora of musical styles from folk and jazz to electronic music. He has performed on a variety of instruments with many recognizable names such as Spirit of the West, Rickie Lee Jones, 54-40, Gord Downie, Barney Bentall, Jim Byrnes, Jim Cuddy, Elvis Costello, Lou Reed, Ron Sexsmith, Stephen Fearing, Ed Robertson and Roy Forbes. He started the BC Fiddle Orchestra program in 1994 that continues to inspire dozens of young fiddlers and founded the Victoria Fiddle Society in 2001 that holds monthly jams with up to 100 participants of all ages. In 2005 Daniel opened ‘Daniel Lapp’s House of Music’ teaching the ‘music of our time and place’ and doubled as a non-charitable Society that enriched the community with various outreach programs. He has lead the Joy of Life Choir with almost 100 non-auditioned adult members for almost 25 years and also leads a 40 member adult folk ensemble called Folkestra. In 2010 Daniel was a featured fiddler in the Opening Ceremonies of the Vancouver Olympics and has recorded many albums of folk, jazz and electronic music. In 2012 Daniel received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee ‘Service’ Award and in 2013 was the recipient of the Canadian Folk Music Association ‘Innovator’ Award for his contribution to Canada’s fiddle culture. This includes his almost 30 year commitment to collecting indigenous BC fiddle tunes which includes over 3000 compositions by over 300 BC composers. In 2019 Daniel received a ‘Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Association’. 

Craig McGregor (guitar)

Craig McGregor is a fantastic swing and celtic style guitarist who seems to have accompanied every fiddler in BC. Though he started his career as a pop musician, for the past two decades he's been playing various styles of roots music including Swing and Celtic and is often in demand as an accompanist for many fiddlers. Craig toured with Swing Reel (Mark Sullivan), the Sabir Sisters, Great Northern and the Tiller's Folly, among others, and has tought several times at the British Columbia Swing Camp and British Columbia Bluegrass Workshop (among other camps). As you may tell from his humble bio, he also has quite the sense of humour!

"Craig McGregor may be the greatest living guitarist of our time. It’s more likely he’s not but, then again there’s no accounting for taste. I mean let’s be honest, he’s probably not that great but he can maybe teach you a thing or two. He’s played guitar professionally in various genres for over 40 years, taught and performed at dozens of music camps as well as teaching over 10 thousand private guitar lessons. Whereas you are considering signing up for a weekend workshop, if you do know more than him, don’t worry. He is a really good guy. You’ll probably enjoy hanging out with him for a couple of days and showing him a couple tricks . Just consider this quote from Craig himself: “Of all my wife’s relatives, I love myself the best". High praise indeed. Also, there is a very good chance that of all his wife’s relatives he is the best guitarist. No guarantee mind you but, a reasonable chance."

Gabriel Dubreuil (violin)

Gabriel Dubreuil is a fiddler, multi-instrumentalist, composer, teacher, sideman, bandleader, producer (the list goes on). He has recorded on dozens of albums with acclaimed musicians and producers and performed across North America alongside some of the worlds finest folk musicians. ​

Born and raised in British Columbia, Gabriel Dubreuil took to the fiddle at an early age. Captivated by old traditions and emerging music styles he has learned to play many instruments in many genres. He is indeed a musical chameleon: blending Celtic, Canadian fiddle and jazz with style and flare, drawing from his studies with Matt Glaser, Darol Anger and Jason Anick. He is an alumni of Berklee College of Music where he received a degree in Jazz performance and American Roots music. 

Gabriel is a founding member of Celtic-rock band Early Spirit. The Canadian Celtic folk-rock quartet, Early Spirit, released their second studio album, The Hollow Tree. A totally collaborative effort, the album includes brilliant lyrics and vocals from Knutson, exciting arrangements and fiery fiddle parts from Dubreuil and engaging bass lines and percussion. While remaining committed to the band’s folk and traditional roots this album explores new influences and includes exciting collaborations.

Gabriel is the Executive Artistic Director for Vancouver’s North Shore Celtic Ensemble, a youth performing arts group with some of Vancouver’s most promising young musicians. Gabriel was previously the musical director for the Bad to the Bow youth fiddle group in Gibsons, BC and he teaches private violin lessons in North Vancouver. Gabriel is the founder of the Vancouver Youth Fiddle Summit and Gabes’ Gibsons Fiddle Camp. 

REGISTER TODAY

Camp fees:

Gabe's Gibsons Fiddle Camp is an Early Spirit Productions (Gabriel Dubreuil) event. Payments to be made by etransfer, PayPal or cheque to Early Spirit Productions. Please direct all inquiries to gabe@gabrieldubreuil.com. The NSCE supports this event through cross-promotion.

Schedule:

Day 1 - Friday, July 28 (house in Bonniebrooke, Gibsons)

7:00 - House concert

Day 2 - Saturday July 29 (Chaster House, Gibsons)

10:30-12:30 - Classes

12:30-1:30 - Lunch

1:30-3:00 Class

3-3:30 Break

3:30-5 Class

5:30-late - Outdoor potluck picnic and Jam!

Day 3 - Sunday July 30  (Chaster House, Gibsons)

10-11 - Class

11:15-12:15 - Class

12:15-1:45 - Lunch at the beach

1:45-3:00 - Beach jam!

3:00 - pack up

REGISTER TODAY