An accomplished fiddler, Montreal-based musician Jonathan Moorman’s gift of trad wasn’t inherited in the hereditary sense.

“My dad is English and Italian, my mother is half American, half Canadian, and I was born in London,” reports Moorman. “So, no Celtic blood to speak of!”

What he lacks in blood, he makes up for in how the love of the music flows through his veins; in his case, it was just a matter of nurture over nature.

“My family is very musical, and my dad was always playing Irish folk music around the house when we were growing up, so it got into my DNA somehow. I started playing classical violin at the age of six and began learning folk music at 18 – so it’s been a year or two now.

“When I moved to Montréal from Victoria BC in 1994, I started hanging around Irish pubs, and soon realized that I could play the music I was hearing on my violin. A major inspiration for me was the fiddler Gerry O’Neill and his partner Brendan Nolan, who used to perform regularly at The Old Dublin Pub. Once I started playing the music, I was absolutely hooked, and it didn’t take long for me to be performing in pubs myself.”

Moorman has made a quarter-century career out of playing across the Montreal pub scene, and that acoustic environment has cultivated a fiddle style that, Moorman admits, is something rather acutely Canadian.

“Because of my classical training, and the fact that I learned to play in Montréal, my playing isn’t particularly ‘traditional’ in the sense that I don’t really adhere to one particular style. Most naturally, my sound tends towards a mix of Québecois and Cape Breton styles, but I can sound pretty Irish if I need to as well. A lot of Montréal players like me grew up in the pub scene, and we all play fast tunes in a style that is more ‘Canadian’ than anything else. Lots of fast bow work and double-stops.”

Moorman knows how fortunate he was to be able to take flight with the fiddle from a warm, culturally nurturing nest like Montreal, but he’s also adamant that much more can be done to encourage other fledgling artists in the province who just need to find their wings.

“I believe that here in Québec, the government should fund traditional culture more actively. Québec’s traditions are an important part of Celtic culture, and sadly, they are not being supported the way traditional culture is supported in European countries. There are so many fantastic musicians, dancers, and artists here, and it’s often hard for projects to find the financial support they need to get off the ground.”

Eventually, Moorman’s musical acumen expanded to include career highlights that go beyond the local pub scene.

“I’ve had the incredibly good fortune to tour internationally with various different groups, which has certainly been a highlight. Playing Québec City’s Plains of Abraham in front of 100,000 people on the largest outdoor stage in Canada was a pretty big thrill, as was touring Canada and the U.S. with John McDermott; playing in some of Canada’s most renowned theatres will always be a fantastic memory.

“A week-long recording session at Ocean Way studio in Nashville; jamming by candlelight at a backyard barbecue in Romania with a bunch of Roma folk musicians; playing the Celtica festival in Italy’s Aoste Valley at the foot of Mont Blanc…the list is too long to record here but I have been very fortunate to travel as much as I have done.”

Most recently, Moorman has moored his sonic sails to his band The Bedlam Boys.

“My plans for this year revolve primarily around the band – we’re in our second year of life and we are already getting pretty active on the festival circuit with many shows booked for this summer. And I have an album’s worth of material ready to be recorded, so hopefully that will materialize later this year also. If that all wasn’t enough, I’ll be one of the featured musicians on a bus tour of Ireland.

“Of course, I’m sure I’ll have the chance to play a few pub gigs along the way…”

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