Scenes from the Heather Dale Concert, August 12, 2008

It was an overflow crowd of 175+ people at the Heather Dale Concert at Cornell Farms. Although it was a rainy night, the audience didn’t care. Dale’s concert was a joyful mix of traditional Celtic music with an innovative blend of modern jazz, blues and various musical styles from around the world.

Dale and her musical partner Ben Deschamps have a unique ability to draw the audience into the story of each of their songs. This was especially apparent in their version of the “Huron Carol”. Sung in English, French and Wendot (the language of the Huron people), the audience was spellbound as the final drum beat faded

away, and there was a poignant moment of silence before they erupted with applause.

Local string group “Ricochet” opened the concert and quickly got the crowd clapping and tapping their toes to the lively music. Members include Shannon Darby, Katherine Williams, Mark Barron, Scott Barker, Tyler Mixa, Ross Kircher, and Richard Schulzki. Their repertoire ranged from a classical number set to a modern beat to the traditional “The Devil Went Down to Georgia”, along with some selections from the

well-known Canadian fiddle group “Barrage”.

In one of the final numbers of the night, Heather Dale and Ricochet joined forces for an exciting finish to the evening. The audience didn’t want the

evening to end and gave both groups standing ovations.