To listen to April Verch is to be immersed in tradition. To watch her perform is to be transported. While best known for her deep expertise in the distinctive Ottawa Valley fiddle and step dancing styles, there is far more to April’s story. Be it regional Canadian roots, American old-time, 50’s Country, Scandinavian folk music, or something original that sounds as though it’s been around for a century—the one common thread is her love and reverence for the music and traditions that have been passed down to her. Born in the heart of the Ottawa Valley in northeastern Ontario, Verch was trained from birth in the specific rhythms and melodies of the region, giving her music a sense of intuition and ease that could only come from a lifetime of experience. Growing up bouncing between weekend festivals and listening to her Dad’s country band play for dances, she assumed that this is just what life is. “I thought that everyone played the fiddle and step danced,” says Verch. And that worked just fine for her. She loved it all—the energy, the music, and the stories that were woven into these age-old community traditions. Verch’s musical education began young—she took her first step dancing class at just three years old and her first fiddle lesson at six. Beginning with performances as the “token cute kid” at fairs, festivals and TV shows alongside her dance teachers, Ottawa Valley natives Buster and Pauline Brown, she went on to study at Berklee College of Music with legends like Matt Glaser and Darol Anger. These educational opportunities would equip her with the breadth and depth of musical knowledge that defines her artistic voice to this day. But more than that, her decades of performance experience—including her historic wins at the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Championship and Canadian Open Old-Time Fiddlers’ Contest at the ages of 18 and 19 respectively—would give her a singular bond with the music, providing her with the intuition to “dance the tune” and improvise
