Otis Tomas is a talented violin maker who lives back up in the woods, just off the Cabot Trail in St.Ann's, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. While vacationing nearby, we were fortunate enough to be invited to a music session in his studio. We sat on folding chairs in a dimly lit room crowded with sawdust-covered guitar and fiddle cases, an old piano, and the various tools of his trade, from modern to ancient. In the room were two other fiddlers from British Columbia and Louisana, drawn to the island to learn the Cape Breton Sound. Otis's wife Deanie played a guitar he had made, and there were other guitarists, plus a man playing concertina and mandolin. As for me, I brought a pounding heart and my limited skills on the banjo, but in no time they had me playing without fear. Half way through the evening, Otis brought out a brand new unfinished violin, sanded and rubbed to a sheen, but not yet stained or varnished. He began to play and I had my permanent memory of the people and music of Cape Breton. Otis has a stunning website, www.fiddletree.com. |
