Pierre Schryer is the Ontario fiddler who won the first Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Championship in Ottawa in 1990. He had won the Canadian Open Old Time Fiddle Championship in Shelburne the two years before. He is one of the Schryer triplets, with brothers Louis and Daniel, and the three recorded their first album for Boot Records in 1982.
Why Schryer matters
Schryer’s name is first on the Canadian Grand Masters list, and that roll of champions since 1990 is the short history of modern Canadian fiddling. He also shows how a contest fiddler can grow into a concert artist. His records reach past the Ontario old-time style into Irish, Scottish, Québécois, and swing tunes without losing the dance drive that wins contests.
Life and career
Schryer grew up in a fiddling family in Ontario. He and his brothers Louis and Daniel, the Schryer triplets, made their first record, Pierre, Daniel, Louis, for Boot Records in 1982 with pianist Julie Schryer Lefebvre. The album mixed Irish, Shetland, and western swing tunes with Ontario standards like St. Anne’s Reel.
He placed second at the Canadian Open in Shelburne in 1985 and 1987, then won it in 1988 and 1989. In 1990 he won the first Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Championship in Ottawa, with Louis as first runner-up and Patti Kusturok third. Louis won the next three years. Pierre finished first runner-up in 1991 and again in 1995.
His solo album The New Canadian Waltz came out on New Canadian Records in 1996, recorded live in Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, and Timmins with guitarist Brian Pickell and pianist Julie Schryer Lefebvre. In 1999 he recorded 2 Worlds United with Dermot Byrne, released in Canada that year and in Ireland in 2000. The Pierre Schryer Band released Acoustique! in 2000 and Blue Drag in 2003, and he cut Heat of the Moment with Ian Clark in 2002. His 2019 album Mandorla is a duo record with guitarist Adam Dobres.
Playing style
Schryer plays the Ontario contest style with a clean, even bow and a strong dance pulse, and he taps his feet as percussion on his records. The New Canadian Waltz is old-time Ontario with sets from Ireland, Cape Breton, and Québec. Blue Drag opens with a swing title and pairs two takes of Red Haired Boy back to back. He can move a tune between those worlds without the timing slipping.
Influences and legacy
Schryer came up in the Ontario contest world of Graham Townsend and Eleanor Townsend. His brother Louis Schryer holds the record for Canadian Grand Masters wins with four. Patti Kusturok placed third behind the brothers at that first contest and went on to win three titles herself. Scott Woods and Shane Cook followed on the same two contest stages.
Signature tunes and songs
The New Canadian Waltz Red Haired Boy Blue Drag To Dermot from Pierre Trans Canada.
Essential recordings
Pierre, Daniel, Louis, the Schryer Triplets (Boot, 1982) The New Canadian Waltz (New Canadian Records, 1996) 2 Worlds United, with Dermot Byrne (New Canadian Records, 1999) Blue Drag, Pierre Schryer Band (New Canadian Records, 2003) Mandorla, with Adam Dobres (2019)
Awards and honors
Canadian Open Old Time Fiddle Championship, second place (1985, 1987) Canadian Open Old Time Fiddle Champion (1988, 1989) Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Champion (1990) Canadian Grand Masters first runner-up (1991, 1995)
Watch and listen
Schryer and Adam Dobres play a set that ends with Tico Tico. Listen to how the fiddle keeps its dance drive when the set leaves the reels behind.
The Schryer triplets, Louis, Daniel, and Pierre, play together at Leahy Music Camp.
What to learn from Schryer
Learn Red Haired Boy from the two takes on Blue Drag and work out what changes between them. Playing one jam tune two ways teaches you what a bow can change without changing a note. The technique to steal is his foot. Schryer taps out the beat on his records. Practice with your foot as the metronome. If your foot and your bow disagree, the foot is right.
Sources
Past champions and results, Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Championship Canadian Grand Masters, Wikipedia Canadian Open Old Time Fiddle Championship, Wikipedia The Schryer Triplets, Pierre, Daniel, Louis, Discogs Pierre Schryer, The New Canadian Waltz, Discogs Pierre Schryer and Dermot Byrne, 2 Worlds United, Discogs Pierre Schryer Band, Blue Drag, Discogs
Related players
See the fiddle players hub and the fiddle guide for more Canadian fiddlers. His brother Louis Schryer won the Canadian Grand Masters four times. Patti Kusturok, Scott Woods, and April Verch won the same title in the 1990s, and Graham Townsend set the Ontario standard before them.