From busking at St. Jacobs Farmers’ Market to winning one of Canada’s top fiddle competitions, Anna Smilek, local musician, has won the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Championship.
The Grand Masters is Canada’s national Fiddle Championship.
Each year, approximately 30 fiddlers from across the country are invited to compete for the title. After competing four previous times, Smilek won the title in Alberta this past August.
“This competition is really special to me because it’s like a big family reunion every time you go … that opportunity to connect with people at the competition is something that I really love. But beyond that, I don’t know how to describe it. It makes me feel like that hard work is paid off in a sense,” Smilek said.
Smilek began taking classical violin lessons when she was four years old. From there, she discovered fiddle music in her teen years. In addition, she also plays the piano, violin, viola, guitar and mandolin.
“I’ve always been a very musical person, and I like to write music and play with other people. My family’s pretty musical as well … my whole life is heavily involved music,” she said.
When Smilek connected with the local fiddle community, she began to busk at St. Jacobs Farmer’s Market.
“I think that’s really where I started finding my passion for it. I always had enjoyed music, but playing music and making music with people is kind of the thing that keeps me alive,” she said.
For Smilek, busking at the local market was a way to connect with others and channel creativity while working with other musicians.
“The thing that I love about fiddle music is that it can be different every time, and it’s not quite as prescribed as some other styles of music. So, it really is just this opportunity to connect with people,” she said.
In university, Smilek completed her Bachelor of Music at Wilfrid Laurier University. Currently, she’s working towards her Master of Social Work.
Moving forward, Smilek hopes to record and release an album.
Smilek hopes to use her music career to help build a thriving traditional music community here in Waterloo.
A meaningful component to this for Smilek is also preserving the heritage of Canadian folk music and fiddle music.
“I think it’s important to preserve the heritage of Canadian folk music and fiddle music specifically because a lot of folks aren’t aware, but it is a pretty integral part of Canadian history,” Smilek said.
Smilek said that fiddle music is a great way to build community and foster connections because it’s accessible and it offers various ways to participate at your own level.
“I think that it provides a really important opportunity for community connections in a way that everyone can participate,” she said.
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