Violinist and Bowfire creator Lenny Solomon, above, was a trouper yesterday, making his way through the snowy streets from his home/studio in Etobicoke down to the Gladstone Hotel where we met to talk about Friday’s roaring Holiday Heart Strings concert at Roy Thomson Hall. Ever the pro, Solomon was right on time and happy to be promoting this unique, fiddling powerhouse; Bowfire is sometimes called “Riverdance for the fiddle,” a comparison the show’s creator does not reject.
Conceived as a one-off for Expo 2000 in Hanover, Germany, the original production was seen by some New York producers who approached Solomon about growing the show into the touring machine it has since become.
“It took a couple of years to develop the concept,” explains the fiddler. “We brought in a Broadway team to move us around the stage and develop it into a real show; there’s also a singing aspect to this tour because it’s our Christmas show. It was important to us to really establish solid production values; the theatrical aspect of Bowfire is a very big part of the show; there are sets and costumes and dramatic lighting, there’s also dancing. ”
Because the Bowfire cast members are all busy with their respective solo and band careers, Solomon books blocks of their time a year or more in advance.
“Organizing the talent is definitely one of the challenges,” he confirms. “At this point we draw on different players who can sub in when others aren’t available. It’s a changing cast where sometimes people fly in and fly out to replace each other. It keeps it fresh.”
Made in Toronto with a cast of Canadians, Bowfire has toured the U.S., Europe, even China, but Friday’s gig will be their first honest-to-goodness hometown show.
“We’ve played the Living Arts Centre in Mississauga, we’ve been at Casino Rama and the Fallsview in Niagara, but a downtown Toronto gig has been elusive until now,” observes Solomon.
Bowfire ticks all the boxes when it comes to stylistic diversity: jazz, classical, Celtic, bluegrass, world music. “We even have one of the greatest erhu (Chinese violin) players in the world, George Gao — he’s a rock star in China with a huge international reputation and yet he’s a Canadian.”
Solomon speculates that Bowfire’s folk roots may have been an impediment to hometown acceptance: “It might have held us back a little,” he concedes. “We do Quebecois fiddle, East Coast fiddle, Ontario fiddle tunes, plus some of the more popular numbers by great Canadian composers. The players in the show are all soloists in their own right who headline their own dates and their own ensembles and tour throughout Canada. It’s always been a bit curious that we aren’t more celebrated at home. Certainly we’re so pleased to have the American acceptance, which is where we spend 95 per cent of our time on the road.”
As we wind up our interview, I ask Solomon which of his own big numbers he’s most looking forward to on Friday: “I do ‘Blue Christmas’ on electric violin,” he says beaming, “a real rocking out version; I love to get those distorted guitar sounds on it and wail away. The Toronto show will be our last gig on this run, so it will be a big night for us, we’ll really be lighting the bows on fire.”
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