Samantha Robichaud

Los Angeles – July 27, 2005 – The Daniel Pearl Foundation announced today that 18 year old Samantha Robichaud, a native of New Brunswick and one of Canada’s most accomplished young musicians (www.samantharobichaud.ca.), has been awarded one of the two 2005 Daniel Pearl Memorial Violins. The specially crafted instrument, received from composer/violinist Mark O'Connor at the Strings Conference in San Diego, California, honors Robichaud’s exceptional musicianship.

The Daniel Pearl Memorial violins were crafted by Jonathan Cooper of Maine in honor of
the journalist and talented musician who joined a variety of classical, folk, bluegrass and jazz groups throughout his life making friends and bridging cultural differences through music. Robichaud will have the instrument for one year and plans to use it for all of her musical endeavors wherever she travels.

“I have played on many stages across Canada and the USA, including Carnegie Hall and have performed for the Queen of England, to have Mark O'Connor award me this beautiful violin for a year to play in Daniel's memory is something that will be special to me for the rest of my life.” Said an emotional Robichaud. “I will play this violin at all my performances in the next year, and speak of Daniel, how he loved his music, life, and was so opened minded to other cultures and backgrounds.”

Samantha’s vivacious personality, combined with a track record of over 200 awards for a variety of fiddle specialties, make her an up and coming force to be reckoned with. Her fourth recording, “Vivacious”, received two East Coast Music Awards nominations in the Instrumental Artist & Roots/Traditional Categories, displaying the influences of her Acadian heritage. Like Daniel Pearl, Samantha has demonstrated a strong love for all styles of fiddle playing and music, with a drive to perfect her own unique style influenced by classical training.

Samantha has showcased at the International Folk Alliance Conference in San Diego, in New York at the Association of Performing Arts Presenters and in Montreal at the Folk Alliance/Strictly Mundial Samantha has also played at such notable venues as the Bluebird Café in Nashville, the Knitting Factory in New York City and the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. She also was a Principal Violin with the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra and played with the Orchestra at Carnegie Hall in 2003.

Displaying a special affinity for the ideals that Pearl displayed throughout his work makes Robichaud a natural spokesperson for preserving Pearl’s legacy through her music. “On my last CD I wrote a song called ‘Why does it matter?’ I wrote it from my heart, why does it matter our color, our citizenship, religions, we are all part of this world we should live life to the fullest and enjoy each other.
Since I did not have the opportunity to meet this wonderful man, I am so honored to be chosen to be part of keeping his memory alive.”

Daniel Pearl’s murder by terrorists in Pakistan in 2002 touched millions who never knew him. By developing innovative international programs focused on journalism, music and respectful dialogue, the Daniel Pearl Foundation seeks to counter the hatred and intolerance that took his life. www.danielpearl.org. - Daniel Pearl Foundation

Riverview fiddler Samantha Robichaud has earned second place in the teen category of the International Songwriting Competition for her song Elmo's Reel.

The 17-year-old will receive $1,000 in prizes for her song, which was judged on creativity, originality, lyrics, melody and composition.

Her entry was one of 11,000 submitting to a variety of categories from aspiring and established songwriters around the world. Their best offerings were judged by an impressive group of industry people, including Sean P. Diddy Combs, country artist Clint Black, singer/songwriter Macy Gray and Staind frontman Aaron Lewis.

Samantha's song Vivacious was given an honourable mention and she was seventh in the People's Voice online voting.

Other Maritime winners were J.P. Cormier of Nova Scotia who placed third in the instrumental category and Gordie Sampson, along with Blair DalY and Troy Verges of Halifax, who earned first place in the performance category.

The overall grand prize winner was 18-year-old Gin Wigmore of Auckland, New Zealand, who also came in first place in the teen category.

Acadian Showcase: International concert tours Maine [- Hide]
Kennebec Journal
AUGUSTA -- Two top Canadian roots-music artists, D...
AUGUSTA -- Two top Canadian roots-music artists, Dave Gunning and Samantha "Fiddling Sam" Robichaud, will join Maine's finest Acadian performers for a showcase concert Thursday at Jewett Hall on the University of Maine at Augusta campus.

The show will feature recent winners of Canada's East Coast Music Awards in a dazzling display of rhythm, beauty and skill. The Maine-based Don Roy Trio will round out the program with fiddle, dance and other gifts of the Acadian tradition.

Gunning comes to Maine fresh from Canada's East Coast Music Awards, where he earned the "Folk Recording of the Year" for his album, "Two-Bit World."

Robichaud is a lively, youthful Atlantic Canadian fiddler with Acadian roots who first picked up the fiddle at the age of 4 and has never put it down. Her passion, desire and drive have led to performances at the Grand Ole Opry and Carnegie Hall, a command performance for Queen Elizabeth II and multiple nominations to Canada's East Coast Music Awards in the Instrumental Artist and Roots/Traditional categories for her latest recording, "Vivacious."

Maine's Don Roy Trio are no strangers to good storytelling and good fiddling. Despite his "South of the Border" upbringing in Rockland, Roy grew up surrounded by Acadian and Celtic music from the Canadian Maritimes and beyond. Roy and his performing partners -- pianist/step-dancer Cindy Roy and bassist Jay Young -- delight in these cultural connections and love to regale audiences with the stories behind the tunes. - Published

Samantha Robichaud "New Stage"
Label: Own label; SR060908; 2008; 36 min
Now barely into her twenties, this New Brunswick girl has four fiddle albums under her belt and another one due out in the summer. A New Stage is different: Sam has put together a band, taken it on the road, written all the songs herself, and produced a CD which is almost entirely rock music. Six vocal tracks, five folk-rock fiddle solos, standard guitar-drums-bass backing: I even thought we were going to get a whole album in 4/4 time, until the Riverdance-style jig Buckler's Mission popped up with a different beat and a minor cadence just before the end. Make no mistake: this is rock music with fiddles in, not the other way round. There are plenty of young blonde female fiddlers who've made a funky album, but very few with the full-on folk-rock appeal of A New Stage. Think supercharged Eliza Carthy, or Wolfstone with Drever and Chisholm rolled into one (although obviously Ivan and Duncan have better legs).
Sam's songs all draw on her experience of young love, being away from home, and touring with the band. It's a limited perspective, but still there are some wise words and deep insights. I'm Sorry is a from-the-heart soliloquy on self-image and self-respect, coming to terms with being "not perfect ... not thin", and realising that "I'm just this way ... I'm everything I wanted", a courageous song from a teenager. The same depth of feeling and understanding is evident in Samantha's instrumental composition Always Remembered, a ruggedly beautiful slow air, the first of two outstanding pieces of fiddling here. Fiddler's Rag is the other, one of only two traditional tunes on this recording, played with minimal accompaniment, a real showcase for Sam's prodigious fiddle talent.
A New Stage is a fantastic achievement for anyone outside the mainstream commercial music machine. If I were picky I could mention that there are better wordsmiths, the percussion is slightly off on Answer Machine, and the fiddle almost runs away with itself on IDKYM. But you have to look at the whole package. Great voice, first-class fiddling, good looks: she writes her own songs and tunes (with some help from Chris Colepaugh), she can front up a rock concert, and at the age of twenty she's been in the music business for fifteen years already. Samantha Robichaud is something special, and she hasn't lost her respect for the Canadian fiddle tradition which produced her. In the words of her own song Rose, "To my roots I will stay true". Www.samantharobichaud.ca is the place for more info on this and other albums. Watch out for that straight fiddle CD coming up.
www.samantharobichaud.ca
Alex Monaghan - http://folkworld.de/39/e/cds4.html