This is the Bio for SHONA LE MOTTEE. For the SHONA LE MOTTEE BAND Bio and individual band member bio's please scroll further down!!!
Fiddler Shona Le Mott?e started playing at the age of seven on the Island of Jersey, in the English Channel. At age nine she moved to Vancouver, Canada where she continued to develop her music under fiddling greats such as Alasdair Fraser, Buddy MacMaster, Bruce Molsky, Daniel Lapp, and Martin Hayes.
In September, 1995, Shona was chosen to join the internationally known Canadian Celtic-pop group, ?The Paperboys?. During the 2 ? years she was with the band, she toured extensively throughout North America playing on stages from Vancouver and San Francisco to Halifax and New York. She has performed at sold-out festivals and venues such as: The Boston Irish Festival, the Vancouver Folk Music and Celtic Festivals, the Toronto Harbourfront and Celtic Festivals, the Victoria Celtic Festival, the Owen Sound Folk Festival, the Kentucky Folk Festival, the Seattle Folklife and Bumbershoot Festivals, the Spectrum in Montreal, the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver, the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, and many more. Shona was also part of the du Maurier Concert Series, the Huron Carol Concert Series, and the MuchMusic Canadian benefit tour for AIDS.
During the summer of 1997, Shona recorded the album ?Molinos? with The Paperboys. It was released on the Stony Plain/Warner Canada label and won the Canadian Juno Award in March 1998 for ?The Best Roots and Traditional Album ? Group? category. Shona also recorded two music videos with The Paperboys which were broadcast across the country on ?CMT? and ?MuchMusic?. She has made appearances on radio and T.V. shows such as: CBC radio, Terminal City (CBC TV), Muchmusic in Vancouver, Toronto, Halifax, and San Francisco, the Vicki Gabreau Show (TV), the CMT Rockin? Country Series (TV), Entertainment Desk in Toronto (TV), Breakfast Television in Toronto and Vancouver, and numerous other radio stations in Canada and the USA.
In 1998/99, Shona performed with ?Micheal Flatley?s Lord of the Dance? at the New York, NY Casino in Las Vegas and at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. More recently, Shona has performed and recorded with several local Canadian bands such as ?Fear of Drinking?, ?Tim Readman?, ?Alpha YaYa Dialo?, ?The Town Pants?, and ?Mad Pudding?.
Shona is also in great demand as a fiddle teacher. She has been teaching privately for over 16 years and was the founder and director of the Vancouver Scottish Fiddle Club which ran successfully for six years. During the summers of 2002 - 2007, Shona was invited to teach at the Coast Strings Fiddle School in British Columbia and the Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp in Denver, Colorado. At these schools she was on staff with some of the best fiddlers in the world such as: Bruce Molsky, Seamus Connelly, Richard Greene, Iain Fraser, Pierre Schryer, Andy Stein, and Sandy MacIntyre..
In March of 2005, Shona released her debut solo album, "Destination Grouville."
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THE SHONA LE MOTTEE BAND BIO
This four piece Celtic band is made up of the cream of Vancouver?s Celtic scene. They are lead by Juno Award-winning fiddler/vocalist, Shona Le Mottee (formerly of The Paperboys and Michael Flatley?s Lord of the Dance). Born on the tiny Island of Jersey in the English Channel, Shona has toured extensively all over North America both performing and teaching her expressive and rhythmic fiddle style. Joining her is Tim Readman (formerly of Fear of Drinking) on guitar and vocals. Emerging from the North-east English folk scene, Tim has earned a reputation as an outstanding songwriter, guitarist, singer and interpreter of traditional and contemporary folk songs. The Mad Pudding Rhythm section fills out the band with Boris Favre on bass and foot percussion and Allan Dionne on the drums. Boris, born in France specializes in Jazz and World music. Allan has studied orchestral percussion, Jazz and Arranging. The performers in this group have all played at major festivals worldwide and each has several recording credits to their names. Come and check out this funky Celtic-pop Vancouver super-group.
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INDIVIDUAL BAND MEMBER BIO'S
TIM READMAN - Guitar and Vocals
Emerging from the North-Eastern English folk scene, Tim has earned a reputation as an outstanding songwriter, guitarist, singer and interpreter of traditional and contemporary folk songs. He has an infectious sense of humour and an engaging ability to captivate an audience, able to entertain in any setting, from concert hall to campfire.
Readman has shared the stage with an impressive list of artists including fiddler/vocalist Kate Bramley of the ever-popular Jez Lowe and the Bad Pennies who was able to accompany him on his 2003 tour of the UK. Tim can also be seen regularly in Vancouver hosting the successful 'Tim Readman and Musical Friends' series at Montmartre Cafe, which won the Georgia Straight songwriter venue of the year for 2003.
Tim and Shona have worked extensively together for 10 years and still perform live as a duo. In addition to playing guitar and adding vocals, Tim also contributes his own songs and production expertise to the Shona Le Motte? band.
ALLAN DIONNE - Drums and Hand Percussion
Allan's first exposure to music was in the form of accordion lessons, which he took for seven years in his hometown of Regina, Saskatchewan. Here he developed an interest in drum set and percussion, and spent much of his youth experimenting with various styles of music.
In Vancouver, Allan performed and toured with many established acts but yearned for a greater knowledge of music, which led him to Capilano College and the Commercial Music Program. After receiving a diploma, Allan went on to complete a Bachelor of Music Degree at the University of British Columbia, where he studied orchestral percussion and Jazz Theory and Arranging. Allan has performed with many orchestras and concert bands while playing mallet instruments, non-tuned percussion and drum set. He has also performed in numerous musicals, choirs and Big Bands. Recording credits also figure prominently, both on drum set and mallet instruments.
Allan joined the celtic band "Mad Pudding" in 1997, with whom he has toured extensively. He has performed at major festivals worldwide, including Canada, the US, Denmark and Britain. He has also performed at the Orpheum Theatre with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the Vancouver Bach Choir.
Allan's musical journey continues and he is happy to be playing drum set and percussion with the Shona Le Mottee Band.
BORIS FAVRE - Bass and Foot Percussion
Bassist Boris Favre immigrated from France in 1975 and has been playing music continuously for over 30 years. His formal background includes an ARCT diploma in piano performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, a Jazz Diploma from Vancouver Community College and a Bachelor of Music Degree in piano from the University of British Columbia. Though much of his formal training is centered on classical music, his true passion is for Jazz and World Music.
As a full time member of the internationally acclaimed Celtic-funk band "Mad Pudding", Boris has recorded and toured extensively throughout Canada, the US and Europe for nearly a decade. He has performed globally at many prestigious music festivals. Highlight performances include the Kennedy Centre in Washington, D.C., the Orpheum Theatre accompanied by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the Bach choir, and a nomination for Best Live Act at the West Coast Music Awards.
In addition to playing with Shona, Boris is a member of the popular children's entertainment group "Music With Marnie" which performs sold-out shows at festivals across Canada. He also makes and is learning to play the Uilleann bagpipes so plug your ears!
SHONA LE MOTTEE - Fiddle and Vocals (Condensed version of the above)
Born on the Island of Jersey in the English Channel, Shona moved to Canada at age nine where she continued to develop her music under master fiddlers, Alasdair Fraser and Buddy MacMaster.
In 1995, Shona was chosen to join the Canadian Celtic-pop group, ?The Paperboys? with whom she toured extensively throughout North America for 2 ? years. In 1997, Shona recorded the album ?Molinos? with The Paperboys which won the Canadian Juno Award in 1998 for ?The Best Roots and Traditional Album ? Group? category.
In 1998/99, Shona performed with ?Micheal Flatley?s Lord of the Dance? in Las Vegas and Orlando. She has also performed and recorded with: ?Fear of Drinking?, ?Tim Readman?, ?Alpha YaYa Dialo?, ?The Town Pants?, and ?Mad Pudding?.
Shona has taught fiddle for over 16 years and is the former director and founder of the Vancouver Scottish Fiddle Club which ran successfully for 6 years. In 2002 - 2007, Shona was invited to teach at the Coast Strings Fiddle School in British Columbia and the Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp in Colorado. At these schools she was on staff with some of the best fiddlers in the world.
Shona released her debut solo recording, ?Destination Grouville? in March 2005. On the recording Shona is accompanied by several exciting artists including Tim Readman, the Mad Pudding Rhythm Section: Allan Dionne and Boris Favre, and Keona Mundy from the bands, Cleia and the No Shit Shirley?s.