Ian Bell

Ian Bell has performed across Canada and in the United States since the late 1970s On his own and with a number of different ensembles, he has appeared at numerous folk festivals - Winnipeg, Mariposa, Edmonton, Ottawa, Calgary, Yellowknife, Owen Sound, Lunenberg , Montmagny, and others - and in concerts and dances in venues ranging from Roy Thompson Hall to the Harrington Women’s Institute. With the group Muddy York, and along with Wade Hemsworth (composer of the Blackfly Song, Log Driver's Waltz), Ian performed for two weeks in the Folklife Pavilion at Expo 86 in Vancouver, BC. In 1993 Ian was named "Folk Artist in Residence" for that year at Joseph Schneider Haus Museum, in Kitchener, Ontario. In 1985 Ian served as artistic director for the Mariposa Folk Festival. As a long-time freelance broadcaster, Ian worked on many occasions with Stuart McLean on CBC Radio's Vinyl Café. Ian co-wrote and served as musical director for five Vinyl Café national concert broadcasts. For seven years Ian was a regular contributor to the weekend Fresh Air program on CBC radio. Over the years, Ian Bell has been a repeat visitor to many CBC programs including Ideas, Tapestry, Gabereau, Crossroads, This Morning, and Radio Noon. He also appeared numerous times on Peter Gzowski's Morningside. Ian performs material from a large repertoire that includes both Canadian traditional music and his own songs and instrumental compositions. Ian’s original songs have been performed and recorded by: Anne Lederman, Ian Robb, Bobby Watt, Allison Lupton, Lee Murdock and others. In 2004 Ian performed as part of the "Roots of American Music" Festival at Lincoln Centre in New York City. In July 2005 Ian travelled to Estonia with long-time collaborator Anne Lederman to perform at the Viljandi Folk Festival. An accomplished multi-instrumentalist (guitar, button accordion, mandolin, harmonica, fiddle, pipes) Ian appears on dozens of recordings as sideman as well as many under his own name. Ian also performs with Muddy York, The Friends of Fiddler’s Green, and The Allison Lupton Band,

CA