Teilhard Frost

Event Details

Event type: All Ages / Licensed

A multi-instrumentalist and instrument maker, Teilhard Frost specializes in traditional Appalachian old time music. He was raised on Manitoulin Island, Ontario, spending time with the elder fiddlers in the area. At the age of three he was given a jaw harp and harmonica by his father, and his mother gave him a fiddle and a record of Kentucky fiddle tunes. He has continued to play them all ever since.

Teilhard helped form Canadian bush swing band Flapjack in 1997, playing washboard, bones, and harmonica and jaw harp, playing mainly Canadian fiddle tune repertoire. During this time, he and bandmate/bass player Sam Allison became fast friends, playing the old time music of Appalachia and the Mississippi Valley. When Flapjack disbanded he and Allison formed their internationally successful group Sheesham, Lotus, and Son with Brian Sanderson on Sousaphone. Together, they have released seven albums as Sheesham, Lotus and Son, the Kings of Old Time!

With a strong desire to play banjo but having no money to buy one, Teilhard set about making his own and Frost Gourd Banjos was born. He designs and hand crafts gourd and early era banjos, instruments which are sought out and played by celebrated artists such as Rhiannon Giddens, Daniel Lapp, Arnie Naiman, Lotus Wight, and Chris Coole.

Teilhard’s latest solo recording, As the Crow Flies, is a collection of traditional music found in the Appalachian highlands. The songs have strong ties to the British Isles while the fiddle tunes draw on ancient Scandinavian and northern Scottish modal settings and tunings, conjuring a feeling of mystery and drama.

With music as his ambassador, Teilhard has toured throughout North America and Europe for over twenty years. His music has taken him
as far away as Africa, India and Mongolia, studying and teaching. He lives on Wolfe Island in the St Lawrence River with his partner and their two daughters.

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