Paul Lemelin is a busy guy. Not only is he a married father of four who works at Vale Exploration, the local man also somehow finds time to be an award-winning fiddler.
Most weekends, the Lemelin family is on the road, travelling to fiddle contests around the province, in which Paul and his three oldest kids compete, and his wife, Melika, accompanies fiddlers on piano.
Lemelin is also the president of Sudbury's own Fiddleworks competition.
Generally one of the oldest fiddle competitors, Lemelin — who's in his early 30s — is at the top of his game.
At the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Competition, held in Ottawa Aug. 23-24, Lemelin took first place in the open category against 20 other fiddlers.
He followed that up the next weekend by winning the open class at the Pembroke Fiddle Contest, the country's biggest fiddle competition. This is only the fourth time a fiddler has won the two competitions back to back.
“It's absolutely surreal to be considered the best in Canada, to be brought up to the level of the fiddle greats who have won the category,” Lemelin said.
While he's obviously a formidable competitor, Lemelin said the fiddle contest circuit isn't just about winning — many of his best friends are his fellow competitiors.
Lemelin said it also means a lot to him that his kids — aged 8, 7, 5 and 2 — seem to be following in his footsteps.
“The whole reason I took on the position of president and CEO of our fiddle club is to kind of promote fiddling, and to keep it alive,” he said.
“For me, it was an outlet when I was a kid to go out and play. Continuing the existence of the contest allows my children a place to continue to grow and flourish and become fiddlers in their own right.”
-Photo by Lois Siegel
