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Biography
About|the band|other uses|Barrage (disambiguation)Infobox musical artist| | name = Barrage| image = Barrage_Logo.gif| caption =| image_size =| background = group_or_band| origin = Calgary , Alberta , Canada | genre = Canadian fiddle Jazz World music Celtic music|Celtic Bluegrass music|Bluegrass Rock Music|Rock Pop music|Pop Calypso Music|Calypso Latin American Music|Latin Klezmer Traditional music|Traditional Folk music|Folk | years_active = start date|1996–2012 http://twitter.com/barragemusic| website = URL|barrage.ca Barrage is a violin -based, modern worldbeat musical ensemble|ensemble headquartered in Calgary , Alberta , Canada . They are known most notably for their blend of unique and varied violin music with high-energy physical choreography during their performances. http://www.barrage.org Barrage Official The group's live shows have toured in 27 countries, and their filmed concert specials have been featured on television networks around the world. http://barrage.org/vtshow/intro.html About the show
Barrage plays an eclectic mix of material from a multitude of musical genres|genres including, but not limited to, Celtic music|Celtic , Swing music|Swing , Bluegrass music|Bluegrass , Jazz , Rock music|Rock , Calypso music|Calypso , Pop music|Pop , Canadian fiddle and Latin American music|Latin , as well as contemporary versions of traditional material from countries including China , Ukraine , and India .
The group released an announcement via twitter on May 9th, 2012, that they had halted their performance and touring schedule. No further information was given, however they stated that they may resume activity in the future. http://twitter.com/barragemusic
History
Barrage began as a musical entertainment concept created in Calgary, Alberta in 1996 by musicians Dean Marshall and John Crozman. Together with Jana Wyber, Brian Hanson, and Anthony Moore, they formed Barrage's executive production and creative team, known as "5 to 1 Entertainments".cite web|author=Design and Production: Steve Nowlon |url= http://www.barrage.ca/backstage/creators.html |title=Barrage - Back Stage - The Creators |publisher=Barrage.ca |date= |accessdate=2012-01-08
Barrage originally consisted of seven violinists , along with a four piece Backline (stage)|backline made up of bass guitar , guitar|acoustic/electric guitar , drum set and percussion . In its early days, Barrage's performances concentrated solely on experimenting and exploring new musical ideas. The group initially gained attention for pushing the violin's musical boundaries in their attempts to change the public's general perception of what is considered acceptable music to be played using the instrument. The seven violinists began incorporating choreography and several forms of dance into their shows while playing the violin at the same time, thus creating unique visuals to match the various music styles they were performing. Barrage quickly evolved into a hybrid cross between a musical theater|theatrical music production and a musical ensemble show.cite web|author=Design and Production: Steve Nowlon |url= http://www.barrage.ca |title=Barrage - Official Home |publisher=Barrage.ca |date= |accessdate=2012-01-08
A second cast of Barrage was created by 5 to 1 Entertainments in 2001 and was based in London, England . For a short time, two entirely different casts of Barrage were touring and performing the same show in different parts of the world simultaneously. The two casts were later amalgamated, reverting back to a single, eleven member Canada-based cast.
In 2006, Barrage changed their general show format, moving away from their traditionally large scale theatrical music shows and tours to a smaller scale, education-oriented show format. The change saw the cast decrease in size from 11 members to 8 and included the addition of a major music education|educational component to their touring. They frequently worked in American schools with their "Energize Your Strings!" program, which consisted of a day-time workshop and an evening concert, usually in the school's auditorium.cite web|author=Design and Production: Steve Nowlon |url= http://barrage.ca/educational.html |title=Barrage - Educational |publisher=Barrage.ca |date=2010-09-20 |accessdate=2012-01-08
On May 9th, 2012, Barrage released an announcement via twitter that they had halted their performance and touring schedule. No further information was given, however they stated that they may resume activity in the future. http://twitter.com/barragemusic
Tours and Live Performances
Barrage has embarked on several Concert tour#Concert tour|major concert tours which have included "A Violin Sings, A Fiddle Dances", "Vagabond Tales", and "High Strung". These tours each spanned several years in length, and collectively played to audiences across 27 countries including Belgium , Canada , China , Costa Rica , Denmark , El Salvador , England , Finland , France , Germany , Guatemala , Honduras , Hungary , Ireland , Italy , Mexico , Monaco , Netherlands , New Zealand , Norway , Poland , Scotland , Singapore , South Korea , Sweden , Taiwan , and the United States .cite web|author=By JOE BELANGER, The London Free Press |url= http://www.lfpress.com/entertainment/music/2011/12/05/19072281.html |title=String fling & #124; Music & #124; Entertainment & #124; London Free Press |publisher=Lfpress.com |date=2011-12-06 |accessdate=2012-01-08 The group has also frequently toured regionally in North America and Europe using the self-titled "'Barrage" show name.cite web|url= http://www.songkick.com/artists/522594-barrage |title=Barrage Tour Dates — Barrage Concert Dates and Tickets |publisher=Songkick |date= |accessdate=2012-01-08
In addition to their touring schedule, Barrage has performed as a semi-permanent resident show at Epcot Center in Walt Disney World Florida , Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim, California , and Chime-Long Paradise in Guangzhou, China .cite web|author=Design and Production: Steve Nowlon |url= http://barrage.org/vtshow/intro.html |title=About The Show |publisher=Barrage |date= |accessdate=2012-01-08
From 1996-2012, Barrage maintained an extremely active schedule, touring internationally for over 30 weeks each year. http://www.ovguide.com/barrage-9202a8c04000641f8000000006be48aa#
Media
Barrage has released five studio album s, one live album , one greatest hits album , several music video s, and two concert DVD s.cite web|author=Design and Production: Steve Nowlon |url= http://barrage.org/shop/audiocds.html |title=The Shop - Audio CDs |publisher=Barrage |date= |accessdate=2012-01-08cite web|author=Design and Production: Steve Nowlon |url= http://barrage.org/shop/dvds.html |title=The Shop - DVDs / Videos |publisher=Barrage |date= |accessdate=2012-01-08 They have also published a series of Sheet music|music books .cite web|author=Design and Production: Steve Nowlon |url= http://barrage.org/shop/musicbooks.html |title=The Shop - Music Books |publisher=Barrage |date= |accessdate=2012-01-08 The group has been featured on numerous television networks worldwide including BBC (UK), PBS (USA), Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC (Canada), China Central Television|CCTV (China) and the Disney Channel|Disney Network (USA) in both filmed and live performance specials.
Albums
Barrage released their first album, "Live in Europe" in 1998, recorded live at multiple venues during Barrage's tour of Europe that year. http://www.barrage.org/shop/cd-liveineurope.html/ Live in Europe Album Information
Their self-titled album " Barrage (album)|Barrage ", released in the year 2000, was the group's first studio album. It contains many original songs from the group's "A Violin Sings, A Fiddle Dances" tour.cite web|author=Design and Production: Steve Nowlon |url= http://www.barrage.org/shop/cd-selftitled.html |title=The Shop - Audio CDs - Self-titled |publisher=Barrage |date=2010-08-30 |accessdate=2012-01-08
Barrage's second studio album " Vagabond Tales " was released in 2003 in conjunction with the launch of the group's "Vagabond Tales" tour, containing many of the songs that were featured in the show.cite web|author=Design and Production: Steve Nowlon |url= http://barrage.org/shop/cd-vt.html |title=The Shop - Audio CDs - Vagabond Tales |publisher=Barrage |date= |accessdate=2012-01-08
In 2008, Barrage released "Scrapbook", a greatest hits album containing popular and well known songs from the group's shows and previous recordings. Also in 2008, Barrage's third studio album "High Strung" was released, containing music performed by Barrage during their "High Strung" tour. http://barrage.org/shop/cd-highstrung.html High Strung http://barrage.org/shop/cd-scrapbook.html Scrapbook
"Winter's Tale" was released in 2009. It is Barrage's first holiday album, containing their unique arrangements of holiday classics. The album also contains collaborations with Danish vocalist Stig Rossen. http://www.barrage.ca/shop/cd-winterstale.html/ Winter's Tale album info
In 2011, the group released its latest studio album titled "Soundtrack of the World".cite web|author=Design and Production: Casper Journal Staff |url= http://www.casperjournal.com/arts/article_9389c3ef-2daf-533a-9f9b-a3b611c78f06.html |title=Barrage unleashes "Soundtrack of the World" |publisher=Casper Journal |date= |accessdate=2012-03-13
Television
Barrage has been the topic of three separate biographical documentary|documentaries throughout their existence, including "Live in Europe" (1998), "The Making of Vagabond Tales" (2003) and "Dig a Little Deeper" (2005), all of which have been televised in several countries. Two of Barrage's music videos, "Ghost Riders in the Sky" and "Running Horses", have received airplay on music television networks VH1 (USA), CMT (Canada)|CMT (Canada/USA) and Muchmusic|MUCHMUSIC (Canada). The group has also produced other music videos and performance clips made specifically for Youtube . http://www.barragevideo.com
Film
Barrage has released two concert DVD's, "The World on Stage" (1999) and "Vagabond Tales" (2003). Both were broadcast multiple times nationally across the United States as Prime time|prime-time concert specials on the PBS network.cite web|author=Design and Production: Steve Nowlon |url= http://www.barrage.org |title=Official Home |publisher=Barrage |date= |accessdate=2012-01-08
Instrumentation and Music
Barrage violinists used violin|acoustic violins fitted with custom wireless Pickup (music technology)|acoustic bridge pick-up amplification systemscite web|author=Design and Production: Steve Nowlon |url= http://barrage.org/vtshow/violins.html |title=About The Show |publisher=Barrage |date= |accessdate=2012-01-08 and specially designed "Barrage" model carbon fiber Coda Bow (music)|bows during their live performances.cite web|url= http://www.swstrings.com/product/bows/violin/VB90NXB |title=CodaBow Diamond NX Barrage Round Carbon Fiber Violin Bow & #124; Southwest Strings |publisher=Swstrings.com |date= |accessdate=2012-01-08 Vocals were always a major part of Barrage's performances, and all musicians in the group usually sang during their shows. Drum set, acoustic/electric guitar and bass guitar were mainstay backline instruments used by Barrage throughout their existence. From 1996-2005, the backline featured a strong percussion and Marimba|melodic mallet instrument presence, however this element of the group was removed after 2005. Barrage also used piano , keyboards , mandolin , upright bass , tin whistle , low whistle , harmonica , bagpipes , and other instruments at various times in their shows.
Barrage's repertoire is varied and extensive, encompassing many music styles. The group's musical director, Dean Marshall, composed and/or arranged all of Barrage's musical material throughout its entire history.cite web|author=Design and Production: Steve Nowlon |url= http://barrage.org/backstage/creators.html# |title=Back Stage - The Creators |publisher=Barrage |date= |accessdate=2012-01-08
Personnel
The cast of Barrage was a group of young professional musicians from a variety of musical backgrounds. The cast has been made up of several different musicians throughout its history, each of whom were specifically selected for the group through worldwide audition|auditions .cite web|author=Lisa L. LaCamera |url= http://www.wolftrap.org/Home/Media_and_Newsroom/News_and_Announcements/Performance%20News/0708/April23_26final.aspx |title=International Sensation Barrage Electrifies the Stage with a Visual and Aural Extravaganza |publisher=My Wolf Trap |date= |accessdate=2012-03-13 The original cast involved in the group's creation process at the time of Barrage's initial formation in 1996 was Denis Dufresne, Scott Duncan, Errol Fischer, Allison Granger, Roxanne Leitch, Lynae Oliver, and Joshua Zubot (all on violin/vocals), Bob Fenske (percussion/mallet instruments), Kent McRae (drum set), Aaron Young (guitars) and Tim Harley (bass). http://www.myspace.com/barragemusic Former cast members Official
Barrage musicians have come from countries including Canada , England , Germany , New Zealand , Scotland , Wales , and the United States . From 1996 to 2006, Barrage was made up of seven violinists along with a guitarist, bassist, drummer and percussionist. From 2006-2012, the cast of Barrage consisted of five violinists with a guitarist, bassist, and drummer.
Cast Members
http://www.myspace.com/barragemusic Former cast members Officialcite web|author=Design and Production: Steve Nowlon |url= http://barrage.org/backstage/performers.html |title=Back Stage - The Performers |publisher=Barrage |date= |accessdate=2012-01-08
