Oliver Schroer

Oliver Schroer
Born	June 18, 1956
Origin	Canada
Died	July 3, 2008
Occupation(s)	instrumentalist, composer, music producer
Instruments	Fiddle, violin
Years active	1993–2008
Website	OliverSchroer.com

Oliver Schroer (June 18, 1956 – July 3, 2008) was a Canadian fiddler, composer, and music producer.

Oliver Schroer grew up in Vandeleur, Ontario, a small farming community near Markdale in rural Grey County. He attended Grey Highlands Secondary School in Flesherton, where he played French horn in the school band. He also took private violin lessons. He graduated in 1974, having earned several academic awards.

Schroer was dissatisfied with university life, and began to busk in Toronto, playing guitar in the Toronto subway. After several years, he picked up his violin again, but to play fiddle rather than classical music. Eventually, he began to record, and in 1993 released his first album, Jigzup, which was nominated for a Juno Award in the Best Roots or Traditional Album category.

Schroer was a prolific composer, recording ten CDs in 14 years. He performed in Europe and North America in clubs, cathedrals, and New York's Lincoln Center. Altogether, he produced or performed on over 100 albums, and wrote more than 1,000 pieces of music. He recorded with artists such as Jimmy Webb and Barry Mann, Canadian singers James Keelaghan, Loreena McKennitt and Sylvia Tyson, acoustic guitar artists Jesse Cook and Don Ross, and Canadian rock bands Great Big Sea and Spirit of the West.

Toronto critic Robert Everett-Green described his style as a "fusion of Ontario fiddling traditions with the kind of architectural, string-crossing music of Bach's solo violin works." Schroer's music also frequently employs violin harmonic and double stop techniques to create distinctly modern sounds.

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