The recent July 1 festivities are proof of the diversity and volume of different cultures in Canada. A great example of this fusion of cultures occurred in Ottawa, where Canadian fiddle-player Jeremy Moyer collaborated with Greek singer George Sapounidis and his band, playing Chinese and Greek folk songs. The outdoor event occurred at the Canada and The World Pavilion at Rideau Falls Park, in front of a modestly sized, but appreciative crowd. The band played several styles of music and performed on a variety of instruments. Although it was a cold night, the crowd was warmed by Taiwanese folk songs and ballads from the island of Crete.

Waterloo-born Moyer also appeared recently a the K-W Multicultural festival in Victoria Park, accompanied by students form Mainland China studying at the University of Waterloo and Wilfred Laurier University. These students, Pei-Yi Niu and Xiaoxiang Zeng, will also accompany Moyer at an event named 'A Taste of China' at Kitchener City Hall July 12 at 7 p.m.

Moyer spent several years in Mainland China, Taiwan and New York's Chinatown, learning Chinese music. In January, he moved back to Canada, and settled in Montreal, where he devotes his time to composing original instrumental music. As well as performing with Sapounidis, he also performs in Ottawa and Montreal on Chinese two-string fiddles with percussion group J'tam, and world music ensemble Galitcha.

Moyer, speaking on the phone from Montreal, is content with the relaxed, open atmosphere in the Quebec city, saying, "It's very different from most places in Canada, like, say Ontario. I was always curious about the place, and knew it had a great music scene. I've only been here about four or five months and I've made some great contacts - it was the right place to come."

The 30-year-old musician says "it was sort of by accident" that he became interested in Chinese music and culture. He originally went to Taiwan on a church exchange program when he was 19, as an assistant teacher at a school for blind and mentally handicapped children. He lived there for a year, then made it to the mainland in 1993, where he studied the Mandarin Chinese language for a year. After coming back to Canada to finish a degree course, Moyer then went back to Taiwan. He remembers it as "a time of a lot of going back and forth."

He originally took formal lessons on the Erhu, a standard Chinese two-stringed fiddle, when he first went to Taiwan. The last few times Moyer went back, he was drawn towards the living Chinese folk msuic traditions and played the coconut shell fiddle with the then 78-year-old fiddler Zhang Shi-Dong. He has fond memories of the time. "We'd sit around in the afternoon under a tree, drinking tea. He'd teach me a lot of ancient songs that have been passed down through the Chinese oral tradition, and then I'd learn them by memory. I guess I was inspired by this relaxed way of playing, but then I moved to New York and took up more formal lessons again, really sitting down to practise the instrument more seriously."

At the age of 19, the trip to Taiwan was the first time Moyer had been out of Canada, and the people made a lasting impression on him. " The difference in culture, along with the people who were warm and friendly definitely made me feel welcome," he said.

When in New York City (1998-2001), Moyer played the Erhu professionally with the Chinese Music Ensemble of New York. He played Erhu and Gaohu (Cantonese high-pitched fiddle) at community events, and was the lead coconut shell fiddle accompanist in a lecture on Taiwanese folk opera. "New York is so great, everything's going on there. It doesn't matter what you're interested in, in that place - somebody's doing it, and you can bet that somebody's doing it really well," he said.

There is always a sense of pride for members of any nation when people of different nationalities show an interest in their popular culture and traditions. One example is St. Patrick's day, when every year, the Irish daily newspapers proudly splash front page photos of parades worldwide, form Toronto, New York, Sydney and Moscow. The annual Oktoberfest in Kitchener, which celebrates German culture (and lots of beer) is an example close to home for this community.

The Chinese people that Moyer collaborates with, and those who attend recitals are usually appreciative of his efforts in respecting their customs. "When I perform with George to a Chinese crowd, they're always very excited to hear two people from very different traditions who sing and harmonise in Chinese, playing their national instruments," he said. "I speak Mandarin. It wasn't that difficult to learn really, especially when I was living in Taiwan I had to use it every day. I guess it took me about two or three years to get a good hold of it, but now I'd say I'm pretty comfortable with it."

In 1997, while in Canada, Moyer recorded A Discovery of Chinese Folk Tunes, a CD which featured the coconut shell fiddle. He plans another release within the next year. "I write original Chinese music for the Erhu, with a mix of different instruments from different cultures including Indian Tabla and gongs as well as guitar and conventional drums," he said. "But at the moment, if I perform as myself, on my own, I still perfrorm mostly a mix of Cantonese and Taiwanese music."

As well as A Taste Of China, the musician will also be performing at the Mill Race Festival of Traditional Folk Music in Cambridge Aug. 4, and he is keen to promote the different acts and recitals. "From what I understand, it's going to be an evening with a lot of variety," he said. "There'll be Taiwanese, Cantonese and Chinese National Music in different ensembles. There'll be other representations of Chinese performing arts, including traditional dance, drumming, and Kung Fu presentations, a whole mix of things. So it's really a good time for anyone to learn about the various aspects of Chinese culture."