Tunes for our Prime Ministers
The Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Association celebrated Canada’s 150th birthday in 2017 by making available to all Canadians tunes written to honour the leaders of our nation. These tunes have been written by some of Canada’s best known fiddle composers and players. Building on a project to mark Canada’s 100th birthday by the late Graham Townsend, today’s fiddle players continue to personify the great Canadian fiddling culture through these tunes.
The CGMFA hopes that these tunes will serve as an educational foundation for the art of Canadian fiddling while recognizing the icons of Canada’s political history, known as our Prime Ministers.
Thank you to all the artists who donated their talent to this project. No remuneration was sought or provided to any of those involved. (Special thanks is given to the mother and daughter team of Loretta and Sherryl Fitzpatrick who undertook to bring this project to fruition.)
Sir John A MacDonald Waltz – Composed by Graham Townsend
Alexander MacKenzie March – Composed by Graham Townsend
Sir John Abbott Waltz – Composed by Graham Townsend
Sir John S D Thompson Jig – Composed by Graham Townsend
Sir MacKenzie Bowell Jig – Composed by Graham Townsend
Sir Charles Tupper Waltz – Composed by Graham Townsend
Sir Wilfred Laurier Reel – Composed by Graham Townsend
Sir Robert Borden Waltz – Composed by Graham Townsend
Sir Arthur Meighen Two-Step – Composed by Graham Townsend
Sir William Lyon MacKenzie King Strathspey – Composed by Graham Townsend
Sir R B Bennett Hornpipe – Composed by Graham Townsend
Louis St-Laurent Reel – Composed by Graham Townsend
John Diefenbaker Polka – Composed by Graham Townsend
Lester Pearson Clog – Composed by Graham Townsend
P E Trudeau Reel – Composed by John Durrocher
Young Joe Clark – Composed by Peter Dawson
John Turner’s Special – Composed by Mark Sullivan
Prime Minister Mulroney’s Jig – Composed by Donnell Leahy
Kim Campbell March – Composed by Troy MacGillivray
Ti-Jean Chretien Reel – Composed by John Arcand
Paul Martin Breakdown – Composed by Yvon Cuillerier
Stephen Harper’s Country – Composed by Calvin Vollrath
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Waltz – Composed by Sherryl Fitzpatrick
The Right Honourable Prime Minister's March – Composed by Trent Bruner