Acclaimed Toronto violinist ANNE LINDSAY to launch SOLOWORKS 2 with benefit show for fire-ravaged St. Anne’s Anglican Church
Anne Lindsay is marking some big milestones in 2025: 60 years since she picked up the violin and 50 years since she became a professional musician. Moreover, her favourite instrument will celebrate its 100th birthday. Over the course of that time, Anne has built a staggering resume that spans nearly every genre. Although she is perhaps best known as a member of the Jim Cuddy Band, and as a contributor to dozens of albums by the likes of Blue Rodeo, Skydiggers, Suzie Ungerleider, and John McDermott, she’s also been a part of the stage production of Lord of the Rings, accompanied Jimmy Page and Robert Plant during their Unledded tour stop in Toronto, and spent a season performing alongside the organist at Maple Leafs hockey games.
Still, Anne’s passion for making her own music has always been a big part of her identity, and her latest album, SOLOWORKS 2, is her most personal statement yet. As the title suggests, the collection is comprised of 12 primarily solo violin pieces that bridge the classical and traditional folk worlds in a truly original fashion. However, there is a much deeper story behind the album’s creation.
During the pandemic lockdown in 2020, Anne began the process of crafting SOLOWORKS 2 primarily as a vehicle to keep herself engaged with music. Once the world began opening up again, she and engineer Tim Vesely (Rheostatics) chose to record her new pieces at Toronto’s St. Anne’s Anglican Church, one of the city’s cultural jewels.
Built in 1907, the church featured a Byzantine dome that provided spectacular acoustics. Anne had plans to release the album at St. Anne’s, but sadly on June 9, 2024, a fire largely destroyed the historic church. Listening to SOLOWORKS 2 in this context surely makes for a bittersweet experience, but the beauty of the sounds that were thankfully captured there before the tragedy is undeniable. Anne will perform a special benefit concert for St. Anne’s Church on Thursday, March 6, which will also serve to launch SOLOWORKS 2 (see details below).
The range of emotions that Anne is able to express through her violin is astounding, and listeners on the folk end of the spectrum will naturally gravitate toward a song like the Appalachian flavoured “Carolina Parakeet,” which was inspired by Barbara Kingsolver’s novel Prodigal Summer. Anne explains, “She’s one of my favourite authors, and a common theme in her books is the interaction between all living things and the stresses that human behaviour can put on an ecosystem. Prodigal Summer describes the extinction of the Carolina parakeets largely due to deforestation and hunting—the birds were prized for their colourful feathers. I hope the piece is a reminder of what we lose when we abuse the environment.”
One listen to SOLOWORKS 2 will make clear that whether you’re partial to folk music or classical, the album is a pure work of heart and soul that is already inspiring many to help St. Anne’s rise from the ashes.