Emilyn Stam & Filippo Gambetta

Emilyn and Filippo met in 2003 through their mutual friend and musical mentor, Oliver Schroer, while performing at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival, in Emilyn’s home province of British Columbia, Canada. Thirteen years later their musical friendship was rekindled and they started their duo project in Filippo’s hometown, Genova, Italy.

The influences of Northern Italian and French traditional music meld with idioms and styles that arise from Northern American fiddle traditions in a transatlantic musical connection that is exciting both for an audience of listeners and dancers.

Canadian Emilyn Stam (piano, 5-string fiddle) creates and performs in many traditional and creative instrumental music styles. She has collaborated with theatre, story-telling, contemporary dance and clowning, and regularly teaches and plays for social folk dancing. Italian Filippo Gambetta (diatonic accordion) has collaborated with contemporary dance companies, theatre companies, singer songwriters, figure theatre companies and many artists that move outside the folk music circuit. Their diverse experiences contribute to the duo’s open and curious perspective on instrumental folk music.

Both live in concert and in the new album Shorelines, the duo blends some tunes rooted in tradition, with original compositions. New melodies in the “balfolk” dance style alternate with sparkling compositions characterized by irregular meters and multiple influences.

Emilyn Stam and Filippo Gambetta have performed at the Kaustinen Folk Festival (Finland), FestinVal (Italy), Touscouleurs (Italy), Fiera del Libro di Torino (Italy), Vienna International Accordion Festival (Austria), Vancouver Island Music Fest (Canada), Mission Folk Festival (Canada), Harrison Festival of the Arts (Canada), Cadansa Festival (Netherlands).