Brielle Goheen, originally from Southern Ontario, joined the Blazing Fiddles a few months after their formation in 2000. She has been playing with them ever since.
Brielle began learning violin at the age of 5 when she was given violin lessons as a gift for her birthday. Her family lived in a small but exceptionally musical town in Iowa for three years (age 4-6) and it was there that she followed in the footsteps of her two older sisters who had begun taking violin lessons in school a year previous. She began her musical education under the instruction Frances Kohl. After moving back to the Hamilton area, Brielle continued to take private violin lessons for the next ten years with Kristi Coleman-Dorland, a graduate of McGill University.
About a year after beginning lessons, Brielle began performing with her family string quartet, playing her first wedding at age 7. Pretty soon wedding ceremonies, receptions and other special events filled the weekends of her summer calendar. It was because of one of these events that Luella Albin, the wife of Grand River Dinner Cruises founder John Albin and music director for the company, heard her name and asked her and her sister, Brittany (a Blazing Fiddles member from 2000-2007), to come audition for the Blazing Fiddles. It was at that audition that Brielle met Jeffrey Taylor, an original member of the group. Brielle became a “Fid” with The Blazing Fiddles at age 13 and remains the youngest member to have ever performed with the group.
After high school, Brielle moved to British Columbia to obtain a degree in violin performance from Trinity Western University, studying with Heilwig vonKonigsleow. In 2007, Brielle had the honour of being selected to perform a violin concerto written specifically for her by composer Dr. David Squires. The piece, entitled Where Angels Dance, gave her a chance to blend her extensive Classical training with her love of Celtic fiddle music. More recently, Brielle has also been delving into the world of jazz, both with vocals and violin.
In November 2009, Brielle moved to Toronto to pursue a career in music. In addition to being a member of the Blazing Fiddles and several Classical and jazz ensembles, Brielle also plays with several bands and solo musicians, including Duane Forrest and Bruekke. She also recently released a solo album featuring her own original music written for voice and piano, entitled Just a Taste.
