Jerry Holland

Jerry Holland (February 23, 1955-July 16, 2009) was a fiddler who lived on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, United States to Canadian parents - his father was from New Brunswick and his mother was from Quebec. During his childhood, Jerry was exposed to the music of the large Cape Breton expatriate community in Boston. He began to play the fiddle and step-dance at the age of five, and played at his f... more

Jerry Holland (February 23, 1955-July 16, 2009) was a fiddler who lived on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, United States to Canadian parents - his father was from New Brunswick and his mother was from Quebec. During his childhood, Jerry was exposed to the music of the large Cape Breton expatriate community in Boston. He began to play the fiddle and step-dance at the age of five, and played at his first square dance at the age of six. He made his television debut in 1962 on the Canadian program Don Messer's Jubilee. By the time he was ten years old, he was playing regularly at dances in the Boston area. Jerry's family made annual summer trips to Cape Breton, and Jerry moved there permanently in 1975. In his early 20s, Jerry performed with the Cape Breton Symphony, a group of fiddlers that included Winston "Scotty" Fitzgerald, Angus Chisholm, Joe Cormier, Wilfred Gillis and John Donald Cameron. The group appeared regularly on CBC... less