Daniel Edward Lapp is a Canadian folk musician based in Victoria, British Columbia and Pender Island. Early life Lapp was born and grew up in Prince George, British Columbia. His mother, Charlotte Lapp, was a pianist. He learned to play the violin from his grandfather, beginning at age nine. He studied trumpet with Lou Ranger at the University of Victoria, and attended Humber College in Toronto in 1985. His old time musical environment included five uncles who played fiddle and numerous accordion playing aunts, which was a natural place for immersion into this musical genre. Educator Lapp became a fiddle teacher, and in 1994, he formed the B.C. Fiddle Orchestra, which showcased a dozen young fiddlers from around British Columbia and a full backup band. The ensemble's debut was in front of about 60,000 people at the Commonwealth Games in Victoria. The group continued to perform in British Columbia, and by 2013 had released an album. In 2014 Daniel was appointed as the inaugural Artistic Director of the Victoria Conservatory of Music’s Chwyl Family School of Contemporary Music, where he now under the umbrella of the Victoria Conservatory of Music, continues to direct the B.C. Fiddle Orchestra, the “Joy of Life” Choir, and “Folkestra”, teaches fiddle and trumpet privately, and is Artistic Director of the Contemporary Music component to the Victoria Conservatory of Music’s Postsecondary Diploma in Music Performance. Archivist Beginning in 1990, with the assistance of a grant from the Canada Council on the Arts, Daniel Lapp travelled throughout British Columbia and collected over 1,000 fiddle tunes. According to Lapp, these tunes were heavily influenced by music from the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, and famous Canadian fiddlers such as Don Messer, Al Cherny, Ned Landry, Frankie Rodgers, Ward Allen, Graham Townsend, and fiddlers from the Canadian Prairies such as King Ganam and Andy DeJarlis. Performance career Lapp was a touring member of the folk rock band Spirit of the West in 1988 and 1989, but never appeared on any of the band's albums. Lapp and Linda McRae replaced Hugh McMillan during MacMillan's hiatus from the band following the 1988 album Labour Day. Lapp left when MacMillan returned before the band's next album. He has also toured with Barney Bentall, Mae Moore and Rickie Lee Jones. As a fiddler, jazz trumpeter and singer/songwriter, Daniel Lapp has played on over 100 albums and performed across Canada, the United States, Ireland,