Jocelyn Pettit
As a multicultural artist, with Scottish, Irish, French and Malaysian heritage, Jocelyn integrates the Celtic and folk traditions of her roots into her shows and compositions. With uplifting energy and engaging stage presence, she presents a lively and joyful performance of traditional, contemporary and original music.
With her band and other collaborations, Jocelyn has toured across Canada, the U.S., the U.K., Europe and Malaysia. Performances have taken her from international festival stages and theatre to intimate house concerts and community dances; from medieval castles, to incomparably special hometown shows.
Jocelyn has appeared on CBC and BBC radio and television, and in numerous press publications; performed for royalty; and shaded the stage with internationally-renowned artists, the Chieftains (Ireland), The Battlefield Band (Scotland) and Carlos Nunez (Spain).
As a recording artist, Jocelyn has released four critically acclaimed albums. Her Debut and Second album Caravan, received multiple award nominations for "World Artist of the Year" at the Western Canadian Music Awards, and at the Canadian Folk Music Awards. A third album, Wind Rose, was nominated for "Solo Artist of the Years" at the 2023 Canadian Folk Music Awards, and "Global Artist of the Year" at the 2024 Western Canadian Music Awards. A duo album with American cellist Ellen Gira, All It Brings, has received significant airplay and recognition, including and award for "Traditional Album of the Year" at the Canadian Folk Music Awards, and a nomination for "Instrumental Artist of the Year" at the 2024 Western Canadian Music Awards.
As an educator, Jocelyn has taught fiddle and stepdance lessons and workshops at numerous schools, venues and festivals in Canada, the U.S., the U.K., and France. She is passionate about sharing the joy of music and dance, and helping others learn. Jocelyn currently teaches at the Squamish Academy of Music and her home studio, and organizes the annual "Sea to Sky Fiddle & Cello Retreat".
An active member of the community, Jocelyn was named a 2017 BC Culture Days Ambassador, as part of a Canada wide movement to make culture accessible to all. She was selected as a 2010 Olympic Torchbearer, for Community Leadership Recognition.
Jocelyn has a Master of Music Degree from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow. She performs with the Jocelyn Pettit Band, Jocelyn Pettit & Ellen Gira and other special collaborations.
Ellen Gira
Ellen Gira is establishing herself as one of the most versatile cellists in the Scottish and American Traditional ( “Trad”) music scenes. Combining her passion for Traditional music with a strong grounding in technique from her classical training, Ellen enjoys stretching the boundaries of cello within the Scottish, Irish, American, Scandinavian, and Canadian fiddle traditions.
Currently based in Maryland, Ellen performs with fiddle-cello duo Jocelyn Pettit and Ellen Gira and with the American Old-time trio The Auldeners. She has performed at music festivals throughout Scotland, including Celtic Connections, the Neil Gow Festival, and Piping Live. She has performed twice for Prince Charles, and has been broadcasted live on BBC Radio 3 numerous times. She has also recorded albums with Irish fiddler Manus McGuire and American Scottish fiddler Sean Heely. She earned her masters degree in Scottish Music from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
In addition to her passion for Traditional music, Ellen is an accomplished Classical cellist, performing at such prominent venues as the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., at Cadogan Hall in London, and at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Cello Performance at the Cleveland Institute of Music studying with Stephen Geber and Richard Weiss, the former Principal and current Assistant Principal cellists of the Cleveland Orchestra, and has performed in masterclasses for Laurence Lesser, Joshua Roman, and Zuill Bailey. In the summers of 2015 and 2016, she served as Principal cellist at the National Orchestral Institute; her solo performances with this ensemble have been released on the Naxos label. She has also been featured on NBC4’s Viewpoint.
Outside of performance, Ellen also has a passion for teaching, with a particular interest in encouraging young cellists to study Traditional music. To this end, Ellen is currently undertaking doctoral studies in Trad cello pedagogy as part of a partnership between the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and the University of St. Andrews. She also teaches lessons in Traditional music to cellists at the Conservatoire.