Originally from Courtenay, BC, Trish studied violin performance with Gwen Thompson and Robert Skelton at the University of Western Ontario, where she also did graduate work in Musicology under Serge Lacasse and Keir Keightley.
As a classical violinist and violist, she has performed with string quartets and orchestras in BC, Alberta, and Ontario including the Clearwater String Quartet, Orchestra London, and the Vancouver Island Symphony. Locally, she is a founding member of the Tan Trio, a new music ensemble featuring Nicole Arendt (marimba and percussion) and Chris Helman (saxophones and flute). She also performs with the Sonora String Quartet alongside Karl Rainer, James Mark, and Hannah Wilson.
Along the way, fiddle music has been a constant part of Trish's life and career. In 2001 she joined the Celtic band Hollow Promise and immersed herself in the study of traditional music. After several years of playing fiddle on recordings by artists including Gary Fjellgaard, Rick Scott and David Essig, Tamara Little, Scott Douglas, the Flying Accusations, and Kelly Green, Trish finally released her own debut CD in September 2007.
Dawson's Tumble, which was nominated for a 2007 Canadian Folk Music Award (Best Instrumental Solo Album), features favorite traditional fiddle tunes plus 7 original compositions. The CD was recorded and mixed on Protection Island by Anthony Maki (www.etchedinsound.com) with a cast of talented Vancouver Island musicians: Rick Scott, Paul O'Brien, Terry Boyle, Veronica Wagner, Anthony Maki, Chris Helman, Charity Munro and Andrea L'Heureux.
Currently Trish teaches Suzuki violin and fiddle at the Nanaimo Conservatory of Music. She has taken Suzuki teacher training with Elayne Ras, Carol Smith, and Ann Montzka-Smelser. Trish is director of four Nanaimo-area fiddle ensembles, and travels widely to offer clinics and workshops. She is also the founding director of the Vancouver Island Fiddle Camp, which happens each March.
She has been on faculty at several western fiddle camps, including Fiddleworks (Salt Spring Island), CeltFest (Parksville), Yukon Summer Music Camp (Whitehorse), the Vancouver Island Fiddle Camp (Nanaimo) and Music Meadows and Mountains (Orcas Island WA). Trish is also part of the northern teaching team for the Kole Crook Fiddle Association, with whom she travels to the Northwest Territories several times each year.