Biography

Terri Croft is a violinist, fiddler, and teacher based in Toronto, ON, Canada. She is a member of the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, a dedicated violin and fiddle teacher, and half of the multi-style fiddle/piano duo, “Murray and Croft”.

Terri is an enthusiastic orchestral and chamber musician. In addition to her position at the Canadian Opera Company, she frequently plays as an Extra Musician with the National Ballet of Canada. She served as a member of the Resident Chamber Ensemble for the National Arts Centre’s Young Artist Program from 2015-2018. She has appeared on numerous chamber music series, including Cecilia Concerts (NS), the Barachois Summer Music series (NB), and in Toronto venues such as Gallery 345 and Mazzoleni Hall. In 2015, she was in the winning groups for both the Duo and Ensemble categories at the Glenn Gould School Chamber Music Competition. Her piano trio, “Trio Benterria”, won first prize at the National Music Festival in 2011.

As a fiddler, Terri founded “Murray and Croft” with Shelby Murray, a blind pianist/accordion player from Salisbury, NB in 2016. Together they perform concerts with an eclectic mix of old-time and Celtic fiddle, popular and jazz standards, and light classical music. They give a school presentation called “Healing Harmonies”, which focuses on breaking mental health stigma and healthy emotional expression through the arts.

Originally from Riverview, New Brunswick, Terri grew up immersed in Maritime fiddle traditions. She was among the youngest (at 11) ever to be chosen to compete at the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Competition. She remains the youngest (at 13) to win the Open Class Championship at the Maritime Fiddle Festival. In 2014, after a hiatus from fiddling to focus on her post-secondary studies, she captured the Northern Ontario Fiddle Championship.

Terri is a dedicated teacher with a small studio in Toronto, and online. In 2017, she established the Affordable Lesson Program in her studio, which allows folks with low income access to lessons. She holds a Bachelor of Music from Dalhousie University, a Master of Music from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and an Artist Diploma from The Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music. Her main teachers were Paul Kantor, Barry Shiffman, Jaime Laredo, and Philippe Djokic. She plays on a modern violin from 2010, made by Rodney de Vries of Newfoundland.