Maxim Cormier

Cape Breton

Maxim Cormier is a young guitarist in his 20's from the Acadian village of Cheticamp. Having picked up the guitar at the age of 11, it was not long after that he was performing in variety concerts and for fundraisers in the Cheticamp area.

Maxim flatpicks Scottish fiddle tunes and composes contemporary fingerstyle guitar music in the style of Don Ross and Michael Hedges. He has worked with "Le Conseil des Arts de Cheticamp" as part of a '60s style musical and he toured the French schools of le CSAP with Scott MacMillan, Brian Doyle and a group of young talented artists.

He has performed with his father, Gervais Cormier, for a couple of years now, playing Celtic tunes, fingerstyle guitar music and some of his father's compositions, which range from folk to gypsy jazz and beyond.

Maxim is this year's recipient of the Festival Volunteer Drive’er Association's Frank “Big Sampie” Sampson Award, which grants recording studio time to a young up-and-coming artist in the Celtic Arts.