Arctic Talent: Lifelong adventurer on the ‘challenge’ of fiddling

Matty McNair is a person of many feats.

She led the first all-female expedition to the North Pole in 1997 and wrote a book about it.

Seven people gather in Matty McNair’s livingroom in Iqaluit to play music. (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)

In 2003, she completed two ski expeditions to the South Pole.

She crossed Greenland’s ice cap — the second-largest body of ice on Earth, covering more than 1.7 million square kilometres — and in 2007 she took part in the Polar Special of BBC’s Top Gear program.

But among her many daring accomplishments, there is one that’s more stay-at-home.

Most Mondays for the past 30 years McNair has gathered a gang of musicians in her living room with cellos, guitars and accordions to spend an evening making music.

McNair, a life-long Iqaluit fiddler, recently talked about her passion for music.

1970s: McNair, who is in her twenties at this point, mentions to her sister that she has always wanted to learn to play the fiddle. So her sister gets their father to fix up their grandmother’s old instrument and give it to Matty for Christmas.

“I didn’t know how to read music, and I told my sister, teach me how to play a fiddle. Just teach me a tune,” McNair says.

By ear, she learns to play her first piece of music — Sailor’s Hornpipe.

But McNair doesn’t come back to the instrument for years after that.

1980: McNair’s daughter starts taking cello lessons at an adult learning group in Iqaluit. The strings of the instrument keep falling off, so McNair has to come to the practices to help fix them. She eventually becomes friends with the instructor, and they start to play together occasionally.

McNair still learns most of the fiddling that she does today on her own by going though beginner books and music sheets.

Late 1980s: McNair plays in a band called Paper Bag Quartet. The group plays on Canada Day and at other events with paper bags over their heads.

1996: She invites a few people to play at her livingroom and joins in with her fiddle. At first, it’s just a fun “mother-daughter activity.” But as more people join, it becomes a place for music aficionados to practise their skills.

“People keep saying, ‘Oh, but I haven’t practised.’ No, no, no, this is practise,” she says.

2025: On a frosty November evening, she and four other group members perform at the Jam Café concert at the Franco-Centre in Iqaluit, inviting more people to join the group. While other musicians get nervous and excited about performing, to McNair it feels more like a chore.

“I’m not a keen performer,” she says. But because some other members of the group want to show off their skills sometimes, she goes along.

2026: Over the years, dozens of musicians join the group. Some attend just one or two meetups, others stick around for years.

“It’s a comfortable spot to be,” McNair says, looking around her Iqaluit livingroom with books and souvenirs from her many trips.

Tip from the trade: First, find the instrument. It can be a violin, piano, maybe a harmonica — whatever makes you excited and motivated, McNair says. Then, practise. Practise some more. Find people who know how to play and can give you some hints.

“You gotta take a risk,” McNair says.

McNair’s Arctic Talent pick: The many Iqaluit musicians who set foot in her livingroom to play a tune.