Carole Bestvater and Chantelle Jubenville make up The Sizzle Sisters, an energetic fiddling duo bound to leave you smiling with your toes tapping!  Chantelle and Carole met  in St. John’s, Newfoundland, and bonded over a mutual love for Folk Music and their seemingly endless energy.

Carole Bestvater strives to share her joy of music with those around her. She is equally at home in classical and folk genres, maintaining a full schedule as a performer and educator. Carole relocated from the prairies to St. John’s to pursue studies with Dr. Nancy Dahn at Memorial University of Newfoundland, and loved it here so much that she decided to stay.

Passionate about community and education, Carole founded the Strong Harbour Strings Program, an immersive after school music program based in the belief that communities can be strengthened through the learning and sharing of music. Carole is also on faculty of the Suzuki Talent Education Program. As a performer, Carole is a sought after side musician. She is a freestyle fiddler, equally as comfortable playing Bluegrass, Irish, Newfoundland, Old Time or
Appalachian folk styles. You can catch her performing with a number of local bands and
ensembles such as Youngtree and the Blooms, High & Lonesome, Sizzle Sisters, Crooked
Stovepipe, or performing classical music with the Strong Harbour Strings Collective, the
Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, or the Watershed Ensemble.

Chantelle Jubenville is a musician, educator, entrepreneur, wife and amateur knitter. Having grown up in rural Ontario with limited access to music lessons and music performances, her goal was to further her own musical ability and knowledge so that she might one day return to her hometown and provide a creative and expressive outlet for the youth of the community. However, education lead her to Newfoundland. Three degrees later, countless inspiring mentors, and an entirely different province she is still chasing her dream of inspiring students and audiences, through her actions, words, and deep love and appreciation of music.

Chantelle received a Bachelor of Music in Violin from Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU) in Waterloo, ON. She then moved to St. John’s, NL, to complete a Master of Music in Performance and Pedagogy, and later a Bachelor of Music Education, both from Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN). She lives in St. John’s, NL, with her husband Michael (also a musician) where she enjoys teaching in the local schools, private teaching from home and performing in the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, The Sizzle Sisters, and various other musical groups throughout the year.

Collaborators

The Sizzle Sisters are thankful to collaborate with other musicians on a regular basis.  Their most noteworthy collaborator is Jason Whelan, a multi-instrumentalist and recording engineer based in St. John’s, who has helped shape the Sizzle Sisters’ sound and style. Past collaborators include: Duane Andrews, Daniel Hawkins, Emilia Bartellas and Doug Dorward.