by RUPERT BOTTENBERG

Dr. Draw isn't a doctor, and he doesn't play one on TV. What 22-year-old, Russian-born Eugene Draw does play is classical violin - while breakdancing, while house DJs spin, on his new fusion CD The City and (whenever possible) at worthwhile fundraising events. One such event is the BBCM's Hot & Dry weekend, raising cash to fight AIDS (for full details, go to www. bbcm.org). From his teenage days busking on Toronto's Bay Street to recent slots at film fest galas and fashion shows, the precocious prodigy's prognosis for success is paying dividends.

Mirror: You integrate your classical music training - the playing and composing - with various contemporary pop styles, like breakdancing or, on your record, rock, dub and house. What led you to stake out that middle ground?

Eugene Draw: I listen to classical music religiously, it's something that I really enjoy. When I was 16 I took a summer course at the Orford Arts Centre. There were kids there who'd been playing since they were four years old, and I'd started later, at 11. But I was very ambitious and I wanted to make this my career. Everyone else said that was crazy. But I had an amazing way of improvising, of taking classical music and doing it my way. I had a teacher there who told me, "This is what you have to do. You're not a person who will play these pieces from beginning to end, the way they were written. You're a creator, a composer, and every time you play something, you play it your way." So from the age of 16 I decided to do my own thing. My confidence was up, and I didn't feel I had to fill the mould of the classical violinist.

M: Do you find that what you're doing is an effective means of steering people towards classical music?

ED: Definitely. The thing I hear the most lately is, "I never liked the violin, and you made me like it." And that's really cool. They associate the violin, because of television, with snobbery and the old-fashioned. But when they see a person who's not exactly of that image or that background playing the violin, doing house music and having fun, they're like, "Wow, I like the violin." People from the club scene, bartenders, have been coming up asking for lessons. Maybe if I can get them all together, I can form a string ensemble! (laughs)

M: Let's talk about the CD, The City. It covers a variety of moods, from the sober, moving "Ave Maria (Pulse)" to "Disco Monkey," which is a load of fun. Is there an overarching theme, or is it like a buffet?

ED: Both. A lot of the melodies were my street melodies, stuff I played on the street to get people's attention. I've taken them and refurbished them. A lot of the music has to do with the street, with performing on the street or coming up with melodies by walking around like a madman, singing them on the street, not caring what people think. It always works. For some reason, I can't just sit down and think things up. I'm a total extrovert. I go mad if I spend time just by myself.

With DJs Mat Ste-Marie and Victor Calderone at BBCM's Fresh! Party at Club Soda on Sunday, May 23, 10pm, $40

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