Fiddlers from the Celtic, New England, and Franco-American fiddling traditions will join forces on Saturday, Oct. 5 for the sixth Fall Fiddle Festival, a day packed with workshops and group playing for fiddlers (and violinists who are interested in learning to fiddle!). The Festival, open to teens and adults, will be held at Concord Community Music School, 23 Wall St., Concord.
The day includes workshops on a variety of topics at the novice, intermediate, and advanced levels. In the evening, all four fiddle faculty members, along with their musical collaborators, will present a toe-tapping evening concert of fiddle music open to the public.
The Festival will feature guest faculty members Hanneke Cassel and Don Roy, alongside two of New Hampshire’s own fiddling favorites, Audrey Budington and Liz Faiella. They’ll be joined for the evening concert by accompanists Dan Faiella, guitar, and Cindy Roy, piano.
About the instructors/performers: Fiddling champion Hanneke Cassel blends originality and innovation with the spirit of Scottish traditional fiddle. Fusing musical roots from the Isle of Skye and Cape Breton Island with Americana stylings, Hanneke’s playing has been described by the Boston Globe as “exuberant and rhythmic, somehow wild and innocent, delivered with captivating melodic clarity and an irresistible playfulness.”
National Heritage Fellowship recipient Don Roy is a virtuosic fiddler whose music is deeply rooted in the Franco-American tradition. He actively fosters community music-making and appreciation of traditional music through his unique fiddle orchestra, “Fiddle-icious,” and performs and records using his own violins.
From the Music School’s faculty, Audrey Budington is fluent in various fiddling styles and has performed with Rosanne Cash, Darl Anger, and Bruce Molsky among others. Liz Faiella, chair of the Folk Department at the Music School, brings flair and sensitivity to the traditional Celtic and New England folk music she loves. For fiddlers participating in the daytime workshops, keep an eye out for award-winning New Hampshire-based fiddler and Music School faculty member Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki, who will join the fiddle team in leading group tunes after lunch!
In the evening concert, the fiddlers will share the stage with two masterful accompanists. Cindy Roy, also a National Heritage Fellowship recipient, grew up immersed in the melodies and rhythms of Franco-American music. Her piano accompaniment is fluid and rhythmic and provides a perfect foil to the virtuosic fiddling of her husband and musical partner, Don Roy. Guitarist Dan Faiella specializes in traditional Celtic music. Trained as an accompanist through years of playing for New England contra dances and alongside Irish fiddlers, he has performed at venues and festivals around the country with numerous traditional music groups.
Registration for both workshops and concert is $120; tickets for the concert only are $25 ($20 students & adults over 65). To learn more and register, visit cc-musicschool.org/fall-fiddle-festival/
