Westminster to host two Scottish fiddling concerts in July

Westminster College’s Strathgheny School of Scottish Fiddling will host two public concerts in July at the New Wilmington Borough Amphitheater located in the New Wilmington Borough Park off of Beechwood Avenue in New Wilmington, Pa.

An Instructors’ Concert will be held at 8 p.m., Monday, July 11, and will feature Dr. Melinda Perttu, associate professor of music at Westminster and director of the Strathgheny School of Scottish Fiddling; Dr. Daniel Perttu, professor of music at Westminster; and guest fiddle instructor David Gardner of Williamsburg, Va.

The Strathgheny Fiddlers Concert featuring student participants will be held at 8 p.m., Friday, July 15.

The concerts end a weeklong fiddling camp held on Westminster’s campus during which participants from all over the U.S. focus on bowing techniques, ornamentation, interpretation and rhythmic nuance, while also learning by ear and how to interpret traditional notation practices.

This year’s camp features a hybrid instruction with an online option in addition to the in-person instruction.

Crawford Perttu is a sanctioned Scottish FIRE judges, as well as a U.S. National Scottish Fiddling Champion and author of “A Violinist’s Guide to Scottish Fiddling.” She earned an undergraduate degree from Duquesne University and a master’s degree and Ph.D. from The Ohio State University.

Gardner, also a sanctioned Scottish FIRE judge, is a professional fiddler and the director of the Williamsburg Strathspey & Reel Society and a Fulbright teacher exchange scholar in music.

Both concerts are free and open to the public.

For more information, please visit https://www.melindacrawford.com/strathgheny.

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