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Westminster to host two Scottish fiddling concerts

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Posted on Monday, June 24, 2019

NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – Westminster College’s Strathgheny School of Scottish Fiddling will host two public concerts in July in the Anderson Amphitheater on Westminster’s campus.

The Instructors Concert will be held at 8 p.m., Monday, July 8, and will feature Scottish fiddlers Dr. Melinda Crawford Perttu, associate professor of music and school director, and David Gardner. They will be accompanied by Dr. Daniel Perttu, associate professor of music and chair of the School of Music, on piano.

The Strathgheny Fiddlers Concert featuring student participants will be held at 8 p.m. Friday, July 12.

The concerts bookend a weeklong fiddling camp held on Westminster’s campus during which participants will focus on bowing techniques, ornamentation, interpretation and rhythmic nuance. Additional instruction will include accompanying, Scottish fiddle pedagogy, Scottish history, Ceilidh (traditional party) dancing and use of the Scottish fiddle within the context of a performing group.

Crawford Perttu is a sanctioned Scottish FIRE judge. A U.S. National Scottish Fiddling Champion, she authored A Violinist’s Guide to Scottish Fiddling. She earned an undergraduate degree from Duquesne University and master’s degree and Ph.D. from The Ohio State University.

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

Both concerts are free and open to the public. Those attending should bring lawn chairs. In case of inclement weather, the concerts will be held in Orr Auditorium.

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