Midwest Fiddle Champs for 2010, part 2
Our 8th annual contest was held back in July. Part 1 of this post highlighted the 4 winning bands in the Open Division contest held on the 8th in Giddings Plaza. Part 2 will show videos shot on July 10th from the stage as four bands competed in the Invitational Division at the Chicago Folk & Roots Festival.
While the judges consulted on the final order, we had performances by 1st place winner’s in the Open Division — the Rachel Baiman Band — and the Youth Division — Maddy & the Hillions
In reverse order, here are the top 4 prize winners in the Invitational Division.
4th Place – Moravska Cimbalovka (Moravian Cymbalom Band), led by Andrew Tokarz
Their first tune was a traditional Moravian folk song.
3th Place – Paulina Hollers, Elizabeth Lamberti & Jim Becker & Kristen Bern, fiddles, & with Lea Tschilds on guitar & Clayton Brown on bass. They brought along the Chicago Prairie Cloggers, led by Rebecca Unger.
They followed up with “Back-Step Cindy.”
2nd Place – Stil Hua, Kristen Bern on fiddle, with Kevin Carey on flute, Siobhan Wojcik on bouzouki & Andrew Serb on bodhran. Rory Ward was their dancer.
Their second tune was a medley of an air and a reel.
1st Place – Cajun Vagabonds, Dorian Gehring-fiddle with Stewart Gehring-guitar, Eli Leki-Albano-bass & Monica Vachon-triangle. They brought two dancing couples from the Chicago Associate Chapter of the Cajun French Music Association.
Their second tune was “Lacassine Special”, a two-step. The dancers really got it going.
Filed under: Reports,Video by Paul | August 19, 2010 | Comments (0)
Midwest Fiddle Champs for 2010, part 1
Our 8th annual contest was held back in July, with the Open Division on Thursday the 8th in Giddings Plaza in Lincoln Square and the Invitational Division on the main stage on the 10th at the Chicago Folk & Roots Festival. The Open Division attracted 12 fiddlers with their bands, including . . .
Kolleen Blume with Walter’s Dream
Bill Bodle with the Wild Onion String Band
Caroline Fernald with the Bell Flowers
Claire Halpin with the CH4
Ted Johnson & Elise Dalleska
Lynn Malnekoff with Innisfree
Chris Marshall & friends
Miles Mibeck with Siobhan Wojcik & Megan McKeon
Kit Paulson with James Kreigsmann & David Stokman
The evening also featured performances by the three top prize winners at the Youth Division competition held in June:
3rd Place – Ethan Matlin with Last Minute Deal
2nd Place – Abigail Burrus & Sean Mythen with Sarah Mythen
1st Place – Maddy & the Hillions, Max & Anna Hill, fiddles & Maddy Tyler, guitar
In reverse order, here are the top 4 prize winners in the Open Division.
4th Place – Twin Sisters, that is Debi Lewis on fiddle with Deborah Fausch on banjo
They started off with “Oak Ridge Stomp.”
3th Place – Chirish, Maggie Danaher & Kristen Bern, fiddles, & Andrew Serb, guitar
(It was too dark to film in the plaza when this group played, so all we have is an audio recording.)
They played a medley of “The Gentle Maiden” and “Tommy People’s Reel.”
2nd Place – Po’ River Boys, Dan Gillespie on fiddle, with Jeff Yonkis on fiddle & washtub bass & Evan Collins on banjo
Their first tune was “Black-Eyed Susie.” Later, in a playoff, they played “Gospel Plow.”
1st Place – Second String, Rachel Baiman & Eva Walsh, fiddles with Greg Reish on guitar and Ethan Philion on bass
They started with “Oh My Little Darling,” and performed “Red Rocking Chair” for the playoff.
Part 2 will feature videos of the four bands that competed in the Invitational Division at Folk & Roots.
Filed under: Audio,Reports,Video by Paul | August 19, 2010 | Comments (0)
Presenting 8th Midwest Fiddle Championship
The Fiddle Club of the World is proud to present the 8th annual Midwest Fiddle Championship, with two divisions meeting in two venues. To start the fun off right, we’re returning to Giddings Plaza in Lincoln Square on Thursday, July 8 at 7:00pm for the Open Divisions. This Folk & Roots Festival preview is sponsored by the Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce. At least a dozen fiddlers and fiddle bands have registered to compete. We’ll also hear from the top three youth bands who competed in June.
(click to enlarge)
And Here is the lineup for the Invitational Division that will take place on the main stage at the Chicago Folk & Roots Festival at 12:55pm, Saturday July 19. Each band is led by a fiddler and is required to bring along dancers to help demonstrate how good the fiddler plays.
Stil Nua, an Irish band featuring Kristen Bern of Palos Heights. Accompanied by flute, guitar and bodhran. Playing for step-dancer Rory Ward.
 (click to enlarge) |
 (click to enlarge) |
The Cajun Vagabonds featuring fiddler Dorian Gehring of Chicago. Accompanied by guitar, bass and triangle. The dancers will do a waltz and two-step.
The Paulina Hollers, an old-time band featuring fiddler Elizabeth Lamberti and banjoist Jim Becker (both are Old Town School teachers). Accompanied by guitar & bass. The dancers are the Chicago Prairie Clogging Team, led by Rebecca Unger, back for their second appearance at Folk & Roots.
Moravska Cimbalovka, a Moravian village band led by Andrew Tokarz. The lineup includes fiddle, kontra (a chording fiddle), cimbalom (a large hammer dulcimer), clarinet & bass. They will be bringing along some Moravian folk dancers.
Also the first place winners from the Youth Division and Open Divisions will perform on the main stage while the judges reach a consensus. The prize money is award accordingly . . .
First Prize – $400
Second Prize – $300
Third Prize – $200
Fourth & Fifth Prize - $150 each
Enjoy the friendly competition and the great music.
Paul Tyler, convener
Fiddle Club of the World (Chicago Chapter)
Filed under: Meeting Schedule,Video by Paul | July 7, 2010 | Comments (0)
8th Midwest Fiddle Championship
The Kid’s Contest is in the books. It was a competition for fiddle-led bands held on June 16 at the Old Town School’s beloved Armitage building. The First Place ribbon (and prize money of $150) was taken by the Hillions and Maddy.
[And proud papa suggests you also check out the band that won fifth place.]
The Open Division (called Team Division in the past) is back this year, scheduled for Thursday July 8 at 7 pm in Giddings Plaza in Lincoln Square. (Just a two-block walk up Lincoln from the School). It’s part of the Folk & Roots Festival preview sponsored by the Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce.
All fiddlers are welcome to enter. It is highly recommended that you enter with a band of one or two accompanimists. Click here for more information (rules, prizes &c.).
An online entry form should appear soon at the above link. Or try this one that can be printed out and faxed or dropped off.
And again, the invitational Fiddle Band division will be held at the Chicago Folk & Roots Festival on Saturday, July 10 at 12:55 on the main stage in Welles Park. The top winners from the Kid’s Contest and the Open Division will also be there to play a tune.
The Midwest Fiddle Championship is presented by the Fiddle Club of the World (Chicago Chapter).
Paul Tyler, convener
Filed under: Fiddle Club,Reports,Video by Paul | June 23, 2010 | Comments (0)
Chicago is Fiddle World
Truly. What a few days we had at the beginning of June.
Rudi Pietsch from Vienna gave an intimate concert, joined by his friend Jürgen Schempp, from Swabia (that’s in Germany) on guitar. Your humble convener was quickly trained for second fiddle. For the proper Austrian style we lacked a kontra (chorded fiddle or viola) and a bowed bass. Here is a slow yodel followed by a fast dance tune.
Meraner Jodler-Ischler Schläunige
Two days later, the Mostly Mountain Boys and the Polka Chicks dropped in for two evenings at the Old Town School. On Tuesday night they did a workshop for several fiddle class and the Fiddle Club.
The Mostly Mountain Boys (Paul Brown-fiddle, Teri McMurray-banjo and John Schwab-guitar) hail from Winston-Salem, North Carolina and Washington DC. They started out with a twisty but fine version of “Fisher’s Hornpipe” they learned from Esker Hutchins of Dobson, North Carolina.
The Polka Chicks, from Helsinki (that’s in Suomi, aka Finland), are Kukka Lehto on fiddle and Tejia Niku on accordion. They started with song of poverty and sadness. The singer’s life is so sad that his parents don’t even care if he marries a girl in America.
unnamed song from northern Finland
Following this lovely introduction, Paul Brown taught us distinctive version of Sugar in the Gourd that he learned from Norman Edmonds of Hillsville, Virginia. And Kukka Lehto worked us through the haunting major and minor turns of Viktors Vals from Ostrobothnia, an area in western Finland with an especially rich fiddle tradition.
The following night, both the Mostly Mountain Boys and the Polka Chicks were on the stage in our concert hall for World Music Wednesday. A delightful performance.
Kukka Lehto & Teija Niku
(click to enlarge)
One morsel more. One of the oldest folk dance tunes from Austria, a ländler that was written down in 1702. Rudi plays a setting that imitates the dudelsack (German for bagpipes). Here’s another view.
My father’s day gift to all who are the child of a dad.
Paul Tyler, convenver
Filed under: Audio,Reports,Video by Paul | June 20, 2010 | Comments (0)
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