The 6th Annual Fiddle Fest, hosted by the Gilbert Town Fiddlers in conjunction with ASTA-AZ and Highland HS, is a day for string students and teachers alike to explore different fiddling traditions from around the world. All ability levels on bowed string instruments (violin, viola, cello, and bass) are welcome. It will be a packed day of fun tunes, new techniques, grooving, and performances from students and professionals!

Guest Artists

Raised on a small farm in Spokane, Washington, Joy Adams began playing the cello at age 15 and is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music. Despite a string of classical adventures that included winning Musicfest Northwest, attending the Aspen Music Festival, soloing with the Spokane Symphony, and touring with the Selden String Quartet, Joy ultimately returned to her roots, joining an old-time band, the Windsor Folk Family, during her last year at Eastman. Recipient of a Mancini Fellowship at the Frost School of Music (where she also taught bluegrass songwriting, contemporary improvisation, and led the Frost Fiddle Band), Joy completed her Doctorate in 2016. She teaches for the American Music System and Denver School of the Arts, and has been on the faculty of fiddle camps in Boston, Charleston, Maine, Connecticut, New York City, and Sandpoint, Idaho. She has made over a dozen concerto appearances and has shared the stage with major artists such as Bruce Hornsby, Ben Folds, Bobby McFerrin, and Chick Corea. Recent highlights include releasing Trifecta, a CD of Indian fusion music, publishing Fiddle Club Favorites for the Cello, touring the Northwest with fiddle-cello duo Half Pelican, and performing at the 2017 Big Sky Big Grass festival with Darol Anger and the Furies. In her spare time, Joy enjoys eating pie and climbing on things.

Andy Reiner, an award-winning fiddler, composer and educator originally from Lexington, MA, began playing at age five with the Reiner Family Band.  He has since developed his own style featuring creative, rhythmic melodies, and thoughtful fusing of world styles. Earning a BM in Violin Performance from Berklee College of Music in Boston launched Andy into a flurry of touring and teaching around the globe – including Heavy Metal with Devil in the Kitchen, Folk/Hip-Hop with FiddleFoxx, Swedish/Appalachian with Blue Moose and the Unbuttoned Zippers, Electronic/Celtic with Firecloud, and Bluegrass with The Earth Stringband, which toured Southeast Asia on the 2011 American Music Abroad tour for the State Department and Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Schedule

8:30 Registration

9:00 Workshops & Classes

12:00 Lunch (provided)

1:00 Culmination Concert with Guest Artists

Co-Chaired by Taylor Morris and Sara Duce, Directors of the Gilbert Town Fiddlers

Hailed by a class of 2nd graders as “wreely nice and kind” and “the coolest man on erth,” Arizona native Taylor Morris enjoys blurring the line between being a violinist and a fiddler. After studying classical violin at Arizona State University with Dr. Katie McLin, he spent four years touring the world as one of five fiddlers with “Barrage,” a Canadian-based, world music violin troupe. His travels, both with Barrage and personally, have led to performances in 48 states and 13 countries with musicians from a multitude of backgrounds. Offstage, Taylor obtained a master’s in education from Harvard University and is a passionate advocate for arts education. He co-founded and co-directs the Gilbert Town Fiddlers, teaches as a Guest Lecturer at ASU, maintains a private violin studio in Chandler, and regularly works with students and educators around the country to explore the violin’s unique relevance to a variety of genres.

Sara Duce grew up in Mesa and began playing the viola at the age of 8. After fiddling in the Mesa Public School program, she continued playing fiddle on her own and began performing with hot local country bands. Sara loves the fusion of many different fiddle styles. Sara holds degrees in music education from both ASU and NAU and has worked locally as a fiddling clinician. Her credits include fiddle instructor at the ASU Herberger College for Kids summer workshops, the Tempe district’s Sky-Y fiddle retreats, the Arizona String Teachers fiddle workshop for teachers, and improvisation specialist for the Scottsdale District Honor Orchestra with guest artist Mark Wood. Sara co-founded and co-directs the Gilbert Town Fiddlers and teaches orchestra at Greenfield Junior High in the Gilbert School District where her enthusiastic string students continue to earn superior ratings at state competitions.

Registration: $35 for students (includes lunch and t-shirt); free for teachers