Scottish fiddlers to present two July concerts

Westminster College’s Strathgheny School of Scottish Fiddling will host two public concerts on Monday, July 8, and Friday, July 12, at the New Wilmington Borough Amphitheater located in the New Wilmington Borough Park in New Wilmington, Pa.

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

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 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.

Crawford Perttu is a sanctioned Scottish FIRE judge, 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. In case of inclement weather, both concerts will be held in the Will W. Orr Auditorium on the Westminster College campus.

For more information about the Strathgheny School of Scottish Fiddling, please visit https://www.melindacrawford.com/strathgheny.

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